Former Balboa student remembers her teacher

yamadaAnn Marie Shelton Parker, who grew up in Glendale, recalled Flora Weston, her fourth-grade teacher at Balboa Elementary, as "quite a character."

Weston, former wife of famed photographer Edward Weston, taught at Balboa for a few years in the 1940s.

"I knew her ex-husband was Edward Weston, a photographer; she must have told us that," said Parker, who attended Toll Junior High and graduated from Hoover High in 1952. "Years later, I learned more of him as a famous California photographer.

"I never knew her name was Flora," said Parker, referring to the July 11, 2005, Verdugo Views column profiling Flora Weston. "She seemed old, but was probably in her 50s or early 60s. She had short graying hair and wore typical teacher clothes.

"I don't remember a thing about the subjects she taught us except for music," Parker said.

"We learned all the patriotic songs -- songs for each military service, even 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home.' She would accompany us on the piano while we marched around the room waving small American flags. I believe she even let me accompany the class on occasion and, since I'd only taken piano lessons for two years, I probably just picked out the melody with both hands, but she said I could keep up with the beat, which made me proud."

Flora married Edward Weston, an itinerant photographer, shortly before he opened a studio in Tropico in 1911. They had four children, all boys. Edward Weston, who enjoyed a Bohemian life-style with artists, dancers and musicians, eventually left Glendale with his girlfriend and with his son, Brett, and established a new studio in Carmel. Flora Weston remained behind.

"I'm sure her life was hard, but she made the best of it," said Parker, who remembered the day Weston turned a fellow student over her knee and spanked him. "He was the one who couldn't sit still. It was prompt, effective punishment that left a great impression on me. I liked Mrs. Weston and she must have been a good teacher since most of us did well in our fifth-grade class. I believe she was at Balboa for only a short time, perhaps two years or so."

Parker, who attended Occidental College her freshman year and Glendale Junior College her sophomore year, now lives in El Paso, Texas.