Sunset Stories

For Dave Korpi, Sunset School wasn't just where he went to class. It was his backyard.

Dave's family lived on Junipero Avenue, right behind the school, and the grounds were where he and his friends spent their days, during school and long after the bell rang. The staff even let the neighborhood kids play in the auditorium.

That is where a young Dave watched the piano tuner at work on the grand piano. He was so taken with it that he decided to learn to play the piano himself. When the Bach Festival came to Sunset, he got to help close the heavy stage curtains for some of the performances.

His school days are full of small, vivid moments. When students played out front by the auditorium, slate tiles would sometimes slide off the roof with a swishing sound, and the kids would scatter to stay out of the way. Mr. Smith would swing up on the bars and do flips from one bar to the other. There was a swing set out front, woodshop classes, and PE teachers who marched the students across the north field like soldiers.

Every year, the north field hosted a bike contest. Dave's specialty was riding his Stingray as slowly as possible without tipping over, and it won him more than one prize. Clyde Klaumann handed him a trophy.

Not every memory is a happy one. Dave was in his classroom in November 1963 when the news came that President Kennedy had been shot. His teacher cried, and so did the whole class.

Today, Dave says Sunset still looks the same. His one wish for the next 100 years? Bring back the woodshop.