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In episode 23 of the “How I Library” podcast, show host and I Love Libraries editor Phil Morehart speaks with actor and modern-day icon—and honorary chair of Banned Books Week 2025—George Takei.

Phil Morehart: “How do you library, George?” 

George Takei: “Well, I'm a reader as well as a writer, so I use libraries a lot. And early in life, when I had these after dinner discussions with my father, he referred me to ‘go to a school library and you can do some research there’. And so I went to a high school library, but my school, high school, Los Angeles High School, was also the oldest high school in Los Angeles. First built in the 1870s, something or other, I can't remember the exact date, but it was built in Beaux-Arts style architecture, brick, and it was like, it resembled the Ivy League campus. There is that frontage with the tower, and the student council met in the tower, and there was a clock tower above that, and on the hour it had bonged out the hour with the music. And it was a magnificent school library.”

“But the city tagged on to that development. Across the street, across Olympic Boulevard, they built a vest-pocket park, and they put a city library in the same architecture, designed by the same architect there. So it was really like an Ivy League campus sprawling all over the neighborhood. And I did some studying at the school library, but also the city library across the way. And this was during the time I was having these after-dinner conversations and my father told me to do some research. And so I looked for books on the internment or Arkansas history or Northern California was another camp that we were sent to.”

“I couldn't find anything on the internment. This is back in the 50s. And I became good friends with the lady who was a librarian at the city library and the vest-pocket Park across the way. And she was very helpful and she went through card files and made phone calls to her colleagues. She couldn't find anything either. But I told her, no, it was in southeastern Arkansas and it had bar fences. And then we were transferred to another one in northern California where there were three layers of bar bar fences and they had tanks patrolling the perimeter. And she said, George, you know so much about it, which I got from my father. I meant my memory.” 

“She says, you know so much about it. You should write a book about it and I will carry it. Well, there was a horrific earthquake in Los Angeles and it severely damaged the historic LA High School and they had to be torn down. However, the city library in the vest-pocket park survived and I should go check out and make sure that It Rhymes with Takei, is in that library. That library lady is no longer there, but her memory is there.” 

Phil Morehart: “And if the book's not there, you should take one and put it right in the shelves. George, thanks so much for talking with us today. This has been awesome.”

Los Angeles High School honored one of its most famous graduates on April 14 as part of an open house showcase to highlight the school’s academics and extra curricular activities.

“In the past, our open house events were modeled as a kind of parent-teacher conference; but this year, our principal had the great idea to allow visitors to explore the campus and see all the good things that go on here,” said Joyce Kleifield, executive director of the Harrison Trust, a sponsor of the event.

Bradbury mural

The evening’s highlight was a ceremony in the school’s remodeled Ray Bradbury Library, where a mural was unveiled in honor of its namesake, author Ray Bradbury, who attended Los Angeles High in the 1930s.

“This has been an amazing experience,” said principal Dr. Helena Yoon-Fontamillas as she welcomed guests inside the standing-room-only library.

Special guests included Susan Nixon and Ramona Ostergren, two of Bradbury’s daughters, and Dr. George McKenna, LAUSD board member for District 1.

“I want to compliment these efforts,” said McKenna, who reminded the audience that the library is a good place to lose yourself: “Reading can take away your malaise and lift you up,” he said.

Bradbury’s daughter, Susan Nixon, thanked the mural’s creator Richard Wyatt and all the students who helped execute his vision. “L.A. High School was so important to my dad,” she said; “he would talk about it often.” Nixon broke into tears as she explained how proud he would be to be honored this way.

Science fair and more

On display in Memorial Hall during the event were this year’s student science fair submissions.

Dozens of students worked for nearly two semesters on the projects, said Science Department chair Clay Estep: “The students worked alone, with only guidance from us, to develop a project and think like a scientist by predicting a hypothesis and then testing it.”

Among the many interesting projects was one by students Sean Trigueros and Ashley Rezo—who were both dressed sharply in dark suits—and who were eager to discuss it, “A Chicken’s Life: Caged vs. Yard.” For research, the students raised four chickens from eggs, two inside a cage and two cage-free (in their yards). Using a number of metrics, they found the caged chickens were more anxious and less friendly as well as smaller in size and weight. Their conclusion: buy cage free.

Performances by the band and dance team in the school’s quad kept guests entertained while they enjoyed food and drinks, and the drama club’s impressive performance of “A Village Fable” by playwright James Still showcased budding young talent.

Article posted in the Larchmont Chronicle: https://larchmontchronicle.com/8698-2/ 

Mural Artist: Richard Wyatt Jr. 

Photo from: https://file770.com/bradbury-mural-dedicated-at-la-high/ 

Additional press: 

https://beverlypress.com/2016/04/32451/