By Dennis Bateman (AHS Class of ’89)
For many Anaheim High School students, learning a foreign language was and is a rite of passage, and during the Colony’s postwar glory era, Gene Henderson was one of the most memorable teachers on campus.
Beginning first at Fremont Junior High School and then at AHS, Henderson taught French and Spanish to young Colonists for nearly 30 years. Sadly, but perhaps unavoidably, Henderson’s life and career have been overshadowed by the sudden and violent nature of his death, which occurred 50 years ago this month. But a recent discovery revealed a hidden chapter to the life and personal history of one of Anaheim High’s finest educators. As this month is also the 106th anniversary of his birth, it is that life and legacy of Gene Henderson which deserves to be celebrated.
Eugene Kinsel Henderson was born December 28, 1919, in the town of Conneaut, Ohio, located in the northeast corner of the state off the southern shores of Lake Erie and on the border with Pennsylvania. The son of William and Sylvia Henderson, Gene attended local schools and in 1937 graduated from Conneaut High School.
