Gulf Stream School

Established December 1938Gulf Stream, Florida

Newlyweds Ada Belle and William C. Johnstonat the Connecticut shore circa 1925

In 1938 the Johnstons learned of a small polo community called Gulf Stream

on the Atlantic shore

a place where their daughter, Judith Elaine Johnston, could thrive.

So these two outstanding and experienced teachers created The Little School By the Sea in a repurposed polo barn.

across the street from the Phipps estate.

Located between the small towns of Delray and Boynton, the area seemed too rural to support a school.

The community was enthusiastic. Robert Britt, the owner-publisher of the Delray Journal built desks of many sizes for $3 a piece.

Each pupil would have a perfectly fitted desk.

And the children came . . . . First was Fred Piersol, then six more, including Anne Phipps.

Between December 1938 and May 1939,

35 students attended.

William (Bill) Johnston, farmer John Peters, and his son converted another polo barn into a dormitory and the Johnstons’ home in the fall of 1939.

For the first 10 years, Gulf Stream School would be both a boarding school

and a day school.

100 pupils attended the 1939-1940 school year and, during the peak season, the staff numbered 15.

Classes were held both inside and outdoors.

Margaret Wagg’s kindergarten class

High school English with Sally Barber

This was the path to get to classes on the beach or in the ocean.

The beach at Gulf Stream was beautiful and wide before the storms of 1941 started the erosion.

(look, no dunes)

Tennis lessons at the Phipps estate

(l to r)

Judy Johnston and Anne Phipps

Polo manager Fred Tejan provided horseback riding lessons to the

pupils.

A field trip to Nassau

In 1953, the Johnstons’ school was 15 years old.

G.S.S. 1953

In the 1950s, the Johnstons had time for their love of gardening

Plumbago in bloom around the Johnstons’ residence in October 1955

”West face of G.S.S. March 1956”

Rainbow

Over the garage and workshop of Gulf Stream School, 1956.

Bougainvillea on the garage, adjacent to the Ixora hedge, 1956.

Clusea Rosea planted in the spring of 1957

New playground equipment replaced the original hand made equipment, which had been a rich source of splinters.

Ocean Boulevard and the circular driveway.

Grandchildren also began to arrive in the 1950s.

April 1958

She lost Bill, her partner of 64 years, in 1989. Mrs. Johnston remained active at Gulf Stream School for the rest of her life and committed to her vision of every student reaching his or her full

potential.

Ada Belle Johnston 1896 - 1993