Carlena Cushing “Ma” Morris
Wife of college President Charles S. “Jum” Morris
Founder/director of CSM residence halls and volunteer initiatives
“At that time rents in Modesto were $40 a month. I was thinking in terms of $40 to $50 a month [in San Mateo]. I can remember the real estate man taking us ... somewhere, and he said, ‘Stop the car. I think you could get this house across the street for $125.’”
Carlena Morris (1885-1987) made her mark on College of San Mateo for more than two decades as the wife of one of its greatest leaders, college President Charles S. Morris. She directed community resources in support of the college, founding and running two residence halls for men as well as the college Mothers Club. For 21 years, she and her husband attended every college game and dance, inspiring good conduct and lending a steadying hand.
Carlena was born in Lakewood, Fla., where her father owned a resort hotel. She picked up his knack for hospitality management and efficiency. As an adult, she helped make then-San Mateo Junior College welcoming and smoothly run despite challenges including the Depression, World War II and a network of makeshift or partly built campuses.
The couple met during a summer holiday in Pasadena, where each had relatives. They married in 1908 and moved to Stanford, where he was earning a masters’ in biology and competing in track and field (today’s decathlon) for the Olympic Club of San Francisco. From there, they went to Modesto, where Charles was initially vice principal of the high school and soon head of Modesto Junior College.
When SMJC needed a president, the University of California, Stanford and the state Office of Education unanimously recommended Charles. Carlena scouted their new home.
“They paid him $1,000 more [a year] to come here than he was getting in Modesto,” Carlena Morris remembered in 1979. “At that time rents in Modesto were $40 a month. I was thinking in terms of $40 to $50 a month.
“I can remember the real estate man taking us ... somewhere, and he said, ‘Stop the car. I think you could get this house across the street for $125.’”
The Morrises settled (for $70) for a small fixer-upper in San Mateo’s Hayward Park neighborhood. It was 1931, the midst of the Depression. Joblessness had swollen college enrollment to 1,500 students, some of whom were rowdy.
“There had been some difficulty in the student body before we came here,” Carlena remembered. “[Charles] felt that it was part of his job to attend student affairs, so we went to every dance, every track meet, every basketball game. I always went with him.”
She founded a Mothers Club to provide badly needed funds and supplies. In 1938, she said, her husband found “two boys living in a cellar and subsisting on canned food.” So Carlena opened two dormitories near the Delaware campus.
“I ran a notice in the paper and people gave us things ... We needed enough bedding for 23 beds, and we had a little group from the Mothers Club who came and we’d sew. ... I charged $7.50 a month rent and that gave them room, bed, laundry, bedding, towels.” Residents did their own cooking, following Carlena’s recipes. They called her “Ma” and stayed in touch for years afterward.
Her management of the dormitories was characteristically hands-on and detailed.
“I said there must be no signs in the rooms. I said, ‘The first place the police will go if a sign is reported stolen is the dormitories.’ And I never saw but one.”
Charles Morris died Feb. 24, 1952 of a heart attack sustained while attending a dance at Coyote Point. Carlena lived in Hayward Park until shortly before her death in 1987.
