The biography of Rolland Jacks.
I was born on a rainy night in Compton California on February 7, 1934. As my parents told me, it was a race to the hospital to get there before being delivered in the car. Maybe that’s why I’ve always been in a bit of a hurry. I’m the fifth of five children, two brothers and two sisters, and the only one surviving today.
I grew up in Lynwood California, where I lived until 1951 when I moved to Santa Barbara to attend Westmont College. Living in only one place somewhat limited the experiences I had. However, it also offered me a lot of stability and the same friends until I went away to college.
While in college at Westmont and UCSB, I met my wife, Venetia, at a Youth for Christ rally. We were married in 1955 and celebrated our 67th anniversary August 7, 2022. We have four adult children, 13 grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.
I graduated from UCSB 1956 with a degree in zoology and a teaching credential. Venetia and I moved to what is now Rowland Heights on the east side of Los Angeles. I taught seventh grade and then served as an elementary school principal for nine years. I resigned my principal ship in 1969 and began teaching at Cal poly Pomona and working on a doctorate at USC. Having completed my doctor’s degree, I accepted the chairmanship of the education department at Westmont College in 1972, and Venetia and I and our four children moved back to Santa Barbara where we have lived since.
In 1975 we bought the old Barbara hotel, a flophouse on State Street in Santa Barbara. We improved it regularly, making it a safe clean residential hotel for people to live in comfortably. In 1997 we gutted it and re-opened in 1998 as Hotel Santa Barbara. Venetia and I kept the hotel for 47 years and sold it in December 2021.