Generations of Ryans attending Fresno State

For some “Bulldog born, Bulldog bred” is just a saying. For others it is a lifestyle. That’s the case for one Fresno family that has ties back to Fresno State since the 1950s.

Karlene and Mayo Ryan both attended and graduated from Fresno State. It has been a long time since they pulled out their yearbooks, but viewing them brought back a lot of old memories about their local college and fellow graduate alums.

“Fresno was small and it was an agricultural college,”Karlene Mayo says. She graduated from Fresno State in 1960. Her husband graduated in 1955.

Fresno State opened in 1910 with only twenty students enrolled and three faculty members. The campus was located on O street until 1921 when it expanded to East University Avenue.

The Fresno City College library has books that document the school’s history over more than  100 years. Librarian Thomas Welch was working at Fresno City when they celebrated the centennial. “They say it’s the oldest community college since 1910,” Welch says.

Mayo Ryan attended Fresno State when the new campus was being built on Shaw Avenue. “They’d either bus us or we’d drive our own car,” Ryan says. “Some of our classes were held at the old campus and some of our classes were held at the new campus as construction progressed.”

The Ryans have many memories from the old Fresno State, but now they say they’re thrilled that their grandchildren are following in their footsteps and making their own memories at the newer Fresno State.