Anne Fahey Sheaff

After BOD, I was employed with the Alameda County Probation Department until 1966. I married Joe, a banker (now retired), in 1965. We have resided in Napa, Petaluma, Pomona, Cypress, and are presently in Santa Maria. We have five children, three of whom are married, and nine grandchildren. Although I was a stay-at-home mother for many years, I have been a part-time church secretary for the past 13 years. My husband and I are heavily involved in parish life.

Some of you may remember Sister Agnes Michael as School Cafeteria Manager. Thirty-five cents for a hot lunch was not in my budget, so my memories of Sister go back to the Business Department in our junior and senior years. As a business teacher, Sister taught many of our courses. The Class of 1960 was famous for its clever, witty students and those of us in Business were no exception. It didn't take us long to dub this well-liked woman by her initials: SAM. Unbeknownst to Sister, we would refer to her by "SAM" and giggle at our covert behavior.

During our last period one warm, lazy day, Sister informed our class that she had to leave for about ten minutes. She assigned us ample work and departed. As the door closed behind her, our look-out scout took her post and we girls proceeded to get up from our desks, socialize, sing, and carry on. After about the amount of time Sister had mentioned, our "scout" warned, "SAM's coming down the hall!" We all quickly returned to our seats, took pen in hands,and looked as though we were posing for a photo in Newsweek's educational issue.

Moments later, Sister opened the door, walked calmly to her desk, faced her wayward students, and announced, "Yes, girls, SAM is back. And I'm terribly impressed with the rapid manner in which you were able to return to your desks and restore order to the classroom!"

It was on that day that the old adage, "Nuns have eyes in the back of their heads," was not only proven true, but we also learned they had supersonic hearing and kind hearts. No detentions were issued and the matter was closed.

Addendum: Somehow, the thrill of calling teachers by nicknames behind their back and taking advantage of their absences lost its edge on a spring afternoon in 1960.