The world needs more people like Mrs. McHale
January 16th, 2008 | by mbhunter |Most of you won’t know Mrs. McHale. You might know her if you went to CFA around the mid-1980s (a high school that was converted to a middle school in the region south of the Finger Lakes in New York State). If you do know her (or recognize the names Mr. L’Amoreaux, Mr. Baker, or Ms. Gruber) drop me a line, because I might know you.
She was assistant to the principal of the school when I went there. She was very soft-spoken. She’s very elderly now if she is still alive.
She also made sure that no one went hungry because they forgot their lunch money.
I used to do the morning announcements off and on (my first public speaking experience) and one staple of those announcements was “Will the following people please see Mrs. McHale immediately following announcements?” along with a list of students. We never said why they were to see her, and for quite a while I didn’t know why. The announcement was discreet.
For a long time, she basically let students borrow money for lunch if they forgot, or maybe even if they couldn’t really afford it each day. This was out of her own pocket. The morning announcement was to remind the students to pay her back, but the announcement really didn’t let that on in order to minimize embarrassment. It worked as far as I could tell.
I imagine that some students didn’t pay her back, but probably not too many. She did this quietly for many years without fanfare, smoothing over some rough edges so that they wouldn’t be distracted because they were hungry. I don’t think I would have understood at the time what a nice, generous thing this was to do, but I do now. These kinds of gestures make the world a better place.
5 Responses to “The world needs more people like Mrs. McHale”
By Mrs. Micah on Jan 16, 2008 | Reply
That’s really wonderful. I imagine it meant a lot to those students…
By Chief Family Officer on Jan 17, 2008 | Reply
Thanks for sharing this story. She sounds like a lovely woman. Lately, I’ve looked back on the people I’ve known who share the same qualities and I’ve been aspiring to be more like them. Why is that it’s only as I get older that I realize just how important kindness is?
By Money Blue Book on Jan 17, 2008 | Reply
Ah…the good old days. Much simpler times for sure.
By Early Retirement Extreme on Jan 19, 2008 | Reply
Maybe there would be more people like that if there were also more people one could count on paying back their debts.
By fathersez on Jan 19, 2008 | Reply
You are so right.
People like this Mrs. Hale are real gems of people.
And I believe that we should not forget people who have given us a helping hand.
Though some of the kids may not have paid back Mrs. Hale, the chances are that they will not forget. And maybe they’ll start doing some good.