Dorothy Mulcahy
Teacher's Attention Helped Student Acquire Good Job, Comfortable Retirement
By Ramona Bryant
(Here's the article I wrote for the Union October 29, 2008 in the "Recognizing Outstanding Achievements of Women in Nevada County" section).
his story could very well start out with "Once upon a time many years ago" because it was a long time ago, in 1950, when I was a senior at what was then Grass Valley High School.
There was a teacher at the high school at that time named Dorothy Mulcahy who had taught shorthand and other business courses. A month or two before we graduated, she took three students from Grass Valley to Sacramento in her own vehicle to take the state of California entry level clerical examination, which consisted of a written examination, a typing test and a shorthand test. I was fortunate enough to be one of the students, passed that examination and, immediately after graduation, moved to Sacramento where two weeks later I started working in a clerical pool at one of the large state departments.
To make a long story short, I worked at several different state agencies over the years and progressed up the ladder to the highest clerical position available and later into a professional classification.
After 42 1/2 years of state service, I retired and, as I collect my retirement check each month, I look back with great appreciation on the lady who not only was a good teacher, but made all this possible by going above and beyond the call of duty in taking us on that trip to Sacramento to take the examination. I owe my whole working career to Dorothy Mulcahy, who, unfortunately, is now deceased.
I did have an opportunity to thank her years later when she was a guest at one of our class reunions, which seemed so little for her having done so much. She was truly an asset to Nevada County.