Holy Names Academy Story
First, my favorite teacher: Sister Margaret Laurene: In 9th grade Ancient History class we studied world religions, and I particularly remember her fascinating journey through the study of Judaism; in 10th grade, she taught English, and in her explanation of poetic forms, she used my name, Pamela McMahan, as a great example of euphony. I loved that, and I also learned a lot about poetry. When I was a senior I was part of the HNA delegation to a Speech and Debate Tournament in Spokane, and the night before we left Sister sent me a little note with a small silver medal of St. Paul enclosed. Her note read, "Pam, good luck at the tournament - you can be like St. Paul, who was truly eloquent." That was a big boost for me, and I have never forgotten her thoughtful encouragement.
The other big memory from Holy Names was the amazing soundtrack that permeated our lives at that time, starting with all the iconic tunes on "Meet the Beatles" in 9th grade ("I Want to Hold Your Hand"); some truly amazing soul music; some bubble gum but still hard to resist songs from Sonny and Cher, the Turtles ("Happy Together"), the Association ("Never My Love") and edgier music toward the end of high school from groups like the Doors ("Light My Fire").
And of course, our first fall at Holy Names was punctuated by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November. I was in 4th period study hall, someone had a transistor radio and we heard the news, and we all immediately headed up to the school chapel.
I also loved playing basketball on our class team all 4 years, Friday nights at Dick's on Broadway, sneaking up to the Dome, writing the script for "Wizard of Oz" with Margie Doyle, the yearly carnival and many other memories.