After over 51 years, the memories have generally faded but I have a clear memory of the strong academic setting at O'Dowd.  People who did well academically were respected and we enjoyed healthy competition which was an excellent background for me for college, law school and law practice.  My wonderful O'Dowd education prepared me well for all that was to follow!

I loved the basketball games as O'Dowd had excellent teams during my four years there.  I made varsity my senior year, having never played on any of the O'Dowd teams in my first three years.  I spent most of my time sitting next to my buddy, Jim Salber, at the end of the bench, getting into the game in the last few minutes only if Dick Fagliano and the other starters had put us way ahead.  I used to tell people that I averaged 18 points-a season!

When I was active in the law, people often wanted my thoughts on the best preparation for law school and for being a lawyer, which they were hoping their son or daughter would be.  I suspected that they wanted me to talk about college majors.  I responded that what was most valuable to me in law school and in the practice of law was the typing course I took at O'Dowd in my senior year. I thought that Joe Addiego and I were the only guys in the class but Mike McMahon reminded me that he was in the class too.  Joe was the fastest typist in the class.   

Jim Canty '60, right, pictured with his niece, Kathy Canty Brown '84, center, and grandnephew, Joshua Brown '12, left.

Mike Carbone, another law school classmate and I shared typing of our class notes in law school and we typed all of our law school exams and the bar exam.  I was the only lawyer at Pillsbury who had a typewriter in the office in the early years.  I assume that 100% of the students at O'Dowd are proficient in typing, except it is probably called "keyboarding" today.  When I mentioned this comment to Joe Addiego recently, he chuckled that when he received the Typing Award at our senior year ceremony all his buddies booed!  He shared my enthusiasm for our typing class.

My classmate at O'Dowd and USF, Ron Hora, and I made our first stock market investments 50 years ago this year.  I have been interested in stock investing ever since, and Ron was my stock broker for over 30 years until he retired several years ago.

I think my favorite teacher at O'Dowd was Father Brainard who taught us Freshman Algebra.  He was so different from the Holy Names nuns that I had in grammar school at Our Lady of Lourdes (they were great too but very different).  The good Father was very funny with his quips that had all of us laughing. Read reflections from Kathy Canty Brown '84. 

Nearly a dozen Canty family members have attended/are attending O'Dowd. They include: Tim Canty '58, Jim Canty '60, Bob Canty '63, David Smith '77, Janet Keeter Smith '79, Tim Canty III '80, Virginia Smith Haynes '81, Jim Canty '82, Kathy Canty Brown '84, Ken Smith '86, Alan Smith '89 and Joshua Brown '12. In addition, Kathy Canty Brown '84 taught at O'Dowd from 1989 -1998.