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California Legal Secretary Celebrates 60 Years On the Job

By Lynne DeVenny

Sticking with anything for 60 years, whether it's a marriage, a house or a job, is a huge milestone in anyone's life, which is why Patricia "Pat" Selna, a resident of Tracy, California, was the honoree at a luncheon last week, celebrating her 60-year (and counting) career as a legal secretary (she's also lived in the same house all her life).

Selna, 79, embarked on her legal career not long after she graduated from high school, despite being told by an exasperated typing instructor that she'd "never last more than two weeks on any job!"

I guess Selna showed her.

The Tracy Press feature story is a great read, as Selna recalls the history of office equipment, including typewriters, onion-skin paper and "carbon paper for 17 copies." She said, "I can still remember not wanting to make a single mistake. Otherwise, it was a real problem."

Selna also noted that her current employer, Mehlhaff & Mehlhaff, Attorneys at Law, still has several IBM Selectric typewriters in the office, which are used for filling out forms. (I included the terrific photo of Selna taken by the Tracy Press for you youngsters who might be wondering what an electric typewriter looks like.)

To celebrate her career, the Naglee Burk Irrigation District also made Selna an honorary board member, officially declaring:

?No person has been more loyal or more capable than Patricia A. Selna, the senior secretary and office manager of the offices of the district?s secretary and general counsel?.?

Congratulations to Pat Selna on her long and successful career - as well as becoming a stellar typist. She's come a long way from that brand new legal secretary who used to sneak documents with typos out of the office in her purse.

Source: Tracy Press

Full post as published by Practical Paralegalism on July 03, 2010 (boomark / email).