Sometimes we do hours of research to make an article, sometimes we just get lucky. Among the most respected alumni of Lincoln High School are the policemen, firemen, doctors and teachers. These are the outstanding, unselfish and dedicated professionals society relies on to keep this gigantic ship on an even keel.

        One such dedicated alumna is Michael J. Healy, F54. When asked, Mike volunteered to bare his life so that young and future alumni will have an idea of the rigors of real life. This then, in Mikešs own words, is his contribution to your Log:

        "Let me start by saying something about my favorite teacher. I would nominate Edwin E. Gordon. Mr. Gordon was the Music teacher who offered to teach a course in Colloquial Chinese during my Senior Year at Lincoln. Only a handful of us took the course. Mr. Gordon was an excellent teacher and made the subject very interesting. He had learned Chinese during WWII when he was assigned to the forerunner of the Army Language School at Monterey. I can still remember him standing in front of the class greeting us in Chinese. He made you want to learn, and we did. Several years later I ran into one of my classmates at the University of California where he was studying for a graduate degree. He told me he was an interpreter (Chinese, naturally) at the United Nations and gave full credit to Mr. Gordon for pointing him in that direction.

        After graduation from Lincoln High School in January of 1955, I attended San Francisco City College for three semesters. My goal was to transfer to UC as a junior.

        My plans were altered in the summer of 1956 when I was called to active duty with the U.S. Navy. I had joined the Naval Reserve hoping to postpone active duty until after college. A crisis involving the Suez Canal changed that. A month later I was a storekeeper on a destroyer, the USS Leonard F. Mason, DD-852 homeported in Long Beach, California and bound for the Western Pacific.

        For the next two years we spent a lot of time cruising the Formosa Straights separating China and Taiwan. Our tours also included visits to Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, the South Pacific and Australia. All in all it was a very good experience for a young man. In June 1958 I was discharged from active duty. I applied for and was granted admission to the University of California, Berkeley. Both of my sisters graduated from Cal. One sister is Norma (Healy) Rios S52.

        In the fall of 1958, I entered Cal as a Junior in the School of Criminology. Shortly after starting Cal, I saw an advertisement that the City of Berkeley was hiring Patrolmen at $436 a month. I applied, tested successfully and was appointed to the Berkeley Police Department on February 16, 1959. For the next four years I worked full time as a police officer and attended Cal on a part-time basis. In June 1962, I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology.

        I was a member of the Berkeley Police Department from 1959 until my service retirement in March 1990. I started as a Patrolman Clerk (working Records and Jail). In 1967 I was promoted to Sergeant. In 1969 I was promoted to Lieutenant, and in 1978 I was promoted to Captain. I retired, after 31 years of service, as a Police Captain. During those 31 years I served in almost every assignment within the Department.

        During most of the tumultuous Œ60šs I was a Patrol Sergeant. I experienced first hand the anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, Peoplešs Park, and just about everything else that seemed to happen in Berkeley during those interesting years. I still recall the night they announced the U.S. had mined Hai Phong harbor. Within a half-hour a demonstration near the campus had grown from a handful of people to well over a thousand. And it seemed like most of them had rocks or bottles in their hands. At the outset of the riot we had about twenty officers in the field augmented by a like number of University of California police officers. Fortunately, we were able to quickly bring in Mutual Aid reinforcements before too much of Telegraph Avenue was trashed and burned. I was always surprised that you could go from a riot on Telegraph Avenue to the calmness of Shattuck Avenue in a matter of minutes and only a few blocks.

        While the riots drew much of the publicšs attention, the Berkeley Police Department continued to do its basic job. Each officer probably has his or her own favorite investigation. Mine relates to the kidnapping, for ransom, of a high school girl. Working very closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, we decided to team an FBI Agent and a Berkeley Officer together on the night of the ransom delivery. It turned out to be the best thing we could have done. While the kidnapper chased us all over the Bay Area, the final drop was in Tilden Park.

        Fortunately, the Berkeley officers were all familiar with the area. A suspicious vehicle was seen involved in a minor hit and run accident and we decided to stop the vehicle. Inside, bound and locked in a steamer type trunk, we found the teenage victim. She was alive. The female driver was arrested and she quickly revealed the identity of the other kidnapper. He was a gardener who had done some work for the girlšs father. He was able to elude us in Tilden Park but was arrested a month later. He is still in prison for the crime. To show her appreciation, the teenager did volunteer work in our Robbery Detail. It was the Robbery Detail that handled the investigation.

        Following my retirement in 1990, my wife, Roberta, and I have traveled extensively. Some of the more exotic locales include China, Africa, and South America.

        I have a passion for bicycle touring and have cycled in Ireland, Italy, Germany, Australia and New Zealand as well as many states in the U.S.A. Currently I am the Chairman of the Bicycle Adventure Club. The BAC is a nonprofit, volunteer supported, bicycle touring club with over 1400 members. We sponsor between 35 and 40 tours (U.S. and overseas) each year.

        I am also the President of the Hundred Club of Contra Costa County. The Club provides financial support (including scholarship money) for the families of peace officers and firefighters killed as a result of and while in the line of duty in Contra Costa County."

        And that, Mustangs, is where he is now. Wešre proud of you Mike.