Sherrod secretary pines for a desk with a view

Real people

PALMER — When Jane Storey first became the secretary at Sherrod Elementary, her youngest son was in the third grade and was positively thrilled with his mom's new occupation.

"He would go to the bathroom 50 times a day because the boys' bathroom was right near the front office," Storey recalled. "He would run by just to say, ‘Hi mom.' He was just so tickled that I was there."

That was more than 20 years ago.

Her two sons have since grown and moved away. Five principals, dozens of teachers and thousands of students have come and gone through the doors of Sherrod Elementary. But each school day, Storey can still be found behind the front desk, handing out bus passes and pointing students to class.

"The parents come in and say, ‘This is Mrs. Storey and she was here when I went to school here,'" she said. The first few times she met a second-generation Sherrod student, Storey admits she felt a little overwhelmed. Roots this deep were new to her.

"It never crossed my mind that I would be here this long," Storey said. As a child, she did not live anywhere for more than five years at a stretch. Her father, who was a minister, moved the family around the country to various churches in Indiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, South Dakota, Tennessee, Ohio and Minnesota.

But in 1979, Storey arrived in the Mat-Su Valley with her husband, Ed, and she hasn't left since.

Even in the close-knit community of Palmer, Storey is more likely than most to know her neighbors. Whether it is the guy behind the counter at the coffeehouse or a teacher at the high school, Storey can still make out the faces of the little boys and girls they once were.

"They're taller, maybe a little heavier," Storey said. "But they still have the same face." Surprising to many of her former students, the school secretary plucks their names from the decades of class lists that remain in her memory.

During her 20 years at Sherrod, Storey has accumulated a tremendous amount of information. She said she didn't try to memorize these things, but she has come to know countless phone numbers, names and addresses.

Storey never expected to live in one place for so long, and never had any intention of being a secretary, but she says she has come to value her history at the school.

"Not only do I know the kids — I know the parents, the grandparents, the aunts and uncles," Storey said.

After so many years at Sherrod, Storey jokes that she has become the source of "usta'" stories, as in "We usta do it this way." She recalls days when the secretarial staff shared one electric typewriter and recorded attendance by hand in a large book.

It took some time, but Storey says she is now comfortable with the computers. And she has adjusted to other changes as well. Students' home lives are more complicated than they once were, and Storey has to be careful that they go home with the right parents on the right days.

The children she has come to hold dear haven't changed so much though. She has countless stories that years later still make her smile, such as the one about the boy who was late to school each morning. When Storey asked him why he was always tardy, he answered seriously, "The school is too far from my house."

Even with such pleasant memories, Storey said retirement is not far off for her. When she was younger she wanted to be a park ranger, quite different from her job now, where she rarely catches a glimpse of the outdoors. She has no windows near her desk at Sherrod, and she said the only sunlight she sees is what comes through the front doors and shines on the carpet.

So this summer she hopes to work in the tourism industry, sharing her love and knowledge of Alaska with visitors and working outdoors. Perhaps in the next few years, she will find her dream job and finally say goodbye to Sherrod Elementary.

But if she is still a secretary when the new Sherrod school is built, she is hoping for a desk with a view.