At 2:53 p.m., the last bell of the school day at St. Aloysius rings. As the children and teachers clear out of the classrooms, Michael and Donna Hall swoop in.

While Michael methodically and expertly pushes his broom down the aisles and around desks, his wife Donna scoops up the small piles, dumps them into a large garbage can and dusts some of the furniture. The husband and wife team of custodians have the routine down pat — as they should after a quarter of a century of working together — and then move on to the next room.

As they filter in and out, late-staying teachers and students alike offer up pleasantries, thanks, and even a hug or a handshake. At St. Al, the Halls take care of the halls, as well as everyone who walks them.
The couple has four grown children of their own, but all of the people at St. Al are family.
“We have tons of grandkids running through here. A couple of our students have come through here as teachers,” Donna Hall said, adding that the family atmosphere at the school keeps her going. “You can be at your lowest point, and you get a hug and it just smooths it out.”
Michael Hall, picking up the thought, adds, “It’s a beautiful thing.”
“Mr. Michael” is in charge of maintenance at St. Al, even though his wife has been at the school longer.
Donna Hall started working at the old St. Francis Xavier Elementary School in 1988. The following year, her husband was hired for an odd job of cleaning some ceiling fans at the school. A maintenance position opened up that same week, and Michael was hired. He never left.
Over the years, Michael has been a bus driver, security guard, electrician and jack-of-all-trades at St. Al. He and Donna moved to the Grove Street campus when St. Francis was relocated in 1991.

Donna has been right alongside the whole time, providing both assistance and good humor. The couple has been married for 37 years, but working together for 26 of those hasn’t done anything to dampen their love for each other.
“I’m a one man gang,” Michael Hall said in describing his many duties. To that Donna quickly added with a laugh, “I like to call myself his sidekick.”
The Halls’ daily routine takes them from St. Al’s football field to St. Francis and back again, patrolling for trash, cleaning bathrooms and taking care of any maintenance work that needs to be done. It’s not glamorous work, but they take great pride in doing it right.
“Everything around here, we protect. We keep the kids safe as far as sanitizing the restrooms and everything else. It’s a job, but we take pride in what we do,” Michael Hall said. “I have a motto: Do it right the first time and forget it.”
No one who has passed through St. Al, however, can ever forget the Halls. Their friendly demeanor and dedication to the job have made them an institution.
The couple said they’ve gotten a number of letters from former students wishing them well and thanking them for their service. Other random encounters with alumni are always warm.
“Mike comments to me all the time that he could be in an airport in Texas and somebody runs up to holler at him,” St. Al’s dean of students Mike Jones said.
By 3:45 the Halls are ready to head home. In less than an hour they’ve swept and cleaned 13 classrooms, mopped a hallway and finished up some other minor duties.
The job is done for today, but they’ll be back bright and early to make the rounds again.
“I don’t think I’ve taken five sick leave days in 26 years,” Michael Hall said. “As long as God wakes me up, I’m going to be here.”