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Alex Cabrero reportingSaturdays usually are good days for sales at book stores because a lot of people have the day off to shop. But when it comes to a good history book, Todd Handley's house in Draper was the place to be today. The books being sold there have a lot more meaning than anything found at the mall.
The books belonged to a popular teacher from Alta High School; a teacher many of his former students say they'll always remember. Today's sale was an excuse for former students to meet him again, reconnect with former classmates, and talk about what they learned from those books.
Books about world history, American government, and the making of the West probably don't rank too high on best-seller lists. But there's no way Don Ward would rather read about anything else. "That's really exciting to me," he said.
For more than 30 years, Mr. Ward has been a history teacher at Alta High School; the kind of history teacher many of his students remember.
Former student Todd Handley said, "Mr. Ward is the kind of person that at any point in time, he makes everyone feel like they are the only one in the room."
Handley enjoyed Mr. Ward's classes so much, he kept in touch. So when Mr. Ward decided to sell his beloved books, Handley offered to help. "He started thinking, ‘I've got all these books sitting in boxes. We ought to do something with them,'" Handley said.
Don Ward asked, "What good does a book do in a box?"
So, they came up with a plan to have this sale. These history books now are for Mr. Ward's future. "I think it was in August that I was finally diagnosed with the cancer," Mr. Ward said.
He retired from Alta High School last year, hoping to enjoy his retirement. "In this life you're gonna get some curves thrown at you, and you can either get bitter or better. There's only one letter difference in the words, but it'll make all the difference in your life," he said.
It turns out that Mr. Ward can live with the cancer; it's treatable. But there are medical bills. Mr. Ward says he has health insurance, and that should take care of most of the bills. He hopes the book sale will help with the amount that's not covered by insurance.
He never thought so many of his former students, who probably didn't like the books back then, would buy them now.
"People often say, ‘If you had to do it over again, would you teach?' and that is the easiest question I have ever been asked. The answer is absolutely. It's a great experience," he said.
