Married Life with Beula and Children, Part 4

Written by Kimberly Eden, Heath's Row: A History of Herman and Beula Heath

Herman and Beula were both known for their skills in the classroom. Herman was well liked and many of his college students sought him out as a friend. They spent time together outside the classroom on many occasions. He was well respected amongst his colleagues and on occasion, if they wanted a practical joke,they would ask his advice. In college Herman played practical jokes during his chemistry lab. He was enrolled in an organic chemistry lab and one day he handed his lab partner a firecracker, which he lit. The explosion caused the professor to run to them exclaiming, "What happened? Where's the blood?" Herman was laughing so hard he had to leave the room. The other students didn't dare look up from their experiments in determination that their experiments didn't explode. They thought someone was dead. As a teacher his approach did not change. The biology teacher in Moab asked Herman for a simple acid. Herman asked what kind, but the teacher said any kind. Herman gave him one that had a horrific small. When the teacher realized it he came back shaking his fist at Herman and said, "I should have known better when you asked me which acid." Herman also had a late policy rule that stated: "If you can make up a reason I have never heard you will not be sent to the "war department" (vice Principal's office)." One day a student came in late to class and Herman asked him why he was late. "I was backing out of the driveway and hit a bump and all of my spark plugs fell out." Herman told him to sit down.

Beula was also well respected, though she preferred teaching the younger children. She spent most of her free time and extra cash on teaching her poor students personal hygiene and reading outside the classroom. She started reading and Spanish after-school programs. Kristena spent two nights a week with Beula helping in the reading programs. Beula was also well liked by the staff. The last few weeks of her life Beula taught in Hunington Elementary and received many notes of encouragement from the children in her class. Parents also wrote letters of gratitude to Beula for her extra care and ability to reach children. Beula found teaching an inspiration in itself-"None of the things that I have done or seen can ever be completely hidden from those that I come in contact with particularly in the classroom. The main thing is a progressive district with the education of the children placed as the goal and that education is the best that it can conceivably be. Any district that is not satisfied with just a good education for its students sounds like something that I would like to be part of."