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Show East High Beekeeper Is Going to Retire, . But His Wit Has Lost None of Its Sting By BETTT vVAl'GR I was chased by bees from the conservatory of A. O. Garrett in my junior year at East high school. The other afternoon I dropped In to see Mr. Garrett, who has taught more Utah boys and girls and their parents than you can begin to count, and to see if the bee was still there. It was! At least Mr. Garrett said It was. And, between bee stings, we sat around and laughed and joked, and Mr. Garrett recalled little incidents inci-dents that are scattered through his 45 years of teaching memories. He was just a little sad as he realized real-ized that within a year or two he must take those memories with him as he leaves East high school to retire never again to bend over a microscope with a timid junior, or have A heart-to-heart talk with the "bJ boy" of the school. From Kansas Mr. Garrett came to Utah from Kansas, where he taught school for seven years. He taught in the old Salt Lake high school here until the East high school faculty was formed and he headed Its biology and botany department "You know," Mr. Garrett said, shading his head a little, "of all the .department-heads inLhe old high school, I'm the only one left and I count myself as pretty lucky to be still up here, handing out report cards." Noted as a botanist and biologist biolo-gist among men of the profession in all parts of the world, Mr. Garrett Gar-rett has discovered many heretofore hereto-fore unknown plants in Utah and is the author of a textbook used In popular botany classes at the University of Utah. Although Kansas Is his native state, he regards Utah as his home, because he has found much happiness hap-piness here in his work and associations. asso-ciations. Taught Parents, Toe 1 have a lot of boys and girls in my classes this year," he said, "whose mothers and fathers I taught and I enjoy hearing about what's happened to all my eld students." stu-dents." The classes of Mr. Garrett aren't considered "cinches" at the high school, but they are among the most popular, and almost every graduate of the school at some time or another has been the object of Mr. Garrett's famous wit As I left his classroom, the echoes of his familiar chuckle following fol-lowing me, my eyes were a little misty. He is one of the grand old men of Utah's teaching profession and I feel a little proud to be able to say I was stung by a bee from his conservatory. STILL "IN THE KNOW" ON PLANTS AND FLOWERS A. O. Garrett Pauses in His Conservatory |