NEVER TOO LATE: 85-YEAR-OLD LEARNS TO READ; CAPE MAN TAKES CLASSES, STUDIES SERIOUSLY

At the spry age of 85, Mr. B is learning to read.

Everett Barnett -- Mr. B as he prefers to be called -- lives at Beverly Health and Rehabilitation Center. Until five months ago he didn't know the alphabet or how to tell time.

Now, however, Mr. B recognizes letters. He can verbally spell his name and gets outside on time to meet the taxi that takes him to the Cape Girardeau Vocational-Technical School every Monday.

Mr. B, a Cape Girardeau native, began working to help support his family as a 4-year-old. His parents emphasized work over literacy; his father had no education and his mother had very little. Each day he went out in the woods to work with his father, then returned home to the chores his mother needed completed.

Staff members at the rehabilitation center said this routine probably gave him the strong work ethic and sense of responsibility he has applied to his goal of becoming literate.

"It ain't bad," Mr. B said about working towards his goal of learning to read and write. "I just thought maybe I could pick it up. My parents had to work and I had to, too. That's what made it bad for me."

Staff members at the center said Mr. B has done much more than just pick it up. He takes his studying seriously, said Kari Priest, a speech therapist at the center who helped evaluate Mr. B when he arrived there in March. He often spends Monday afternoons in his room doing homework he has requested from his literacy program volunteers, she said.

"As I talked to him we talked about what his life was like," Priest said. "He said he would be interested in continuing -- well, actually beginning an education. We called vo-tech, and they set him up with an adult literacy program."

Priest said Mr. B has blossomed since he learned to spell his name. He has transformed from a shy, introverted resident who stayed in his room all the time to an outgoing person who likes to attend the weekly bingo games held at the center for residents, she said.

"When he first came here, he wouldn't go to bingo because he couldn't read the word or recognize the numbers," Priest said. "Now he's going to bingo, he's more outgoing and he has his own circle of friends. This has really been great for him."

The program Mr. B attends is a part of classes provided through the Adult Basic Education program. The ABE program is among literacy efforts receiving funding from YELL, the annual fund-raiser for Youth, Education, Literacy and Learning. Money raised helps fund programs that promote literacy in the area.

Sherry Ford, who works with the ABE program, said Mr. B has shown a lot of progress since he began working with a literacy program volunteer. He is limited somewhat by the fact that he only attends class once each week, but his motivation helps him continue to make progress, she said.

"His biggest asset is his willingness and enthusiasm," said Ford. "Considering no more time than we spend with him, he's making good progress. I wish more of our students could show the enthusiasm he has shown."

Mr. B said he was sorry Labor Day caused his class to be canceled this week. Even so, he said he planned to continue "working on letters" until his next class.

"It's a benefit to me," he said with a smile. "It takes a long time, but you're never too old to learn."