Man, 90, has way to beat blues

Making money is not the object. Ward Hicken has put a little away for a rainy day. His car should last him indefinitely. He has means enough to, knock on the wood he built his house out of, be set for life.

I should also mention he is 90.

So he isn't publishing his poetry for fame or fortune or to become Utah's next poet laureate.

He's publishing it for one reason — because he thinks there might be someone out there it can touch.

"There's too much depression these days," he says by way of explanation, citing the results of a recent survey that shows that Utah ranks as the most depressed state in the country, with 14.5 percent of Utah adults reporting serious psychological distress over the past year and 10.1 percent reporting a depressive episode.

"I think this can help," he adds.

"This" is a collection of poems with the following titles: Happiness, Positive Attitude, Cheerfulness, Enthusiasm, Optimism, Gratitude, Kindness, Patience, Service, Initiative and so forth.

Here's a stanza from "Enthusiasm:"

Enthusiasm is the spark that lights the fire

That enables athletes to run faster and jump higher.

It is what makes the difference between losing and winning.

It changes expressions from frowning to grinning.

"I believe in cause and effect," says Hicken, a God-fearing man who spends five days a week in his retirement years working in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. "I think (God's) commandments aren't just commandments, they are practical principles with real benefits. They have worked for me and I've seen them work for other people.

"That's what my poems are about. Every stanza has a hopeful thought."

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Ward Hicken has been around, I discover as I sit in the front room of the comfortable home he built just off Holladay Boulevard.

He owned his own plumbing business for over 30 years and owned and managed an apartment building on the side. Before that, he was an insurance salesman, bookkeeper and auditor. And before that, he worked on farms, in road construction, in a sugar factory, a smelter and a shipyard. During World War II, he spent 2 1/2 years in the Merchant Marine, deployed from coast to coast.