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                    "Steve Godfrey examines books on a shelf Thursday at Robert Thompson\u2019s home in Columbus. For the last three months, Godfrey has been helping Thompson to give away his father\u2019s collection of more than 200 history textbooks online to Columbus residents. Braden Simmons/Dispatch Staff\t\n\t\t\tLast month, Steve Godfrey stacked a pile of history books into a box, steadied the package between the handlebars of his bike and made a half-mile ride to Coffee House On 5th.\nOnce there, he delivered the gift to a Columbus grandmother who was so happy to receive the books, which she intended to give her grandchildren to spur their interest in history, Godfrey said.\n\u201cShe was getting them for her grandkids, is what she kept saying,\u201d Godfrey told The Dispatch Thursday. \u201cShe wanted to impart something. \u2026 I\u2019m not sure exactly what but maybe an appreciation of American history at the very least.\u201d\nThat drop-off was just one of several deliveries and shipments Godfrey has made since posting the collection of his boss, Robert Thompson, on Facebook in August. Since starting to catalogue the collection in June, Godfrey said he has entirely sold or given away more than 200 history books with topics ranging from the Civil War to Medieval history.\nThe duo found the collection, which originally belonged to Thompson\u2019s father Bruce Thompson, while sifting through boxes in a storage shed earlier this summer.\nRobert said his father, from about 1930 until sometime in the 1970s, was a professor of history at Baylor University, serving several years as chair for the department.\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tSteve Godfrey holds up a copy of \u201cFrenchman, Desire, Good Children, and Other Streets of New Orleans\u201d at Robert Thompson\u2019s home in Columbus. As part of his work as Thompson\u2019s personal assistant, Godfrey catalogued and sold more than 200 history textbooks that belonged to Thompson\u2019s father, who was previously a Baylor University professor. Braden Simmons/Dispatch Staff\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\nWhile there, he built up a collection of history textbooks from companies asking him to consider their use in his courses, Robert said.\n\u201cI hadn\u2019t really been through all of it (in a long time); it\u2019s hugely academic,\u201d Robert said. \u201cMost of it, I mean, it\u2019s not just gee wiz stuff, and unless you really are into research and history at a deeper level, they probably wouldn\u2019t be books you generally read for pleasure. So those books stayed boxed up.\u201d\nAfter picking out a few books from the collection with personal ties to his father, including some books with personal inscriptions from authors, Robert said he felt compelled to give away or sell the rest to homes that would appreciate them.\n\u201cI had a few people suggest that they all go in the garbage, and I just couldn\u2019t do that,\u201d Robert said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t do that with my dad\u2019s books. \u2026 We weren\u2019t looking to make money; we were looking to move these books into useful lives for the rest of their existence.\u201d\nGodfrey said he got to work putting the books on PangoBooks, an online marketplace and app where people can buy and sell books.\nIt took him about two months, but Godfrey got every book listed on the website. After posting about the books on his personal Facebook, Godfrey said he didn\u2019t get much attention even after slicing prices from as much as $40 down to $1 a book.\nBut then Godfrey shared the post to a Columbus Facebook group and was amazed to see responses flood in, moving the remaining 170 books in less than two weeks.\n\u201c(The was) just nothing, and then just as soon as (I posted) it was like \u2018boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.\u2019 Columbus people,\u201d Godfrey said. \u201c\u2026 And they basically from Columbus/Caledonia (took) at least 150 books.\u201d\nFor Robert, who still feels relatively new to the area even after moving from New Orleans three years ago, the appreciation from locals about history and these books was a pleasant revelation.\n\u201cI think there is a sort of cultural enjoyment or appreciation of history in this town that is surprising to see that (exists) here as intensely as it does,\u201d Robert said. \u201cSo that\u2019s a good sign in my book that it\u2019s a good community for academics and learning and appreciation of history and whatever else that those books represent.\nRobert said that as he\u2019s gotten older, he\u2019s found an appreciation for local history and believes in part he gets it from his father.\nThough his father died in 2003, Robert said he plans to honor his father\u2019s memory by continuing to learn more about history and continue to thumb through the history books still on his shelves.\nHe hopes the success of his book donation effort can serve as an example for others looking to find creative ways to give away nuggets of history in the future.\n\u201cI wish more of this kind of thing would happen in this community where people have interesting collections or something to share,\u201d Robert said. \u201c\u2026 A story in a community as large as New Orleans could get lost. \u2026 But we have the luxury as a small town like this to enjoy the finer things in life, I think, and hopefully that\u2019s in this category.\u201d\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n      \n      \n        Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.\n      \n    \n\n\t\t\t\n      \n      \n        Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community."
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