SANTAQUIN, Utah - Friends, neighbors and FOX 13 viewers helped a Santaquin man get back in business after his tools were stolen.
Dale Beardall was born with a disability and spent most of his life earning money by mowing lawns around Santaquin, but several years ago, he discovered a talent for woodworking and started building benches that he sold to people in his community.
When $500 in power tools were stolen from his Santaquin garage in late January, he had a setback. But Dale's spirit wasn't lost.
"You gotta move on. It's hard but you still got to move forwards, not backwards," he said.
Sean Nielsen, Dale's friend and customer, set up a Facebook page for Dale's Benches in an effort to help replace those tools.
After Dale's story was featured on FOX 13 in February, support poured in from community members and viewers.
"The phone keeps ringing, and ringing, and ringing," Dale said. "They call me and say, 'Build me one, I'll be down to get it.'"
And in Santaquin, even those without carpentry skills have helped out. Beverly Kraut at the Old Pioneer Press, a small business on Main Street, fields Dale's calls.
"One day he said, 'I wish I could find someone to take orders so I could get some work done,'" Kraut said. "We just created a spreadsheet and take his orders, and call him if we can get ahold of him. If not we just run down and tell him."
Dale says he appreciates the support from the community.
"It just makes me feel good that people want the benches. I didn't think it'd go this good. I really didn't," he said.
For more information on Dale's Benches, visit www.facebook.com/DalesBenches.
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