                       THE BRAILLE MONITOR



                    Kenneth Jernigan, Editor
                Barbara Pierce, Associate Editor


     Published in inkprint, Braille, on talking-book disc, 
                        and cassette by 


              THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND 
                     MARC MAURER, PRESIDENT 
 


                         National Office
                       1800 Johnson Street
                   Baltimore, Maryland 21230 

                             * * * *



           Letters to the President, address changes,
        subscription requests, orders for NFB literature,
       articles for the Monitor, and letters to the Editor
             should be sent to the National Office. 

                             * * * *
 


Monitor subscriptions cost the Federation about twenty-five 
dollars per year. Members are invited, and non-members are
requested, to cover the subscription cost. Donations should be
made payable to National Federation of the Blind and sent to: 
 

                National Federation of the Blind
                       1800 Johnson Street
                   Baltimore, Maryland 21230 

                             * * * *

THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION
SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES



ISSN 0006-8829THE BRAILLE MONITOR
A PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

                            CONTENTS

                                                      APRIL, 1993

NEW EDITOR FOR THE MONITOR
by Kenneth Jernigan

CONCERNING HISTORY AND THE BRAILLE MONITOR
by Kenneth Jernigan

THE LESSONS OF 1957

WHO ARE THE BLIND WHO LEAD THE BLIND

BABY-SITTING
by Barbara Walker

CONVENTION UPDATE
by Kenneth Jernigan

CONVENTION ATTRACTIONS

RECIPES

MONITOR MINIATURES























     Copyright National Federation of the Blind, Inc., 1993[LEAD PHOTO/CAPTION: Kenneth Jernigan and Barbara Pierce stand in the
recording studio at the National Center for the Blind, where the BRAILLE
MONITOR is recorded each month. They are holding the print and Braille
editions of the magazine.]


                   NEW EDITOR FOR THE MONITOR
                       by Kenneth Jernigan

     The lead article in the December, 1988, Braille Monitor was
entitled "Barbara Pierce Joins Monitor Staff." Now, Mrs. Pierce
moves from the position of Associate Editor to that of Editor.
Some of the things I said in the 1988 article are appropriate to
repeat, so this article and that one will have a good deal of
overlap.
     The Braille Monitor has been in existence for more than
thirty-five years. It started, to be exact, in 1957. But if you
take into account the All Story Magazine (which you really have
to), the history stretches far back beyond that.
     The All Story was around when I was a boy at the Tennessee
School for the Blind, but at that time it was straight fiction.
Somewhere along the line (I'm not sure just when) Dr. Newel Perry
of California began writing a "legislative supplement." But as
sometimes happens when things compete with the Federation, the
supplement grew and the stories diminished so that by and by the
name All Story wasn't appropriate. The transition occurred in the
mid-fifties, and by 1957 the All Story was gone and the Monitor
was in place.
     In its thirty-six-year history the Monitor has had quite a
variety of geographic locations and editorial configurations. It
was edited in Wisconsin, in California, in Iowa, and in the
District of Columbia; and of course it is now edited in
Baltimore. During one period Dr. tenBroek was the editor. For a
four-month hitch in 1960 I was editor. For quite some time Mrs.
tenBroek did some of the editing and all of the layout and
management. And there have been others--Dr. Floyd Matson, who is
now a professor at the University of Hawaii; George Card, who
fell by the wayside in the internal struggles of thirty-five
years ago; and Perry Sundquist.
     At the time we moved our headquarters to Baltimore in 1978,
Don McConnell was editing the Monitor. He was located in the
Washington office and was doing an excellent job. However, he
left Federation employment just before the beginning of 1979 to
accept a business opportunity, and I filled in as editor for a
few months until we could find somebody else. That few months has
now stretched to more than fourteen years, and it is only now
that an appropriate successor has been found. Editing the Monitor
has been demanding, time-consuming, burdensome, and wonderfully
stimulating and rewarding. It has been just plain fun--with, of
course, a dollop of work and a modicum of grief thrown in.
     But, as I said in the December, 1988, issue, fun or not, we
have had so much organizational growth that something has to
give. The dynamics of the Federation make it necessary. I have
been looking for a long time (more than fourteen years, to be
precise) for a new editor--and I think there is no question that
Barbara meets the specifications. Beginning with next month's
issue, she becomes Editor, and I will revert to my former
relationship with the magazine--contributor, advisor, critic, and
whatever else President Maurer requests.
     Barbara Pierce is, of course, no stranger to Federationists
or readers of this publication. She is the president of the
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio and a long-time leader
at the national level. She has been Associate Editor of the
Monitor for more than four years, directs our national public
relations campaign, and participates prominently in National
Convention activities. She is as well versed in Federation
philosophy and principles as any of us and will, I think, do an
excellent job as Editor. I suppose I don't have to say that, for
if I hadn't believed it, I wouldn't have asked her to take the
position.
     Barbara has an office in her home in Oberlin, Ohio, and
makes frequent trips to the National Center for the Blind here in
Baltimore. This is the pattern we have established during her
time as Associate Editor, and I don't see any reason to change
it. In fact, there has been a gradual transition of
responsibilities during the past two or three years. Barbara has
assumed an ever-increasing share of the work of editing so that
the present announcement simply confirms what has already largely
happened.
     Let me be specific about some of the details of the
situation. One of the reasons for formalizing Barbara's position
as Editor is to avoid confusion. For many years I have largely
written and certainly have read every word we have published in
the Monitor. That can no longer be taken for granted. In the
future I will work with Barbara and will review some of the
articles, but many of them will first come to my attention (just
as with you) when I get the finished product. In one sense we now
begin a new phase of the Monitor's life, but in another we simply
continue what we have had from the beginning.


[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Floyd Matson, a one-time Editor of the BRAILLE
MONITOR.]

[PHOTO: Group portrait of 1971 NFB Executive Committee. CAPTION: Perry
Sundquist edited the MONITOR for a number of years. Pictured here with the
1971 Executive Committee of the National Federation of the Blind, he is
standing at the far left.]

[PHOTO: Mrs. tenBroek at microphone. CAPTION: For many years Mrs. tenBroek ran
the Federation's Berkeley office, maintained the MONITOR mailing list, and did
editing and layout work for the magazine.]

[PHOTO: Kenneth Jernigan seated at his desk. CAPTION: Kenneth Jernigan,
pictured here in his office, has edited the BRAILLE MONITOR longer than anyone
else.]

           CONCERNING HISTORY AND THE BRAILLE MONITOR
                       by Kenneth Jernigan

     If we are to deal successfully with the present and the
future, we must understand the past. This is true of nations and
organizations, and it is also true of the Braille Monitor. So let
me talk about history.
     Originally, as many of you know, the Monitor was not the
Monitor. It was the All Story Braille Magazine, and merely
carried what was called a "Legislative Supplement from the
National Federation of the Blind." For much of its existence the
All Story was published bi-monthly, and only in Braille. It was
not produced by the National Federation of the Blind but by the
American Brotherhood for the Blind.
     The earliest issue of the All Story that I have in my
possession is the one for March, 1949. Until a few years ago, the
earliest issue we had here at NFB headquarters was February-
March, 1955. Then we found one copy each of March, April, May,
June, July, August, September, and October of 1949. The title All
Story Magazine was apt and descriptive. For example, here is the
contents page from the March, 1949, issue:

Married This Morning
     by Irene Kittle Camp
     (reprinted from Good Housekeeping magazine)

The Storm
     by Laurence Critchell
     (reprinted from Collier's)

Star Boarder
     by Libbie Block
     (reprinted from McCall's)

Legislation for the Blind
     by Dr. Newel Perry

     I don't know when the American Brotherhood for the Blind
started publishing the All Story, but I remember reading it when
I was a boy at the Tennessee School for the Blind in the late
1930's. In view of the fact that the 1949 issue is Volume XVII,
Number 11, we can make a calculated guess that the first issue
was published in 1932 if we assume that every volume represents a
year. In the beginning the magazine didn't have the Federation's
legislative supplement, and I am not sure when the feature was
added.
     The February-March, 1955, issue announced a feature that
more recent readers of the Monitor may recognize. There were only
three items: "Editor's Note," "Who Are The Blind Who Lead The
Blind" (special feature), and "Legislation for the Blind" by Dr.
Newel Perry.
     In 1956, rather than carrying just a legislative supplement,
the magazine began to publish general information of interest to
the blind. With the May, 1957, issue the All Story "resumed" a
monthly publication schedule. We have no record of the
publication schedule between October, 1949, and February-March,
1955. Finding the note in the May, 1957, issue regarding the
change from bi-monthly to monthly probably explains why we have
both an April-May and a May issue for that year. Later in 1957
both the emphasis and the name of the magazine changed. The July
issue carried the following announcement:

                    All Story Gets a New Name

          Beginning with the next monthly issue, the name of
     this magazine will be changed to the Braille Monitor.
     We have been fortunate to be able to return to a
     monthly issue. This is made possible by a subvention
     from the National Federation of the Blind. The
     Federation News Section has become increasingly
     popular. Many of our readers have written to request
     that more space be devoted to this feature. Program and
     other developments concerning the blind--many of which
     are of the utmost importance to the blind men and women
     of this country--have been emerging in profusion. Even
     with the return to the monthly issue, a major fraction
     of the space of this magazine must be devoted to the
     coverage of these developments if our people are to
     continue to be informed.
          It therefore seems only appropriate that we should
     now change the name of the magazine to one that does
     not state or imply that all of the contents are
     stories. Stories will continue to be republished to the
     extent that space is available.
          According to the dictionary a "monitor" is a
     person who "advises, warns, or cautions." A Braille
     monitor is one who carries on this function for the
     blind, and this is the pledge of the editors of this
     magazine. 
                      ____________________
     That is what the July, 1957, All Story said, and the
following month the magazine carried for the first time the title
Braille Monitor. While previously the bulk of material had been
stories plus a Federation news supplement, the balance now
reversed. The newly titled magazine was primarily Federation news
and only carried stories as space permitted, which it usually
didn't. In fact, the first issue of the Monitor (August, 1957)
carried no stories at all.
     Although I was living in California in the mid-fifties and
participated in policy decisions, my memory of the exact month
when we began to publish the print edition of the magazine
understandably needed refreshing. My original research indicated
that the first print edition was produced in July of 1957.
However, it now appears that the first print edition was produced
and distributed in January of 1958. An announcement to that
effect appeared in both the Braille and print editions for that
month (although in slightly different form for each). Here is
what the print edition said:

          It has at last become possible to issue an ink-
     print edition of the Braille Monitor. The demand for
     such a publication has become overwhelming. For the
     time being, the publication of the print edition will
     be experimental. Members of the NFB who are now on the
     mailing list will automatically receive the print
     edition. Other friends of the Federation and interested
     persons may have their names placed on the mailing list
     by writing to NFB headquarters: 2652 Shasta Road,
     Berkeley 8, California.
          The costs of offsetting and mailing are high.
     These costs should be met by the readers. The normal
     way of doing this would be to charge for subscriptions.
     On the other hand, all Federation members and friends
     who do not read Braille and who can read or have read
     the ink-print edition should have an opportunity to
     gain firsthand acquaintance with Federation news. All
     readers who wish to do so should send $3 to Federation
     headquarters to help meet expenses. If not enough
     people do so, we may have to discontinue the print
     edition.
                      ____________________
     That is what we said in January, 1958--and one of the first
things that comes to mind is the change in prices between then
and now. As some of you know, there is a bound volume of the
print Monitors for July through December of 1957, but these print
copies were not done until much later. As I remember it, they
were transcribed from Braille around 1970 when we first issued
bound volumes of the print edition.
     From January of 1958 through December of 1960, the Monitor
appeared monthly in both Braille and print. During this time the
print edition was published by the Federation, but until January
of 1960 (at which time the Federation began doing it) the Braille
edition was produced by the American Brotherhood for the Blind. A
special issue of the Monitor was published in the spring of 1959.
In Braille it was called "A Supplement to the April Issue," and
in print it was called "Special Issue: May, 1959." Here is what
Dr. tenBroek said as an introduction:

          This special edition of the Monitor, devoted to a
     full account of the internal warfare which threatens to
     destroy the National Federation of the Blind, is being
     issued at Federation expense. In the past we have not
     hesitated to spend Federation funds to fight the
     external enemies of the organized blind. We should not
     now hesitate to use Federation money to preserve the
     organization against an attack from within more serious
     than any we have yet confronted.
                      ____________________
     That is what Dr. tenBroek said, and I remember those days
with particular clarity. The organization was very nearly
destroyed in the struggle to preserve it from its internal
opponents. It was a time of soul-searching--a time when each of
us had to determine precisely what kind of movement we wanted and
how we thought it should function. Because of the internal
warfare and the disruption created by the minority faction, the
Monitor was forced to cease publication at the end of 1960. It
did not appear again until the summer of 1964. Meanwhile, the
Blind American (produced by the American Brotherhood for the
Blind) started monthly publication in Braille in May of 1961. The
inaugural print edition of the Blind American brought together in
a single volume the May, June, July, and August issues, which had
been produced separately in Braille. From September of 1961
through January of 1964 the Blind American appeared monthly in
both Braille and print. It was not issued in February or March of
that year. The April, 1964, Blind American announced itself as a
quarterly but was never published again. Instead, the Braille
Monitor resumed publication on a monthly basis in both Braille
and print in August, 1964, and has been produced continuously by
the Federation ever since. With our present strength and
prospects, I don't foresee a time when the schedule will again be
interrupted or curtailed.
     I say this even though there have been occasional glitches,
some rather sizable. In late 1976 our fund-raising was in
trouble, and we were considering how to manage and where to cut.
Details were given in the February, 1977, Monitor. The first two
articles talked about the interruption of our mail campaigns, and
the third was a special letter from me to the readers of the
Braille edition. In the second article I said in part:

          I will immediately do everything that I can to
     find new sources of income and to cut expenditures.
     Cuts will not be easy, and they will not be pleasant;
     but they must be made.
          I am writing a special letter to the readers of
     the Braille edition of the Monitor to ask that as many
     as possible shift to talking book. It costs three or
     four times as much to send the magazine in Braille as
     on record. We will try to continue to make the Braille
     issue available to deaf-blind readers and to others who
     have a justifiable reason for wanting it. In the
     circumstances mere personal preference for Braille will
     not be enough.
          We will skip the April, 1977, issue of the Monitor
     entirely--all formats: Braille, print, and talking
     book. This will save money, and it will give us time to
     see what response we get. Whether we will have to begin
     publishing the Monitor on a bi-monthly or quarterly
     basis will be a matter for future determination.
                      ____________________ 
     This is what I said in February of 1977, and it explains why
we had a March-April issue that year, the first interruption of
our monthly schedule in twelve years. The response from Monitor
readers was immediate and gratifying. Contributions increased,
and in less than two years we resumed our mail campaigns.
     We continued to publish the Monitor and never strictly
enforced the limitation on Braille, but it was not a happy
situation. It was not until 1985 that we could fully return to
normal. In the February issue for that year I made the
announcement, saying in part:

          Several years ago we found it necessary to limit
     the number of Braille copies of the Monitor produced
     and circulated each month. This was done in the
     interest of economy. We are now in a position to revert
     to our former practice of providing Braille copies of
     the Monitor to those who want them....
          There are definite advantages to having the
     magazine in Braille for those who want and can use that
     medium. Moreover, we want to do all that we can to
     encourage the use and availability of Braille. This is
     why we helped establish the National Association to
     Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB).
          The production of the Monitor takes a sizable
     chunk of our resources, but it is one of the best
     expenditures we make. Most people (friend and foe
     alike) recognize the fact that the Monitor is the most
     influential publication in the affairs of the blind
     today. It informs, encourages, synthesizes, and calls
     to action.
          The Monitor is (and will continue to be) an
     indispensable element in our march to freedom. Let us
     see that it is widely distributed, read with care, and
     thoroughly discussed and understood. The words which
     appear at the beginning of the Monitor each month are
     not simply a slogan. They are a reminder and a
     reaffirmation: "The National Federation of the Blind is
     not an organization speaking for the blind--it is the
     blind speaking for themselves."
                      ____________________
     The first recorded edition of the Braille Monitor was not,
as many believe, produced in the late '60's. It was brought out
in the '50's. As has already been noted, the April-May, 1957,
issue marked a definite change in the magazine's history. One of
those changes was the inauguration of the Monitor on tape.
     From April-May, 1957, through March, 1958, I did the
reading. After I moved to Iowa to become director of the state
commission for the blind (April, 1958) the Monitor was first
recorded by the women of the Jewish Temple Sisterhood and then
(sometime during the fall of that year) by the inmates of the
state penitentiary at Fort Madison, Iowa. One of the women from
the Jewish Temple Sisterhood who did the reading was Dorothy
Kirsner, the chairman of the Iowa Commission for the Blind. The
recorded Monitor continued through December of 1960, at which
time it was stopped, as were the Braille and print editions. I
had forgotten some of the details and called them to mind only
after listening to selections from some of those early tapes.
     Everything (the recording, the duplicating, and the finished
product) was done on open reel tape. As I remember it, we did not
have duplicators but simply produced each tape from reel to reel
at standard speed. It was a slow process, but the labor pool was
sizable with a lot of surplus time. We had established a Braille
and recording project at the state prison, and the production of
the recorded Monitor was one of the results.
     As to the duplication during 1957 and early '58 when I was
still in California, there is some indication that at least part
of it was done by inmates at San Quentin. But a major portion of
it was done by one of the unsung heroes of our movement, a man
named Victor Torey. Most Federationists have never heard of
Victor Torey, but he deserves remembering. He was sighted and, to
the best of my knowledge, had no blind family members.
Nevertheless, he moved from Phoenix, Arizona, to the San
Francisco Bay Area for the sole purpose of volunteering his time
to do recording for us. Day after day, hour after hour he
duplicated open reel tapes by patching two recorders together,
and he did it without one penny of compensation. It was Victor
Torey who produced the hundreds of open reel tapes that we
distributed after the New Orleans convention in 1957.
     The first professionally recorded edition of the Braille
Monitor was produced in July of 1968. As a number of you will
remember, it was a memorial issue honoring Dr. Jacobus tenBroek--
our founder, first president, and long-time leader. Dr. tenBroek
died March 27, 1968, and the recordings entitled "Jacobus
tenBroek: The Man and the Movement" were ready in time for the
1968 national convention in Des Moines. What many Federationists
do not know is that these recordings were approaching completion
at the time of Dr. tenBroek's death and that I finished the final
portion of the work only an hour or so after I was told that he
had died.
     The early recorded issues of the Monitor were produced at
the American Printing House for the Blind on ten-inch 16-2/3 hard
discs. Three changes occurred with the December, 1970, issue.
Larry McKeever was the reader for the first time; the records
changed from ten to twelve inches in diameter; and we moved
production from the American Printing House for the Blind to a
commercial firm in Arizona.
     With the December, 1972, issue we shifted from 16-2/3 rpm to
8-1/3 but continued to use a twelve-inch hard disc. In February
of 1974 we switched to nine-inch flexible discs, still recording
at 8-1/3 rpm as we do today. With the introduction of flexible
discs, we moved back to the American Printing House for the
Blind, but we shifted to Eva-Tone the very next month and have
stayed there ever since. From March, 1974, through May, 1978, we
used eight-inch flexible discs but changed back to nine-inch
flexible discs in June of 1978.
     In January, 1987, we began issuing the Monitor on four-track
15/16 ips cassettes, but we went back to August of 1985 and put
the Monitor on cassette from that date forward. With the
February-March, 1988, issue we started recording the Monitor in
our own studios at the National Center for the Blind in
Baltimore, and Jim Shelby succeeded Larry McKeever as reader.
Ronald B. Meyer, the present reader, began in June of 1989. The
cassette issue was first duplicated by a commercial firm in
Washington, D.C., but is now produced at the American Printing
House for the Blind.
     When we started recording the Monitor in 1968, we were
producing only a little over a thousand copies. Today the number
is more than 15,000 per month. Because of the cost differential,
almost half of the Federationists who read the Monitor in
recorded form still use flexible discs, but the shift from disc
to cassette continues at an accelerating pace. The time may come
in the not-too-distant future when we move entirely from disc to
cassette--but not yet. Today (with Braille, print, disc, and
cassette editions) we are producing more than 30,000 copies of
the Monitor each month--not to mention what we distribute through
the NFB's computer bulletin board.
     A small number of Braille, disc, and print back issues are
available from January, 1971, to present--but as already noted,
only issues from August, 1985, to present are available on
cassette. While we have a few copies of older issues (that is,
prior to January, 1971), we would be glad to have more if any of
you are willing to dispose of them.
     Bound yearly volumes of the Monitor are available in print.
The first of these covers July through December of 1957 and, as
already mentioned, was transcribed from Braille. It and the
volumes from 1958 through 1974 are hardbound. The volumes from
1975 to present are softbound. As long as they last, bound copies
of the Monitor may be purchased by contacting the Materials
Center at the National Center for the Blind.
     To make research practical, we produce a Monitor index.
While the index is published only in print, the entries refer
both to Braille and print page numbers. The first volume,
covering 1957-1973, is hardbound in three parts. Years 1974,
1975, 1976, and 1977 are published in separate volumes. The index
for 1978 through 1984 is in one volume. Everything after 1975 is
softbound. Everything before that date is hardbound. We are in
the process of developing and refining a new computerized Monitor
index. There are gaps in some of the years during the 1980's, but
we hope to be up-to-date in the not-too-distant future.
     There is a final tidbit of information I want to give you.
The column titled "Monitor Miniatures" was originally called
"Here and There." From 1961 through mid-1964 (when the Monitor
was in eclipse and the Blind American was being published) the
column was called "Brothers and Others." When we resumed
publication of the Monitor in 1964, we adopted the name "Monitor
Miniatures"--and have kept it ever since.
     One more thing: The Monitor is a dynamic organism, always
changing. With this issue, for instance, we begin tone indexing
the cassette edition. We plan to tone index all future recorded
issues.
     In providing all of these details I realize that I may have
given you more information than you want, but at least you now
have in one place as much of it as I can remember. The Monitor is
our principal means of communication, both internally and
externally--and I think it is worthwhile for us to know its
history.


                       THE LESSONS OF 1957

     From the Editor: Since we are talking about history in this
issue, I thought it might be worthwhile to give you a sample of
what the Monitor was like thirty-six years ago. The April-May,
1957, issue marked a transition. It overlapped with May--and
after that, the magazine was printed on a monthly basis. Of
course, it was still called the All Story in April of 1957, but
that would change within a few months.
     During the '50's the Federation experienced tremendous
growth. When I became a national board member in 1952, our total
annual budget was around $15,000. Two years later it was ten
times that much. This was the result of our mail campaign, which
started in late 1952. With money came the ability to do intensive
organizing, and this brought new affiliates--nine in one year,
1956. It meant more communications, more plans, and more
activities. It meant the coming to vigor of a viable, determined,
competently led national organization--an organization not just
in name but in fact.
     But it also meant something else. The governmental and
private agencies doing work with the blind took alarm and became
frightened. Before this time, they had virtually had the
blindness field to themselves. Now, they saw a new force
beginning to build, and they didn't like it.
     As the blind organized and joined the Federation, the more
repressive agencies tried to stop them. They used intimidation,
scare tactics, and whatever else came to hand. Those agencies
that welcomed the new trend and wanted to have partnership were
in the minority.
     As the battle intensified, the National Federation of the
Blind decided to ask Congress to enact legislation to protect
their right to organize and have a voice in programs affecting
them. Companion bills were introduced--in the Senate by John F.
Kennedy of Massachusetts and in the House by Walter Baring of
Nevada. The agencies reacted with fury. There were congressional
hearings throughout the country, and there were inevitable
reprisals against vulnerable blind persons. The right to organize
bills were never passed, but their objectives were achieved, the
proof of which is the current size and strength of the National
Federation of the Blind.
     By the fall of 1957 the battle for the right to organize was
fully joined, but in the spring of that year we were still in the
preliminary stages. Here is how part of it was reported:

                   All Story Braille Magazine
                         April-May, 1957
                           **********
             Secretary Folsom Rebukes Agency Attack
                      On Blind Organization

     The North Carolina Federation of the Blind has recently
announced publicly its success in securing from Secretary Marion
Folsom of the federal Department of Health, Education, and
Welfare a ruling that the release of confidential information
from the files of the North Carolina Commission for the Blind was
"not proper." At the same time, Secretary Folsom stated that
special action had been taken by his department to require
specific protections to guard against misuse of confidential
information. The action taken by the federal Department of
Health, Education, and Welfare revealed that a severe rebuke had
been administered to the state agency for its improper use of its
records. Every blind person in the United States who has ever had
any relationship with a state agency serving the blind will
applaud this action of the federal department. 

The Background Facts are Briefly These:
     Early in 1956 two members of the North Carolina Federation
approached an attorney in their city to discuss with him the
possibility of becoming the legal counsel and representative of
the organization. While learning about the composition and
program of the organization, the attorney expressed particular
interest in improving the state's vending stand system.  He later
wrote a letter of inquiry about the vending stand program to the
chairman of the state Commission for the Blind, who thereupon
requested that a reply be made by Mr. H. A. (Pete) Wood, the
Commission's executive head.
     Mr. Wood called upon the attorney in his office, and after
an extended interview left with the attorney a long letter signed
by himself attacking the North Carolina Federation of the Blind.
Enclosed with the letter was a file of documents purporting to
substantiate the attack. The entire file of documents was later
given over into the hands of the two blind persons who had
originally approached the attorney. To their immense surprise
these persons, both of them former clients of the Commission,
found among the documents official summaries of the case
histories of one of them and of the wife of the other. The case
summaries appeared over the official signature of Mrs. Madeline
McCrary in her capacity as Chief of Rehabilitation Services for
the Commission, and bore a date in December, 1955. They contained
detailed information of a highly personal nature about the
individuals and their families.
     Wood's conduct was immediately reported to both the North
Carolina Federation and the National Federation of the Blind. The
disclosure was promptly protested by the individuals concerned in
letters addressed to Secretary Folsom and both senators from
North Carolina, and these were supported by letters from the
state and the national organizations. During the succeeding few
months a thorough investigation was carried on by the Federal
Office of Vocational Rehabilitation at the direction of Secretary
Folsom. The facts were thoroughly proved that Mr. Wood had used
the confidential records of the Commission to further his purpose
to discredit the state Federation of the Blind.
     In mid-October, Secretary Folsom wrote both North Carolina
senators about this use of confidential data and in both letters
stated that "its release was not proper" under either the state
or the federal regulations. Similar letters were sent to the
North Carolina Federation, to the National Federation, and to the
individuals. All of these letters stated further:
     "In order to prevent such a situation arising again, we have
requested and have received written assurance from the Commission
to the effect that no confidential information concerning
vocational rehabilitation clients will be released except with
the client's consent, other than in those situations where the
release is clearly authorized by the state agency's regulations,
without first obtaining advice from the appropriate state legal
official that the disclosure in question would be authorized
under the state's regulations, or, where compliance with a
federal regulation is in question, from this office....
     "We have directed our Regional Representative to work
further with the North Carolina Commission for the Blind to
assure that its policies concerning the protection of the
confidentiality of rehabilitation records and the procedures for
carrying out such policies will prevent a recurrence of this type
of situation."
     This rebuke administered by Secretary Folsom to Mr. Wood has
particular significance at this time.
     All of us who are working to build strong and effective
organizations of the blind devoted to enabling the blind to
achieve self-determination, self-help, and freedom from the bonds
of patronizing assistance know well that there is an element, in
some states a powerful element, among old-style agency workers
that is now determined to strike out against self-organization of
the blind, and especially to strike out against the National
Federation and its affiliated organizations. These agency people
are now making a desperate stand to stop the recent swift growth
of the National Federation of the Blind. In their eagerness to
succeed, they are using every resource that comes to hand.
     Funds that have been appropriated or donated by the public
to help the blind are now being diverted by these people to fight
the blind. Organizations that have been built up over years to
disseminate good will toward the blind are now being used by
these people to disseminate ill will toward the blind. Agencies
that have been supported by the public in the past because they
have promoted the education, economic independence, and welfare
of the blind are now being used by these people to deny to the
blind one of the first fruits of these advantages--self-
determination and self-organization.
     Obviously this use of these funds and these agencies to
fight self-organization of the blind is regrettable and should be
ended. It is regrettable because it is threatening to destroy the
future usefulness of agencies that in the past have contributed
largely to the advancement and welfare of the blind. It should be
ended because it constitutes a gross misappropriation of public
funds and public welfare services.
     The action of Secretary Folsom in rebuking the conduct of H.
A. Wood is a timely warning to these people. In this case, Wood
was found to be exercising the power inherent in his office to
discredit blind persons working for the self-organization of the
blind. Whether or not his actions violated the "confidence" of
the Commission files was not emphasized by the Secretary. The
Secretary did emphatically determine that Mr. Wood's actions in
using these files to discredit the movement of the blind toward
self-organization was clearly not consistent with his public
office, and clearly not proper.
     This ruling of the Secretary affords to each agency the
occasion to re-evaluate the part it has played in the past, and
will play in the future, in the movement toward self-organization
and self-determination of the blind. The Secretary's decision
that it is not proper for an agency to engage in actions designed
to resist self-organization of the blind is a correct decision
and a necessary decision. But more than this is needed. Each
agency should now seize this occasion to reshape its program to
assist, encourage, and provide a maximum of opportunity for the
self-organization and self-determination of the blind. The
example provided and the principles adopted by one of the
established agencies point the way: "... to apply in principle
and in programmatic implementation the proposition that this
agency is the representative of the visually handicapped, subject
to their wishes, needs, and decisions, and committed to their
struggle for full opportunity, recognition, and equal treatment,
socially and economically."

                   All Story Braille Magazine
                            May, 1957
                           **********
                Agency Attack Upon the Federation

     One of the most flagrant attacks yet made by the agencies
upon the National Federation of the Blind took place recently in
Houston, Texas. The incident also involved a brazen threat to the
livelihood of a blind vendor and an obvious effort at
intimidation of the blind men and women of Texas.
     The attack was contained in a letter by Lon Alsup, Executive
Secretary-Director of the Texas State Commission for the Blind,
addressed to the president of the Houston chapter of the Texas
Federation of the Blind. The letter was read before a Houston
chapter meeting on November 2, 1956, which was preparing to act
upon recommendations of a special committee appointed to
investigate the desirability of affiliation with the NFB. The
letter was unsolicited by the chapter and was timed to arrive
while the meeting was in progress.
     The letter warned the Houston group that "If you want to
wreck the work for the blind in this state, then you follow the
recommendations as outlined by Mr. Moody, one of our stand
operators." Thomas F. Moody, chairman of the investigating
committee, was one of five members who submitted a unanimous
recommendation for NFB affiliation, along with a strongly
favorable report on NFB activities.
     The threat to Moody--and to any others who might express
similar independence in the future--was contained in Alsup's
assertion that "I want everyone to know that if Mr. Moody does
not like the way the stand program is being operated in this
state, there are thousands of other blind people who would give
everything to have the stand which he has and would never gripe
because they have to pay a small agency fee."
     Alsup was, however, quick to cover his iron hand with a
velvet glove by declaring that "Mr. Moody is my friend" and that
"This letter is not to be construed by any blind person in this
state to mean that this agency would deny any service to any
blind person because he belongs to the National Federation for
the Blind."
     The depth of his friendliness was suggested by Alsup in a
statement which bluntly impugned the committee chairman's motives
in expressing approval of the NFB: "The only reason that he is
vitally interested is for the sole purpose of getting absolute
control of the equipment which is in his stand and not have any
supervisory assistance from this agency."
     A clear indication of what many blind people have long
suspected--that some public agencies supposedly concerned with
the welfare of the blind spend time and money warring upon the
blind and subverting their attempts at organization--was set
forth in the Alsup letter:
     "Last week in Denver, while attending the National
Rehabilitation Association meeting, the Council of Executives of
Agencies for the Blind went on record against the practices and
policies used by the National Federation, and established a
committee within its organization to supply information to any
state where there was an attempt to organize the state in behalf
of the National Federation for the Blind."
     Moreover, according to Alsup, "It was definitely proved at
this meeting that the policies used by the National Federation
for the Blind had retarded the work of the blind for at least
twenty-five years." But the Alsup letter, despite this sweeping
denunciation, failed to specify a single instance of such
negative policies, or to provide any other documentation of the
charges made.
     The familiar bogey of "outside interference," with its
suggestion of alien and sinister forces at work, was raised by
Alsup with the exclamation that "We do not need any national
organization to tell Texas how to run its program" and advising
Houston members to limit the expression of their discontent to a
committee of the state legislature: "... and again I reiterate we
do not need people from out of state coming down here and telling
us how to run our program."
     The Alsup letter throughout referred to the NFB as "the
National Federation for the Blind" and repeated in various
phraseology the declaration that "In the interest of the blind of
this state, I want every member of your organization to know that
I do not in any manner endorse the National Federation and its
policies."
     The Alsup letter constitutes a frontal attack by an agency
for the blind upon the right of the blind to organize for
purposes of self-improvement and the improvement of programs
concerning them. In view of the importance of the Alsup letter it
is set forth here in full:

                                   State Commission for the Blind
                                             Land Office Building
                                                    Austin, Texas
                          Lon Alsup, Executive Secretary-Director
                                                 October 26, 1956

Mr. W. T. Keith, Jr., President
Houston Chapter of the 
Texas Federation for the Blind
Houston, Texas

Dear Mr. Keith:
     Information has recently come to me to the effect that a
meeting is to be called by the Houston chapter of the Texas
Federation for the Blind for Friday evening, November 2nd, for
the purpose of voting on the question as to whether or not the
local chapter would affiliate with the National Federation for
the Blind.
     In the interest of the blind of this state,I want every
member of your organization to know that I do not in any manner
endorse the National Federation and its policies. Last week in
Denver, while attending the National Rehabilitation Association
meeting, the Council of Executives of Agencies for the Blind went
on record against the practices and policies used by the National
Federation, and established a committee within its organization
to supply information to any state where there was an attempt to
organize the state in behalf of the National Federation for the
Blind.
     I want everyone to know that I wholeheartedly approve of the
action taken by this national organization of executive
directors. It was definitely proved at this meeting that the
policies used by the National Federation for the Blind had
retarded the work of the blind for at least twenty-five years. We
do not need any national organization to tell Texas how to run
its program. If you want to investigate the work for the blind in
this state or have it done, then I suggest that you write to the
legislative chairman of the Interim Committee of the State
Legislature requesting them to make an investigation of the work
for the blind in this state, if in your opinion you think that
all programs are not being administered satisfactorily. This
legislative committee of the State Legislature has the authority
to act on matters of this kind, and again I reiterate, we do not
need people from out of state coming down here and telling us how
to run our program.
     If you want to wreck the work for the blind in this state,
then you follow the recommendations as outlined by Mr. Moody, one
of our stand operators. I have seen some of the letters which he
has written to the various states, and his statement says, "At
present the Houston Federation is independent of NFB. We are,
however, considering the possibility of affiliation with that
organization." Mr. Moody is my friend, but nevertheless, I do not
concur in his thinking--and the only reason that he is vitally
interested is for the sole purpose of getting absolute control of
the equipment which is in his stand, and not have any supervisory
assistance from this agency.
     Mr. Moody has a right to his opinion, but I want everyone to
know that if Mr. Moody does not like the way the stand program is
being operated in this state, there are thousands of other blind
people who would give everything to have the stand which he has
and would never gripe because they have to pay a small agency
fee.
     This letter is not to be construed by any blind person in
this state to mean that this agency would deny any service to any
blind person because he belongs to the National Federation for
the Blind. We intend to give the service that is needed to any
blind person, if he is eligible, but that does not mean that this
agency is in favor in any manner of the practices and policies of
the National Federation for the Blind, because we are not.

                                          Respectfully submitted,
                                                     S. Lon Alsup
                                     Executive Secretary-Director
                       ____________________
     That is how we reported what was happening in North Carolina
and Texas in 1957, and it was illustrative of what was occurring
all over the country. We were engaged in a war for our right to
organize and be heard, and the stakes were as high as our
independence and self-respect--and ultimately our ability to make
a living and stand on our own. It happened thirty-six years ago,
and today we live in a different world--but not totally
different. Many of the agencies now work with us, and none would
dare make such public attacks--but oppression takes many forms.
Let us consider our roots; let us be diligent in the present; and
let us prepare for the future. It couldn't happen again--or could
it?


              WHO ARE THE BLIND WHO LEAD THE BLIND

                          INTRODUCTION

     The National Federation of the Blind has become by far the
most significant force in the affairs of the blind today, and its
actions have had an impact on many other groups and programs. The
Federation's President, Marc Maurer, radiates confidence and
persuasiveness. He says, "If I can find twenty people who care
about a thing, then we can get it done. And if there are two
hundred, two thousand, or twenty thousand--well, that's even
better." The National Federation of the Blind is a civil rights
movement with all that the term implies. 
     President Maurer says, "You can't expect to obtain freedom
by having somebody else hand it to you. You have to do the job
yourself. The French could not have won the American Revolution
for us. That would merely have shifted the governing authority
from one colonial power to another. So, too, we the blind are the
only ones who can win freedom for the blind, which is both
frightening and reassuring. If we don't get out and do what we
must, there is no one to blame but ourselves. We have control of
the essential elements."
     Although there are in the United States at the present time
many organizations and agencies for the blind, there is only one
National Federation of the blind. This organization was
established in 1940 when the blind of seven states--Minnesota,
Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and
California--sent delegates to its first convention at
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Since that time progress has been
rapid and steady. The Federation is recognized by blind men and
women throughout the entire country as their primary means of
joint expression; and today--with active affiliates in every
state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico--it is the
primary voice of the nation's blind.
     To explain this spectacular growth, three questions must be
asked and answered: (1) What are the conditions in the general
environment of the blind which have impelled them to organize?
(2) What are the purpose, the belief, and the philosophy of the
National Federation of the Blind? (3) Who are its leaders, and
what are their qualifications to understand and solve the
problems of blindness? Even a brief answer to these questions is
instructive.
     When the Federation came into being in 1940, the outlook for
the blind was certainly not bright. The nation's welfare system
was so discouraging to individual initiative that those who were
forced to accept public assistance had little hope of ever
achieving self-support again, and those who sought competitive
employment in regular industry or the professions found most of
the doors barred against them. The universal good will expressed
toward the blind was not the wholesome good will of respect felt
toward equals; it was the misguided goodwill of pity felt toward
inferiors. In effect the system said to the blind, "Sit on the
sidelines of life. This game is not for you. If you have creative
talents, we are sorry, but we cannot use them." The Federation
came into being to combat these expressions of discrimination and
to promote new ways of thought concerning blindness. Although
great progress has been made toward the achievement of these
goals, much still remains to be done.
     The Federation believes that blind people are essentially
normal and that blindness in itself is not a mental or
psychological handicap. It can be reduced to the level of a mere
physical nuisance. Legal, economic, and social discrimination
based upon the false assumption that the blind are somehow
different from the sighted must be abolished, and equality of
opportunity must be made available to blind people. Because of
their personal experience with blindness, the blind themselves
are best qualified to lead the way in solving their own problems,
but the general public should be asked to participate in finding
solutions. Upon these fundamentals the National Federation of the
Blind predicates its philosophy. 
     As for the leadership of the organization, all of the
officers and members of the Board of Directors are blind, and all
give generously of their time and resources in promoting the work
of the Federation. The Board consists of seventeen elected
members, five of whom are the constitutional officers of the
organization. These members of the Board of Directors represent a
wide cross section of the blind population of the United States.
Their backgrounds are different, and their experiences vary
widely; but they are drawn together by the common bond of having
met blindness individually and successfully in their own lives
and by their united desire to see other blind people have the
opportunity to do likewise. A profile of the leadership of the
organization shows why it is so effective and demonstrates the
progress made by blind people during the past half century--for
in the story of the lives of these leaders can be found the
greatest testimonial to the soundness of the Federation's
philosophy. The cumulative record of their individual
achievements is an overwhelming proof, leading to an inescapable
conclusion.

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Jacobus tenBroek.]
[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Hazel tenBroek.]

                      DR. JACOBUS tenBROEK
           Author, Jurist, Professor, Founder of the 
                National Federation of the Blind

     The moving force in the founding of the National Federation
of the Blind (and its spiritual and intellectual father) was
Jacobus tenBroek. Born in 1911, young tenBroek (the son of a
prairie homesteader in Canada) lost the sight of one eye as the
result of a bow-and-arrow accident at the age of seven. His
remaining eyesight deteriorated until at the age of fourteen he
was totally blind. Shortly afterward he and his family traveled
to Berkeley so that he could attend the California School for the
Blind. Within three years he was an active part of the local
organization of the blind. 
     By 1934 he had joined with Dr. Newel Perry and others to
form the California Council of the Blind, which later became the
National Federation of the Blind of California. This organization
was a prototype for the nationwide federation that tenBroek would
form six years later. 
     Even a cursory glance at his professional career shows the
absurdity of the idea that blindness means incapacity. The same
year the Federation was founded (1940) Jacobus tenBroek received
his doctorate in jurisprudence from the University of California,
completed a year as Brandeis Research Fellow at Harvard Law
School, and was appointed to the faculty of the University of
Chicago Law School.
     Two years later he began his teaching career at the
University of California at Berkeley, moving steadily up through
the ranks to become full professor in 1953 and chairman of the
department of speech in 1955. In 1963 he accepted an appointment
as professor of political science.
     During this period Professor tenBroek published several
books and more than fifty articles and monographs in the fields
of welfare, government, and law--establishing a reputation as one
of the nation's foremost scholars on matters of constitutional
law. One of his books, Prejudice, War, and the Constitution, won
the Woodrow Wilson Award of the American Political Science
Association in 1955 as the best book of the year on government
and democracy. Other books are California's Dual System of Family
Law (1964), Hope Deferred: Public Welfare and the Blind (1959),
The Antislavery Origins of the Fourteenth Amendment (1951)--
revised and republished in 1965 as Equal Under Law, and The Law
of the Poor (edited in 1966).
     In the course of his academic career Professor tenBroek was
a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral
Sciences at Palo Alto and was twice the recipient of fellowships
from the Guggenheim Foundation. In 1947 he earned the degree of
S.J.D. from Harvard Law School. In addition, he was awarded
honorary degrees by two institutions of higher learning. 
     Dr. tenBroek's lifelong companion was his devoted wife
Hazel. Together they raised three children and worked inseparably
on research, writing, and academic and Federation concerns. Mrs.
tenBroek still continues as an active member of the organized
blind movement.
     In 1950 Dr. tenBroek was made a member of the California
State Board of Social Welfare by Governor Earl Warren. Later
reappointed to the board three times, he was elected its chairman
in 1960 and served in that capacity until 1963.
The brilliance of Jacobus tenBroek's career led some skeptics to
suggest that his achievements were beyond the reach of what they
called the "ordinary blind person." What tenBroek recognized in
himself was not that he was exceptional, but that he was normal--
that his blindness had nothing to do with whether he could be a
successful husband and father, do scholarly research, write a
book, make a speech, guide students engaged in social action
movements and causes, or otherwise lead a productive life.
     In any case, the skeptics' theory has been refuted by the
success of the thousands of blind men and women who have put this
philosophy of normality to work in their own lives during the
past fifty years. 
     Jacobus tenBroek died of cancer at the age of fifty-six in
1968. His successor, Kenneth Jernigan, in a memorial address,
said truly of him: "The relationship of this man to the organized
blind movement, which he brought into being in the United States
and around the world, was such that it would be equally accurate
to say that the man was the embodiment of the movement or that
the movement was the expression of the man. 
     "For tens of thousands of blind Americans over more than a
quarter of a century, he was leader, mentor, spokesman, and
philosopher. He gave to the organized blind movement the force of
his intellect and the shape of his dreams. He made it the symbol
of a cause barely imagined before his coming: the cause of self-
expression, self-direction, and self-sufficiency on the part of
blind people. Step by step, year by year, action by action, he
made that cause succeed."

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Kenneth and Mary Ellen Jernigan.]

                        KENNETH JERNIGAN
                 Teacher, Writer, Administrator

     Kenneth Jernigan has been a leader in the National
Federation of the Blind for more than thirty-five years. He was
President (with one brief interruption) from 1968 until July of
1986. Although Jernigan is no longer President of the Federation,
he continues to be one of its principal leaders. He works closely
with the President, and he continues to be loved and respected by
tens of thousands--members and non-members of the Federation,
both blind and sighted.
     Born in 1926, Kenneth Jernigan grew up on a farm in central
Tennessee. He received his elementary and secondary education at
the school for the blind in Nashville. After high school Jernigan
managed a furniture shop in Beech Grove, Tennessee, making all
furniture and operating the business. 
     In the fall of 1945 Jernigan matriculated at Tennessee
Technological University in Cookeville. Active in campus affairs
from the outset, he was soon elected to office in his class and
to important positions in other student organizations. Jernigan
graduated with honors in 1948 with a B.S. degree in social
science. In 1949 he received a master's degree in English from
Peabody College in Nashville, where he subsequently completed
additional graduate study. While at Peabody he was a staff writer
for the school newspaper, co-founder of an independent literary
magazine, and a member of the Writers Club. In 1949 he received
the Captain Charles W. Browne Award, at that time presented
annually by the American Foundation for the Blind to the nation's
outstanding blind student.
     Jernigan then spent four years as a teacher of English at
the Tennessee School for the Blind. During this period he became
active in the Tennessee Association of the Blind (now the
National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee). He was elected to
the vice presidency of the organization in 1950 and to the
presidency in 1951. In that position he planned the 1952 annual
convention of the National Federation of the Blind, which was
held in Nashville, and he has been planning national conventions
for the Federation ever since. It was in 1952 that Jernigan was
first elected to the NFB Board of Directors. 
     In 1953 he was appointed to the faculty of the California
Orientation Center for the Blind in Oakland, where he played a
major role in developing the best program of its kind then in
existence. 
     From 1958 until 1978, he served as Director of the Iowa
State Commission for the Blind. In this capacity he was
responsible for administering state programs of rehabilitation,
home teaching, home industries, an orientation and adjustment
center, and library services for the blind and physically
handicapped. The improvements made in services to the blind of
Iowa under the Jernigan administration have never before or since
been equaled anywhere in the country.
     In 1960 the Federation presented Jernigan with its Newel
Perry Award for outstanding accomplishment in services for the
blind. In 1968 Jernigan was given a Special Citation by the
President of the United States. Harold Russell, the chairman of
the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, came
to Des Moines to present the award. He said: "If a person must be
blind, it is better to be blind in Iowa than anywhere else in the
nation or in the world. This statement," the citation went on to
say, "sums up the story of the Iowa Commission for the Blind
during the Jernigan years and more pertinently of its Director,
Kenneth Jernigan. That narrative is much more than a success
story. It is the story of high aspiration magnificently
accomplished--of an impossible dream become reality."
     Jernigan has received too many honors and awards to
enumerate individually, including honorary doctorates from three
institutions of higher education. He has also been asked to serve
as a special consultant to or member of numerous boards and
advisory bodies. The most notable among these are: member of the
National Advisory Committee on Services for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped (appointed by the Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare), special consultant on Services for the
Blind (appointed by the Federal Commissioner of Rehabilitation),
advisor on museum programs for blind visitors to the Smithsonian
Institution, and special advisor to the White House Conference on
Library and Information Services (appointed by President Gerald
Ford). In July of 1990 Jernigan received an award for
distinguished service from the President of the United States.
     Kenneth Jernigan's writings and speeches on blindness are
better known and have touched more lives than those of any other
individual writing today. On July 23, 1975, he spoke before the
National Press Club in Washington, D.C., and his address was
broadcast live throughout the nation on National Public Radio.
Through the years he has appeared repeatedly on network radio and
television interview programs--including the "Today Show," the
"Tomorrow Show," and the "Larry King Show."
     In 1978 Jernigan moved to Baltimore to become Executive
Director of the American Brotherhood for the Blind and Director
of the National Center for the Blind. As President of the
National Federation of the Blind at that time, he led the
organization through the most impressive period of growth in its
history. The creation and development of the National Center for
the Blind and the expansion of the NFB into the position of being
the most influential voice and force in the affairs of the blind
stand as the culmination of Kenneth Jernigan's lifework and a
tribute to his brilliance and commitment to the blind of this
nation.
     Jernigan's dynamic wife Mary Ellen is an active member of
the Federation. Although sighted, she works with dedication in
the movement and is known and loved by thousands of
Federationists throughout the country. 
     Speaking at a convention of the National Federation of the
Blind, Jernigan said of the organization and its philosophy (and
also of his own philosophy):
     As we look ahead, the world holds more hope than gloom for
us--and, best of all, the future is in our own hands. For the
first time in history we can be our own masters and do with our
lives what we will; and the sighted (as they learn who we are and
what we are) can and will work with us as equals and partners. In
other words we are capable of full membership in society, and the
sighted are capable of accepting us as such--and, for the most
part, they want to..
     We want no Uncle Toms--no sellouts, no apologists, no
rationalizers; but we also want no militant hell-raisers or
unbudging radicals. One will hurt our cause as much as the other.
We must win true equality in society, but we must not dehumanize
ourselves in the process; and we must not forget the graces and
amenities, the compassions and courtesies which comprise
civilization itself and distinguish people from animals and life
from existence. 
     Let people call us what they will and say what they please
about our motives and our movement. There is only one way for the
blind to achieve first-class citizenship and true equality. It
must be done through collective action and concerted effort; and
that means the National Federation of the Blind. There is no
other way, and those who say otherwise are either uninformed or
unwilling to face the facts. We are the strongest force in the
affairs of the blind today, and we must also recognize the
responsibilities of power and the fact that we must build a world
that is worth living in when the war is over--and, for that
matter, while we are fighting it. In short, we must use both love
and a club, and we must have sense enough to know when to do
which--long on compassion, short on hatred; and, above all, not
using our philosophy as a cop-out for cowardice or inaction or
rationalization. We know who we are and what we must do--and we
will never go back. The public is not against us. Our
determination proclaims it; our gains confirm it; our humanity
demands it.

[PHOTO: Marc Maurer at podium. CAPTION: Marc Maurer.]
[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Patricia Maurer.]

                           MARC MAURER
                     Attorney and Executive

     Born in 1951, Marc Maurer was the second in a family of six
children. His blindness was caused by overexposure to oxygen
after his premature birth, but he and his parents were determined
that this should not prevent him from living a full and normal
life.
     He began his education at the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving
School, where he became an avid Braille reader. In the fifth
grade he returned home to Boone, Iowa, where he attended
parochial schools. During high school (having taken all the
courses in the curriculum) he simultaneously took classes at the
junior college.
     Maurer ran three different businesses before finishing high
school: a paper route, a lawn care business, and an enterprise
producing and marketing maternity garter belts designed by his
mother. This last venture was so successful that his younger
brother took over the business when Maurer left home. 
     In the summer of 1969, after graduating from high school,
Maurer enrolled as a student at the Orientation and Adjustment
Center of the Iowa Commission for the Blind and attended his
first convention of the NFB. He was delighted to discover in both
places that blind people and what they thought mattered. This was
a new phenomenon in his experience, and it changed his life.
Kenneth Jernigan was Director of the Iowa Commission for the
Blind at the time, and Maurer soon grew to admire and respect
him. When Maurer expressed an interest in overhauling a car
engine, the Commission for the Blind purchased the necessary
equipment. Maurer completed that project and actually worked for
a time as an automobile mechanic. He believes today that
mastering engine repair played an important part in changing his
attitudes about blindness.
     Maurer graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame
in 1974. As an undergraduate he took an active part in campus
life, including election to the Honor Society. Then he enrolled
at the University of Indiana School of Law, where he received his
Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1977.
     Marc Maurer was elected President of the Student Division of
the National Federation of the Blind in 1971 and re-elected in
1973 and 1975. Also in 1971 (at the age of twenty) he was elected
Vice President of the National Federation of the Blind of
Indiana. He was elected President in 1973 and re-elected in 1975.
     During law school Maurer worked summers for the office of
the Secretary of State of Indiana. After graduation he moved to
Toledo, Ohio, to accept a position as the Director of the Senior
Legal Assistance Project operated by ABLE (Advocates for Basic
Legal Equality).
     In 1978 Maurer moved to Washington, D.C., to become an
attorney with the Rates and Routes Division in the office of the
General Counsel of the Civil Aeronautics Board. Initially he
worked on rates cases but soon advanced to dealing with
international matters and then to doing research and writing
opinions on constitutional issues and Board action. He wrote
opinions for the Chairman and made appearances before the full
Board to discuss those opinions.
     In 1981 he went into private practice in Baltimore,
Maryland, where he specialized in civil litigation and property
matters. But increasingly he concentrated on representing blind
individuals and groups in the courts. He has now become one of
the most experienced and knowledgeable attorneys in the country
regarding the laws, precedents, and administrative rulings
concerning civil rights and discrimination against the blind. He
is a member of the Bar in Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, and Maryland; and
he is a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United
States.  
     Maurer has always been active in civic and political
affairs, having run for public office in Baltimore and having
been elected to the board of directors of the Tenants Association
in his apartment complex shortly after his arrival. Later he was
elected to the board of his community association when he became
a home owner. From 1984 until 1986 he served with distinction as
President of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland.
     An important companion in Maurer's activities (and a leader
in her own right) is his wife Patricia. The Maurers were married
in 1973, and they have two children--David Patrick, born March
10, 1984, and Dianna Marie, born July 12, 1987.
     At the 1985 convention in Louisville, Kentucky, Dr. Kenneth
Jernigan announced that he would not stand for re-election as
President of the National Federation of the Blind the following
year, and he recommended Marc Maurer as his successor. In Kansas
City in 1986, the convention elected Maurer by resounding
acclamation, and he has capably served as President ever since.

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Joyce and Tom Scanlan.]

                         JOYCE  SCANLAN
                   Teacher and Agency Director

     Joyce Scanlan was born in Fargo, North Dakota, in 1939. She
received her elementary and secondary education at the North
Dakota School for the Blind. Having a strong love of reading and
theater, she went on to earn a B.A. in English and history and a
master's degree in English at the University of North Dakota.
     For the next five years she taught these subjects, along
with social studies and Latin, in high schools in North Dakota
and Montana. Then glaucoma took the rest of her vision, and
Scanlan lost her self-confidence. She says, "I quickly fled from
the job because I had never known a blind teacher in a public
school, and I had had such a struggle those last few weeks in the
classroom that I was positive no blind person could ever teach
sighted children."
     She had trouble finding another job, but as she points out,
her own attitudes were as bad as those of her prospective
employers. She told a counselor who visited her in the hospital:
"I've never seen a blind person amount to anything yet, so
there's no reason to think I can."
     In 1970 the National Federation of the Blind convention was
in Minneapolis, and Scanlan attended the meeting of the NFB
Teachers Division. She says: "I met many teachers there who were
blind. In fact, I met blind people from all over the country who
were engaged in a great variety of occupations. I learned what
the NFB was all about and realized what blind people working
together could do." At that convention she also met Tom Scanlan,
whom she married four years later.
     Joyce Scanlan became active in the NFB in Minnesota. In 1971
she organized a statewide student division. In 1972 she was
elected vice president of the NFB of Minnesota and president in
1973. That same year she was appointed to a newly created
Minnesota Council on Disabilities--the only representative of a
consumer organization on the Commission. Until 1988 she served on
the advisory council to State Services for the Blind, a body
established in large measure because of the work of the NFB of
Minnesota.
     The most exciting undertaking of the NFB of Minnesota,
however, has been the establishment of its own rehabilitation
center for the adult blind, with Joyce Scanlan serving as its
executive director. BLIND, Inc. (Blindness: Learning In New
Dimensions) admitted its first class, consisting of two students,
in January of 1988. This center is establishing a new standard
for rehabilitation services in the Midwest. It is easy to
understand why the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota
enjoys both respect and prestige. It is also easy to understand
why Joyce Scanlan is regarded as able, tough, and determined.
     Scanlan was elected to the NFB Board of Directors in 1974
and has continued to serve in that capacity ever since. In 1988
she was elected Secretary of the organization, and in 1992 she
was elected First Vice President. She says: "The Federation has
made a great difference in my life. I still try to spend time
attending the theater and reading, but I want to give as much
time as possible to working in the NFB. I wish I had known about
it before 1970. I want to be sure every blind person I ever meet
hears all about the Federation. If I have any skill as a teacher,
I'll use it to benefit the Federation."

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Peggy Pinder.]

                          PEGGY PINDER
       Attorney, Political Activist, and Community Leader

     Born in 1953 and raised in Grinnell, Iowa, Peggy Pinder
attended regular schools until the middle of the ninth grade.
When her eye condition was diagnosed as irreversible decline into
total blindness, her father cried for the first and only time in
her life--at least, as far as she knows.
     Pinder then spent what she characterizes as two and a half
unhappy years at the Iowa school for the blind. Academically she
learned nothing that she had not already been taught in public
schools. The students were discouraged from learning to use the
white cane and were never allowed off campus unless they were
accompanied by a sighted person. But most soul-destroying of all,
the students were discouraged from aspiring to success or from
setting themselves challenging goals. Pinder resisted the
stifling atmosphere and drew down upon herself the wrath of the
school administration, which refused to permit her to complete
high school there, forcing her to go back to public school. 
     Knowing that she was not prepared to make this transition,
she and her parents sought help from Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, then
Director of the Iowa Commission for the Blind. Pinder enrolled at
the Orientation and Adjustment Center, where she mastered the
skills of blindness and explored for the first time the healthy
and positive philosophy of blindness that has subsequently
directed her life. 
     Pinder went on to Iowa's Cornell College, where she achieved
an excellent academic record and edited the Cornellian, the
school newspaper. She then completed law school at Yale
University, receiving her J.D. degree in 1979.
     After graduation from law school, Pinder passed the Iowa Bar
in January, 1980. She then began a difficult job search. Although
her academic standing at Yale was better than that of most of her
classmates, she did not receive a single job offer as a result of
the intensive interviewing she had done during her final year of
law school. Virtually all Yale-trained attorneys leave the
university with offers in hand. The inference was inescapable:
employers were discriminating against Pinder because of her
blindness. She eventually was hired as Assistant County Attorney
for Woodbury County in Sioux City, Iowa, where she prosecuted
defendants on behalf of the people.
     Pinder's lifetime interest in helping to improve the world
around her has been expressed in politics as well as in
Federation activity. In 1976 she was a delegate to the Republican
National Convention in Kansas City.  During the Convention she
appeared on national television and in a national news magazine,
taking the occasion to acquaint the public with the philosophy of
the National Federation of the Blind and the real needs of blind
people. At the end of the convention, she was chosen to second
the nomination of Senator Robert Dole to be the candidate of the
Republican Party for the Vice Presidency of the United States. 
     In 1986 she completed a campaign for the Iowa State Senate
in District 27 (East-Central Iowa) on the Republican ticket. She
won the Primary and campaigned hard in a district eighty by
thirty miles in size and containing about 60,000 residents, a
distinct minority of whom are Republican. From April through
November she made hundreds of public appearances and managed an
efficient campaign. Like many candidates, Pinder was not elected
in her first bid for public office, but she made a very strong
showing and is often asked when she will run again. Her interest
in participating in her community has continued through her
service on the Grinnell City Council and in other community
organizations. 
     Pinder's work in the National Federation of the Blind has
been as impressive as her professional career. She held office in
the NFB Student Divisions in Iowa and Connecticut, and then
served as President of the national Student Division from 1977 to
1979. In 1981 she was elected President of the National
Federation of the Blind of Iowa, an office which she continues to
hold. Pinder was first elected to serve on the NFB Board of
Directors in 1977, and in 1984 she was elected Second Vice
President. 
     For the past several years Pinder, a 1976 winner herself,
has chaired the Scholarship Committee of the National Federation
of the Blind. Every year approximately twenty-five scholarships,
ranging in value from $1,800 to $10,000, are presented to the
best blind college students in the nation. 

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Ramona Walhof.]

                          RAMONA WALHOF
          Business Woman and Public Relations Executive

     Born in 1944, Ramona Willoughby Walhof was the second in a
family of three blind children, but the word "blind" was never
used when they were small, especially by the ophthalmologists.
Nevertheless, even the large print books ordered for the children
by the schools did not make reading possible. In the competitive
world of the classroom the truth could not be avoided--they were
blind. So they were packed up and taken more than two hundred
miles away from home to enroll in the Iowa Braille and Sight
Saving School. Walhof remembers that her parents found facing
this alternative easier than struggling with a public school
system that could not find a way to teach three bright youngsters
who could not see print. A school for the blind was better than a
school that didn't educate.
     Walhof remembers learning to lie about what she could see.
She didn't think of it as telling falsehoods, but she says, "It
made adults happy when they thought I could see things, and at
school (even though it was supposedly a school for the blind) one
had privileges and responsibilities to the same degree one had
usable eyesight." 
     During the summer following second grade Walhof commandeered
her brother's Braille slate and stylus and taught herself to
write Braille because the school considered her too young to
learn it. She was taught to read using Braille, but she
understood from the beginning that reading print (if only she
could have managed to decipher it) was better. 
     In 1962 Ramona Willoughby graduated from high school,
valedictorian of her class, but she says "with an extremely
limited education and very little experience." Between high
school and college, she took a short course of training at the
Iowa Commission for the Blind Orientation and Adjustment Center.
It was then that she met Kenneth Jernigan, the Commission's
Director. She refused to learn much about the NFB although she
now says, "The Federation had already begun to have a profound
influence on my life." She found college difficult, she says, 
because her academic background was so weak. Nevertheless, Walhof
graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in 1967
with a degree in Russian language. 
     In 1968 Ramona Willoughby married Chuck Walhof of Boise,
Idaho. During the next several years she was busy. She and her
husband had two children, and she taught two sessions of
Headstart and one course in college Russian. She also managed two
vending facilities. After the death of her husband in 1972 she
returned to Des Moines, Iowa, first as a teacher and then as an
assistant director at the Orientation and Adjustment Center of
the Iowa Commission for the Blind. 
     In 1979 Walhof moved to Baltimore, Maryland, to take a
position at the National Center for the Blind as the Assistant
Director of the Job Opportunities for the Blind Program, operated
jointly by the NFB and the U.S. Department of Labor. 
     In 1982 she returned to Idaho to assume the position of
Director of the state Commission for the Blind. Her reputation
for innovative approaches and dynamic forthrightness soon reached
far beyond the borders of Idaho. In 1984 the blind of the state
recognized her achievements by giving her an award in public
ceremonies.
     Later that year she left government employment to go into
private business. Today she operates extensive multi-state public
relations and community outreach programs for the blind and other
groups.
     Ramona Walhof has written widely on topics relating to
blindness, including the following books: Beginning Braille for
Adults, (a teaching manual); Questions Kids Ask about Blindness;
A Handbook for Senior Citizens: Rights, Resources, and
Responsibilities; and Technical Assistance Guide for Employers. 
     In 1988 Walhof became president of the National Federation
of the Blind of Idaho and was also elected to membership on the
Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind. In
1992 she was elected Secretary of the National Federation of the
Blind.

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Allen Harris.]

                          ALLEN HARRIS
                   Teacher and Wrestling Coach

     Allen Harris of Dearborn, Michigan, was elected to the Board
of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind in 1981. In
1985 he became Secretary, and in 1988 he was elected Treasurer.
He says, "I take some satisfaction in many of the things I have
accomplished in my life, but nothing has given me more pleasure
and reward than my work in the Federation."
     Harris may well take satisfaction in his accomplishments.
Blind since birth in 1945, he completed high school at the
Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing. He says of this period,
"The two most valuable things I learned in high school were
wrestling and typing. Although I could have used some other
things, these two skills have served me well ever since." Allen
Harris was a championship wrestler throughout high school and
college. He was also a champion debater at Wayne State University
and graduated magna cum laude in 1967.
     Harris then began looking for a teaching position and
enrolled in graduate school. At that time high school teachers
were much in demand. He sent out 167 applications and went to 96
interviews without receiving a single job offer. After a year of
futile search Harris was depressed, and his friends were
outraged. One friend went to a meeting of the school board of the
Dearborn Public School System. She spoke openly about the blind
applicant for a teaching position who was so well qualified, yet
was being ignored by scores of school districts.
     The tactic worked. Officials of the school district said
that they were unaware of Harris's candidacy although he had
submitted an application. He was called for an interview and
hired to teach social studies. In addition to a full-time
teaching schedule, he coached high school wrestling, as well as
swimming and wrestling for boys from age five to fourteen. He has
coached at least six high school wrestling teams that have won
league championships and one high school state championship team.
His age group swimming teams have won five state conference
championships, and his age group wrestling teams have won six.
Harris also worked for several years in the administration of the
age group program, and the Dearborn teams continued to excel.
     In 1982 Allen Harris became a social studies teacher at
Edsel Ford High School in Dearborn. He became head of the social
studies department in 1984. Because of limited time, he gave up
the head coaching job and now works only with ninth graders, who
have not lost since he has been their coach. In 1985 Harris was
selected by the National Council of Social Studies as one of two
outstanding teachers of social studies in the state of Michigan.
     Harris says that he was aware of some Federation materials
at the time he was looking for his first teaching position and
that he found them helpful, but his real knowledge of and
involvement in the Federation began in 1969 when an organizing
team came to his door to pay a visit. They told him there was to
be a state convention of the Federation that weekend in Lansing
and that he should go. He did, and he was elected secretary of
the NFB of Michigan. He served as president of the Detroit
chapter of the NFB from 1970 to 1975 and has been the president
of the NFB of Michigan since 1976.
     During the years of Allen Harris's presidency, services to
the blind in Michigan have been consolidated into a single and
separate commission for the blind, a major victory indeed. In
1983 Harris was appointed by the governor to the board of the
Michigan Commission for the Blind, and he was reappointed in 1985
and 1988. In 1992 Harris received the prestigious Blind Educator
of the Year Award from the National Federation of the Blind.

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Steve and Peg Benson.]

                       STEPHEN O. BENSON 
      Teacher, Rehabilitation Specialist, and Administrator

     President of the National Federation of the Blind of
Illinois, Stephen O. Benson was born in Kewanee, Illinois, in
1941. Blind from birth, he attended the Chicago Public Schools,
using large print books through the first four grades. He was not
excited about attending Braille classes the next year, but he did
so and for the first time in his life learned to read well. He
also began to learn the other skills of blindness, which he found
more efficient than using sight. In high school Benson was barred
from taking physical education although he would have liked to do
so. He found this prohibition disturbing and nonsensical since he
was permitted to take the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC)
course, swimming in the same pool that the physical education
classes used. In fact, in Boy Scouts he was able to earn his
swimming merit badge and took life saving. Benson found ROTC a
positive experience and enjoyed scouting, but he never could
understand why regular physical education classes were off
limits. 
     In 1965 Benson graduated from De Paul University with a
major in English and a minor in education. Before he decided to
specialize in English, he had intended to major in psychology.
The state rehabilitation agency for the blind threatened to cut
off financial assistance to him because of his change in plans.
According to the experts, blind people could not teach in public
schools, and as a result, the rehabilitation officials refused to
finance such an absurd major. Benson remembers that his attitude
at the time was "I dare you to try to stop me!"--and the
government agency backed down. 
     After graduation he prepared himself for the usually
difficult task of job-hunting. Surprisingly, he found employment
rather quickly as a tenth-grade teacher of honors English at
Gordon Technical High School in Chicago. But teaching was not
satisfying to Benson. In 1968 he sold insurance while looking for
another job. He took one in 1969 with the Veterans Administration
Hospital in Hines, Illinois, teaching Braille and techniques of
daily living. His title was Rehabilitation Specialist. He
continued to work at Hines Blind Rehabilitation Center, Veterans
Administration Hospital, until 1983. In 1984 he became assistant
director of the Guild for the Blind in Chicago. Today he serves
in the press office of the Chicago Public Library.
     Benson married Margaret (Peggy) Gull in 1984. They have one
child, Patrick Owen, born in 1985.
     Benson first joined the National Federation of the Blind in
1968 when a new affiliate was being formed in Illinois. He was
immediately elected to the state board of directors. From 1974 to
1978 he served as President of the Chicago chapter, after which
he became President of the NFB of Illinois, a post which he has
held ever since. He was first elected to the Board of Directors
of the National Federation of the Blind in 1982.
     Benson has received many honors and appointments. In 1963
and '64 he was president of Lambda Tau Lambda fraternity. From
1976 to 1981 he served on the governing board of the State
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation in Illinois. He has served
on the Advisory Board of the Illinois State Library for the Blind
and Physically Handicapped and on the Advisory Board to the
Attorney General's Advocacy for the Handicapped Division.
     "Although I have had good blindness skills for many years,"
Benson says, "my involvement in the NFB has imbued me with
confidence and perspective on life and blindness that have
focused my activities and energized my efforts on my own behalf
as well as for other blind people."

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Charles Brown.]
[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Jacqueline Brown.]

                        CHARLES S. BROWN
                  Attorney and Federal Official

     With a bachelor's degree from Harvard and a law degree from
Northwestern, Charles Brown should have found the job market both
exciting and receptive in 1970, a year of expanded economy and
bright prospects, but this was not the case. Even though he had
impressive credentials and good grades, his job search was
difficult. He was blind. It was not the first time he had
observed adverse and extraordinary treatment of the blind, but it
was the first time he had personally faced such serious
discrimination. It took him an entire year and more than a
hundred interviews before he found a job.
     In 1971 Brown became a staff attorney for the U.S.
Department of Labor, and he received regular promotions as long
as he was there. In April of 1991 he left his position of Counsel
for Special Legal Services in the Office of the Solicitor at the
Department of Labor to become Assistant General Counsel at the
National Science Foundation. The Department of Labor presented
Brown with achievement awards five times--in 1979, 1985, twice in
1986, and 1987. In 1982 he was presented with the Distinguished
Career Service Award, one of the Department of Labor's highest
honors--often presented at the time of retirement. But Attorney
Brown was chosen for this honor after only eleven years of
service. 
     Born blind in 1944 with congenital cataracts, Charlie Brown
entered a family that expected success from its members, and he
met the expectation. He attended Perkins School for the Blind
until the eighth grade. Brown then attended Wellesley Senior High
School in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and graduated in 1963, going
immediately on to Harvard. When he applied to Northwestern Law
School, questions were raised about blindness. He answered them
satisfactorily and believes he was one of the first blind law
students ever to study there. 
     During summer jobs in 1966, 1967, and 1968 at agencies
serving the blind in Chicago, Brown learned firsthand of the
abuses of the sheltered workshop system for the blind in this
country. It was also at that time that he met Dr. Kenneth
Jernigan and made his initial contact with the National
Federation of the Blind. Jernigan was speaking at a national
conference which, among other things, was considering ways of
improving methods of instruction and increasing the availability
of Braille. After the meeting Brown talked with Jernigan and
began to subscribe to the Braille Monitor, the Federation's
magazine. It was not until 1973, however, when Brown received a
personal invitation from a chapter member in Northern Virginia,
that he went to a Federation meeting. 
     Through a chapter in Northern Virginia Brown officially
joined the Federation in 1974 and later that year was elected to
office. In 1978 he became president of the National Federation of
the Blind of Virginia and has been re-elected to that position
for successive two-year terms ever since. He was first elected to
the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind in
1984.
     Brown has always taken an active part in the life of the
United Church of Christ. He teaches Sunday school and serves
energetically on committees at the Rock Spring Congregational
Church and has served generously at the Church's national level.
In 1979 he was elected a corporate member of the United Church
Board of Homeland Ministries (the body that oversees the missions
work of the United Church of Christ). Within two years he was
named Chairman of the prestigious Policy and Planning Committee
and a member of the Executive Committee, both positions that he
filled with distinction for four years. 
     Brown met his wife Jacqueline during law school, and the
couple now has two sons, Richard (born in 1974) and Stephen (born
in 1978). 
     Brown says: "I used to believe that one had to overcome
blindness in order to be successful, but I have come to realize
that it is respectable to be blind. Our challenge as
Federationists is to persuade society of this truth."

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Donald and Betty Capps.]

                         DONALD C. CAPPS
              Insurance Executive and Civic Leader

     Few more compelling examples of personal independence and
social contribution can be found among either sighted or blind
Americans than Donald C. Capps of Columbia, South Carolina. Since
the inception of the National Federation of the Blind of South
Carolina in 1956, he has served eleven two-year terms as
president and presently holds that office. Capps was elected to
the second vice presidency of the National Federation of the
Blind in 1959 and served in that capacity until 1968. In that
year he was elected First Vice President and served with
distinction in that position until 1984 when, for health reasons,
he asked that his name not be placed in nomination. In 1985 Capps
(restored in health) was again enthusiastically and unanimously
elected to membership on the Board of Directors of the National
Federation of the Blind, a position which he still holds. 
     Born in 1928, Capps was educated at the South Carolina
School for the Blind and later in public schools. Following his
graduation from high school he enrolled in Draughon's Business
College in Columbia and, upon receiving his diploma, joined the
Colonial Life and Accident Insurance Company of Columbia as a
claims examiner trainee. By the time of his retirement, he had
risen to the position of Staff Manager of the Claims Department.
     Capps first became interested in the organized blind
movement in 1953 and by the following year had been elected
president of the Columbia Chapter of the Aurora Club of the Blind
(now the NFB of South Carolina), which he headed for two years
before assuming the presidency of the state organization. Under
Capps's energetic leadership the NFB of South Carolina has
successfully backed twenty-six pieces of legislation concerning
the blind in the state, including establishment of a separate
agency serving the blind. Capps edits the Palmetto Blind, the
quarterly publication of the NFB of South Carolina, articles from
which are frequently reprinted in national journals for the
blind. In 1960 Capps directed a campaign which led to
construction of the National Federation of the Blind of South
Carolina's $250,000 education and recreation center, which was
expanded in 1970, and again in 1978. He now serves as a member of
its Board of Trustees. In this role he has been instrumental in
establishing full-time daily operation of the Federation Center.
In addition, Capps has served for more than thirty years as the
successful fund-raising chairman of the Columbia Chapter. In 1963
Capps was appointed to the Governor's Committee on the Employment
of the Physically Handicapped.
     In December, 1972, the Colonial Life and Accident Insurance
Company presented Capps with an award for "twenty-five years of
efficient, faithful, and loyal service" in his managerial
capacity. In 1984 Don Capps retired from the Colonial Life and
Accident Insurance Company after thirty-eight years of service. 
     In 1965 Donald Capps was honored as Handicapped Man of the
Year, both by his city of Columbia and by his state. In 1967 he
was appointed to the Governor's Statewide Planning Committee on
Rehabilitation Needs of the Disabled. Capps was elected president
of the Rotary Club of Forest Acres of Columbia in 1974. In 1977
he was elected Vice Chairman of the South Carolina Commission for
the Blind Consumer Advisory Committee. Also in 1977, at the
annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind, Don
Capps received the highest honor that can be bestowed by the
organized blind movement, the Jacobus tenBroek Award. 
     Honor and recognition continue to come to Donald Capps. In
1981 he was appointed by the Governor of South Carolina to
membership on the Board of Commissioners of the South Carolina
School for the Blind, a body on which he now serves as Vice
Chairman. In September, 1988, Donald Capps was a member of the
NFB delegation to the Second General Assembly of the World Blind
Union, held in Madrid, Spain. In October of 1992 Capps was a
member of the NFB delegation to the Third General Assembly of the
World Blind Union, held in Cairo, Egypt.
     Betty Capps has been an active Federationist as long as her
husband has. The Cappses have two grown children, Craig and Beth,
and three grandchildren. Although Donald Capps has retired from
business, he continues to be as active and effective as ever in
the Federation, exemplifying leadership and confidence. His
ongoing dedication to the National Federation of the Blind
provides inspiration and encouragement to his many colleagues and
friends within and outside the Federation. 

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Glenn and Norma Crosby.]

                          GLENN CROSBY
                Businessman and Community Leader

     The President of the National Federation of the Blind of
Texas is Glenn Crosby of Houston. He was first elected to that
position in 1968 and served until 1970. He was again elected in
1978. Crosby is a successful restaurant owner and manager, having
opened his first snack bar in 1968. During the past twenty years
he has owned food service businesses at five separate locations,
usually two or three at a time. He has served on the school board
of All Saints Elementary Catholic School, been a director of the
Houston Heights Little League, and been active in several city
and county political campaigns. 
     On April 15, 1989, Glenn Crosby and Norma Beathard were
married. Norma is the capable President of the National
Federation of the Blind of Houston. 
     Born in 1945, Glenn Crosby was blinded at the age of three
by an accident. He was educated at the Texas School for the
Blind. He says that there were so many restrictive rules at that
school that the students learned to defy them. "It was the only
way to survive," he says. "We learned (for better or worse) to
take risks when we were still young." 
     The only dating permitted was expeditions to school socials.
Students could leave the campus only in groups and only on
Saturday afternoons twice a month unless they had specific
parental permission for additional trips. Crosby graduated in
1963. The preceding year half the senior class was not graduated
because they had left campus a few days before the ceremony for a
celebration. The message to the Class of '63 was perhaps not what
school officials had intended. The students did not forego their
party; they merely took pains to insure that they were not
caught. Crosby's assessment of the school's curriculum is that
the classes were not bad but that the courses that would have
allowed admission to the best colleges and universities were not
available. He earned state championships in wrestling and was
offered the opportunity to compete for the Olympics in 1964.
Crosby believes that blindness was the reason he was not offered
a wrestling scholarship at a prestigious school. 
     Poor as his education was, Crosby is grateful that he was
among the relative handful of blind Texans who were educated at
all at the time. Many blind youngsters were sent to the school
for the blind as teenagers to learn a trade if they could, and
most of these people are now employed in the state's thirteen
sheltered workshops, frequently earning painfully low wages. It
is not hard to understand why Glenn Crosby devotes a large part
of his time and energy to the National Federation of the Blind--
the consumer organization working to improve the lives and
prospects of blind people.
     Crosby's first job was with the Poverty Program. The only
blind people he knew who earned a decent living worked in food
service under the Randolph-Sheppard program. His parents had been
in business and had done some fast food service. Crosby did not
want a business run by the state commission for the blind. He
believed that he had had enough experience with state bureaucracy
at the School for the Blind. Besides, he had learned to take
risks young. Crosby does not doubt today that he made the right
decision.
     "If I had not seen it for myself, it would be hard for me to
believe that the blind have made as much progress as we have
since I have been a part of the Federation--a little more than
twenty years. There are still thousands of blind people in Texas
(and I am sure even more throughout the country) who have never
had much of an education or much constructive help. The quality
of their lives is poor. One day at a time I try to do my part to
help improve the quality of life for all of us who are blind."

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Priscilla and Jack Ferris.]

                        PRISCILLA FERRIS
              Homemaker, Girl Scout Administrator,
                     and Community Volunteer

     In 1938 Priscilla Pacheco Ferris was born in Dighton,
Massachusetts. From the time she was a small child, she knew she
had weak eyesight, but she and her family did not know that the
condition, retinitis pigmentosa, would deteriorate into total
blindness. During her early school years Ferris used print, but
three years later, when her brother (who had the same eye
condition) entered school, the staff refused to teach two blind
children. So the Pacheco youngsters enrolled in the Perkins
School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts.
     When Ferris entered Perkins, she was beginning the fourth
grade, and  she was expected to learn Braille immediately even
though she could still read large print. She remembers that it
took her about a month. She didn't feel put upon; it was simply a
challenge. Today she recalls this when she must deal with debates
about whether a blind child should read Braille or print. "Teach
both," Ferris says unequivocally. "Low-vision children were not
too stupid to learn both when I was a kid, and things haven't
changed that much since." 
     After high school graduation in 1956, Priscilla Pacheco
worked in a curtain factory for a year. She would have liked to
go to college but did not have the money. Then she worked for
five years in a cookie factory, doing whatever needed to be done,
including assembly line work, packaging, and packing. She married
Jack Ferris in 1961, and in 1963 she resigned to begin a family.
The Ferrises now have two grown daughters.
     In 1977, Priscilla Ferris finally had an opportunity to
attend business school, where she earned a degree and graduated
with distinction. Then she found a job as secretary for the Fall
River Public Schools. By the time funding cuts eliminated her
position, she was too busy with community activities and work for
the Federation to look for another job. 
     Ferris led her first Girl Scout troop while working at the
cookie factory in the 1950's. From that time until her own
daughters were in Scouts she led troops from time to time. In
1974 she began fourteen years as town administrator for the Girl
Scouts in Somerset, Massachusetts, a job in which she was
responsible for the entire scouting program for the city. She
quips that, not only can she light a fire in the rain, raise a
tent in a storm, and dig a latrine almost anywhere, but she can
teach anyone else to. In 1986 she was elected to the Board of
Directors of the Girl Scout Council of Plymouth Bay, and she has
recently been elected to another three-year term. Ferris's
contribution to scouting was recognized by the Council when it
presented her with an award as the Outstanding Adult in 1986.
     Ferris first heard of the National Federation of the Blind
when a new chapter was formed in her area in 1961. She was mildly
interested, but she did not join the Federation until 1974,
shortly before losing the remainder of her eyesight. In 1976
Ferris was elected president of the Greater Fall River Chapter of
the NFB of Massachusetts. She has been re-elected president every
year from that time until the present.
     In 1977, Ferris was elected second vice president of the NFB
of Massachusetts and in 1981 first vice president. In 1985, she
was elected President of the National Federation of the Blind of
Massachusetts, and she has been re-elected for succeeding
two-year terms ever since. She was elected to the Board of
Directors of the National Federation of the Blind in July of
1987.

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Sam and Vanessa Gleese.]

                           SAM GLEESE
                Businessman and Ordained Minister

     In 1947 Vicksburg, Mississippi, was not an ideal place for a
black child to be born with congenital cataracts. For years no
one even noticed that little Sam Gleese had difficulty seeing,
least of all Sam himself. He simply assumed that everyone else
saw things with the hazy imprecision that he did. 
     One day, when he was in the second grade, the teacher in the
segregated school he attended sent a note home, asking his mother
to come to school for a conference. To the Gleese family's
astonishment she told them that he had significant difficulty
seeing to read and do board work. By the fourth grade the bouts
of surgery had begun. Glasses (which Sam hated and forgot to wear
most of the time) were prescribed. But none of this effort
enabled young Sam to glimpse much of what his friends could see.
Then, in 1962 when he was fifteen, Sam underwent surgery that
gave him enough vision to show him by comparison just how little
he had seen until that time. 
     He graduated from high school in 1966 and enrolled that fall
at Jackson State College, where he majored in business
administration. Looking back, Sam is sure that he was legally
blind throughout these years, but he never considered that he
might have anything in common with the blind students he saw on
campus. His struggle was always to see, and that made him
sighted. Occasionally he was forced to deal with his difficulty
in reading, particularly when a fellow student or teacher pointed
out what he seemed to be missing, but for the most part he denied
his situation and resented those who tried to make him face his
problem. 
     After graduation in 1970, Sam joined a management training
program conducted by K-Mart. Everyone agreed that he was
excellent on the floor and dealing with employees, but, though he
did not realize it, he was extremely unreliable in doing
paperwork. He consistently put information on the wrong line. His
supervisor confronted him with the problem and told him he had
vision trouble. Sam hotly denied it, but within the year he was
out of the program. 
     During the following years Gleese applied repeatedly for
jobs that would use his business training. When he supplied
information about his medical history and his vision, would-be
employers lost interest. Finally in late 1972 he got a job as
assistant night stock clerk with a grocery chain. He had a wife
to support--he and Vanessa Smith had married in August of 1970--
and he needed whatever job he could find. Gradually he worked his
way up to assistant frozen food manager in the chain, though it
wasn't easy. 
     Then in 1979 his retinas detached, and within a few weeks
late in the year he had become almost totally blind. For a month
or two he was profoundly depressed. His wife, however, refused to
give up on him or his situation. Gradually Gleese began to
realize that she was right. He could still provide for his family
and find meaningful work to do. He just had to master the
alternative methods used by blind people. Early in 1980 he
enrolled in an adult training center in Jackson, where he learned
Braille, cane travel, and daily living skills. He is still
remembered in the program for the speed with which he completed
his training. By the following summer he was working as a
volunteer counselor at the center, and in the fall, with the help
of the state vocational rehabilitation agency, he and his wife
Vanessa were working in their own tax preparation business. 
     It was difficult, however, to maintain a sufficient income
year round, and the Gleeses had a daughter Nicole, born in 1976,
to think about. In 1983 Sam decided to try taking a job making
mops in the area sheltered workshop for the blind. He worked
there for two years until a staff member pointed out that he
could do better for himself in the state's Randolph-Sheppard
Vending Program, which had finally been opened to African
Americans in 1980-81.
     In January of 1985 Sam Gleese was assigned the worst vending
stand in the state of Mississippi. Because of his degree in
business administration, his phenomenal record in personal
rehabilitation, and his work history in the grocery business,
officials decided that he needed no training but could learn the
program in his own location. He spent two years in that facility,
mastering the business and improving his techniques. Then he
moved to a better location for a further two years. He now
operates a small lunch and snack facility in the federal building
in Jackson, Mississippi, while he waits for a better location to
come along. In 1992 he bid on an excellent facility and appealed
the decision which awarded it to another vendor. Though the
appeal decision which eventually came down did not help him
directly, it did correct unfair practices that had plagued many
vendors in Mississippi for years. 
     Gleese has always been active in the Missionary Baptist
Church. From 1973 to 1990 he taught the adult Sunday school class
in his own church, and in 1980 he became a Deacon. In the fall of
1991 Gleese began attending night classes at Mississippi Baptist
Seminary part-time, and he expects to graduate in 1994. He was
ordained to the ministry in November of 1992 and now teaches the
church's new members and heads its scouting program. 
     Sam Gleese first heard about the National Federation of the
Blind in the early 1980's and attended his first national
convention in 1983. He reports that from that moment on he has
been a committed Federationist. Vanessa has worked steadily
beside him through the years as he has struggled to improve the
lives of Mississippi's blind citizens. He became president of one
of the state's three chapters in 1985, and the following year he
was elected for a two-year term as state president. In 1990 he
was returned to the affiliate's presidency, where he continues to
serve. But now under his leadership, there are seven chapters and
another soon to be organized. 
     In 1992 Gleese was elected to the Board of Directors of the
National Federation of the Blind. He has dedicated his life to
educating the public, blind and sighted alike, about the
abilities of blind people. According to him, too many people in
Mississippi believe, as he did for so many years, that blind
people can do nothing and belong in rocking chairs and back
rooms. Sam Gleese is making a difference everywhere he puts his
hand.

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Frank Lee.]
[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Frankie Lee.]

                            FRANK LEE
                            Minister

     In Huntsville, Alabama, the pastor of Lakeside United
Methodist Church is the Reverend Frank Lee. Lakeside claims one
of the best-educated congregations of United Methodist churches
in Alabama. The Reverend Lee has experienced far more
discrimination and misunderstanding within the church and outside
it because of his blindness than because of his race. When he
first became an ordained minister ready for assignment to a
church, the conference leadership planned that he would be a
conference evangelist serving without salary. He objected because
the church to which he hoped to be assigned was being left
without a minister. There was no escaping the conclusion that the
conference leaders believed a blind person could not handle the
responsibilities of a church pastor. Church members in all but
one of the churches to which the Reverend Lee has been assigned
have also objected at first to having a blind minister, but Lee
has always won their love and respect in short order. 
     In the United Methodist Church in the mid-seventies it was
not customary for the pastor to request a particular church.
Rather, the conference bishop and district superintendents
conferred with local churches to make assignments. The Reverend
Lee found that he must depart from this practice and make the
request. As a young minister, he had to challenge the decisions
of his superiors, something not calculated ordinarily to gain
their confidence and respect, but it was necessary. Winning the
trust and affection of church leaders and parishioners has taken
time, but Lee has done it. 
     Frank Lee was born in Semmes, Alabama, in 1942. Soon
afterward, his family moved to Dothan. He found himself in the
middle of a farm family of fifteen children. When he was six, one
eye was injured in an accident. The medicine available to the
Lees at the time could not prevent infection from spreading to
the other eye, causing total blindness within a few months.
     Lee feels fortunate that his family learned about the school
for the blind in Talladega, and he went there a year later. He
remembers crying when he had to leave home and return to school.
He also remembers that it was the only way for him to get an
education. The academic curriculum was quite good. Lee
participated in many sports, including baseball and volleyball,
as well as singing in the choir from elementary through high
school.
     The school Lee attended was the Alabama Institute for the
Deaf and Blind, which consisted of four separate schools: the
white deaf, the white blind, the black deaf, and the black blind.
The campus for the black blind was very small, and it was
separated from all the others.
     Frank Lee remembers things that were exciting opportunities
to him at the time. In 1952 he was the first child in his part of
the school to use the Perkins Braille Writer. In 1962 he was in
the third class to graduate from the black blind school. Prior to
1959 there were so few black blind high school students that they
took courses in a public school in Talladega, receiving high
school diplomas there. While most schools for the blind in the
1950's and early 1960's were just getting a good start at
integrating blind youngsters into public school classes, Lee's
school was just getting enough blind students to offer a complete
high school curriculum. Integration of the races was still almost
a decade away. 
     Between 1962 and 1966 Frank Lee spent twenty-one months
operating a vending facility under the Randolph-Sheppard program,
but he wanted to go to college. He had earned good grades, but
not until 1966 could he convince the state rehabilitation agency
for the blind to help him. In 1970 he earned a bachelor's degree
in psychology from Talladega College. During these years Lee
worked periodically as a camp counselor and in vending
facilities. He was also active in church work. He had been
singing in church choirs for years, and in 1962 he preached his
first sermon. In 1973 he completed studies at the
Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. He also
studied at Colgate Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, New
York.
     In 1976 Frank Lee married Frankie Boyd, whom he met in
college.
     Lee joined the National Federation of the Blind in 1982 and
was elected Treasurer of the NFB of Alabama in 1985. In 1986 he
was elected to the National Board of Directors and has been
re-elected for successive two-year terms ever since.

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Diane McGeorge.]
[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Ray McGeorge.]

                         DIANE MCGEORGE
              Medical Secretary and Agency Director

     Diane McGeorge was born in 1932 and grew up in Nebraska. She
was blinded by meningitis at age two. She says that she was
"slightly educated" at the Nebraska School for the Blind. Upon
graduating she learned that no blind person--regardless of how
well-qualified--has an easy time in the job market. She enrolled
in a Denver business college to learn typing and transcribing
before going on to the University of Colorado to train as a
medical secretary, her profession for a number of years, with
time away to raise her family.  
     McGeorge spent eight years as a full-time homemaker and
mother, including stints as den mother, Sunday school teacher,
and PTA officer. Throughout these years she was a passive member
of the Federation. She served on committees and prepared
refreshments, but she did not consider that she had any part in
the struggle of the blind against discrimination. Her husband Ray
was much more active in the Federation. She ignored or overlooked
the instances when she had been turned down by landlords or
barred from restaurants because of her dog guide, describing her
actions as "looking on the bright side."  
     However, McGeorge attended the 1973 NFB convention in New
York City and discovered for herself the power and commitment
that derive from shared experience and determination to alter the
status quo. From that moment her life began to change. This is
the way she tells it:  
     "One bitterly cold day in December, Ray and I stopped at a
run-down coffee shop. It was the only warm place available, or we
wouldn't have set foot in it. We did so, however, and when we
did, the proprietor told us we couldn't bring my dog in. I was so
furious I almost burst into tears. I walked out, but I thought
and thought about that experience--and I said, deep in my heart,
that nobody was ever going to make me feel that way again. I had
been a coward to let it happen.
     "About six months later we attempted to go to a movie, and
the manager said we couldn't bring the dog into the theater. I
was well acquainted with Colorado's White Cane Law, so we had
what turned out to be a two-hour battle over the issue. I came
away from there not feeling cowardly or guilty or as if I were
not quite as good as the manager because he could see and I
couldn't." 
     In 1976 Diane McGeorge assumed the state presidency of the
NFB of Colorado, and she served in that office until she decided
to step down in September of 1991. Under her leadership the NFB
of Colorado became one of the strongest state affiliates in the
Federation. Recently the NFB of Colorado took a giant step
forward in serving the blind of the state. In January of 1988 the
Colorado Center for the Blind with Diane McGeorge as executive
director opened its doors for business. Four students enrolled
initially, and the numbers have been growing ever since. These
students learn the skills of blindness from teachers who believe
in the fundamental competence of the blind. But even more
important, they learn positive attitudes about blindness.   
     In 1977 McGeorge was elected to the Board of Directors of
the National Federation of the Blind, an honor and responsibility
which she continues to hold. From 1984 to 1992 she served as the
organization's First Vice President. In 1982 Diane and Ray
McGeorge were presented with the Jacobus tenBroek Award for their
work in improving the lives of the blind of the nation.  
     McGeorge says of her life since 1973, "These years have been
more stimulating and rewarding than any previous period in my
life. I don't wish to imply that I was unhappy prior to my
becoming active in the Federation--quite the contrary. I was
busy, and the things I was doing were important. But they were
not as important as the Federation's agenda. Each thing the NFB
does affects tens of thousands of people. Part of what I have
learned is that what I do matters.
     "I suppose," she says, "it is a commentary on the way I used
to feel about myself; but until the last few years, it never
occurred to me that anyone could do what I am now doing--let
alone that I could. I would have been astonished to learn that
thousands of blind people could and would work together to make
real changes that affect all of us profoundly."   

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Betty and Charles Niceley.]

                          BETTY NICELEY
         Rehabilitation Instructor and Outreach Educator

     Born in 1934, Betty Niceley was largely raised by her
grandparents, who managed a series of country stores in Kentucky.
She remembers three of these, each one larger than the one
before. The family lived beside the stores, doing whatever needed
to be done. It was all part of the family lifestyle--stocking
shelves, filling orders, cashiering--and it was good experience
for a blind child, who might have had trouble finding work
elsewhere.
     At the age of nine, Betty Niceley left home to attend the
Kentucky School for the Blind in Louisville. There she believes
she got a reasonably good education. However, she transferred
back home to Bell County High School, where she graduated. Her
senior class chose her as queen and the person most likely to
succeed.
     Niceley attended Georgetown College in central Kentucky,
where she received a bachelor's degree in English and a secondary
teaching certificate. It was at this time that she met her
husband Charles. The Niceleys now have a daughter and two
grandsons.
     Her first real job after graduating from college was with
the American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville. She did
public relations and development work as well as filling in
wherever Braille expertise, poise, or common sense were needed.
After thirteen years at the Printing House, she changed jobs and
began teaching Braille at the Rehabilitation Center operated by
the Kentucky Department for the Blind. When the state's
Independent Living Center opened in the fall of 1980, she joined
the staff and again found herself doing whatever needed to be
done. She taught Braille, techniques of daily living, and
rudimentary travel skills to people of all ages. She also did
virtually all the outreach education for groups who need
instruction about blindness and dealing with blind people. She
now works as information specialist for the Kentucky Department
for the Blind.
     Betty Niceley first joined the Federation in 1968 although
she had known about it for a long time without, as she puts it,
"finding the time to get involved." Then she joined, and it was
not long before her commitment and performance were such that she
was elected secretary of the National Federation of the Blind of
Kentucky. At about this time she was also president of the
Greater Louisville Chapter, a position she held until 1975.
Niceley has served as president of the National Federation of the
Blind of Kentucky since 1979. 
     In 1977 the State of Kentucky created a separate Department
for the Blind, responsible directly to the Governor. Niceley
points to this as one of the NFB of Kentucky's many
accomplishments of which she is especially proud. "When my poor
vision worsened and I became totally blind in my senior year of
college, I had little trouble adjusting. I had learned to read
and write Braille as a child and kept up both skills. That is one
of the reasons I have been so excited about the National
Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB)." Betty Niceley
was elected its first president, a position which she still
holds. She was elected to the Board of Directors of the National
Federation of the Blind in 1985 and has been re-elected for
successive two-year terms ever since.

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Fred and Cathy Schroeder.]

                         FRED SCHROEDER
         Teacher, Administrator, and Government Official

     Fred Schroeder, the youngest member of the Board of
Directors of the National Federation of the Blind, was born in
1957 in Lima, Peru. His parents decided that he and his brother
(six years older) would have better opportunities growing up in
the United States, so they took steps to make it happen. By the
time he was two, Fred had been adopted by Florence Schroeder of
Albuquerque, New Mexico.  
     When he was seven, Schroeder developed a little-known
disorder known as Stephens-Johnson's Syndrome, which caused a
gradual deterioration of eyesight and other serious physical
problems. By the time he was sixteen, he was totally blind.  
     In order to do his school work during junior high and high
school, he used a combination of taped materials, live readers,
and simply not doing homework. He was able to take extra courses
during these years and still maintain above-average grades. In
spite of worsening eyesight, however, he resisted the idea of
learning to read and write Braille. But by the time he was a
senior in high school, he had changed his mind and taught himself
to read and write it. He used Braille constantly throughout
college.  
     Schroeder received a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1977
from San Francisco State UniversIty. In 1978 he earned a master's
in elementary education and qualified for a California teaching
certificate. He had then just turned twenty-one. 
     By 1977 Fred Schroeder had attended several conventions of
the National Federation of the Blind of California, and in that
year he was elected president of the Student Division in that
state. He attended his first National Convention in Baltimore
during July of 1978. While there, he was offered a job as travel
instructor at the Orientation and Adjustment Center in Lincoln,
Nebraska. Initially Schroeder turned the job down, preferring to
teach children. By the time he received his master's in August,
however, he had decided to take the job and move to Nebraska,
where he worked for two years. During this time he met Cathlene
Nusser, a leader in the NFB of Nebraska, and the two were married
in January of 1981.  
     Also during these Nebraska years, Schroeder took course work 
at San Francisco State University to strengthen his credentials
as an instructor in orientation and mobility. 
     In September of 1980 Schroeder moved back to Albuquerque,
New Mexico, where he became an itinerant teacher of blind
children for the Albuquerque Public Schools. He worked for a year
in this job before being promoted to the position of coordinator
of low-incidence programs for the Albuquerque Public School
System, a job he held with distinction for five years. 
     In 1986 he was appointed director of the newly-established
New Mexico Commission for the Blind. In that position he has
earned a nationwide reputation as one of the most dynamic and
innovative administrators in the field of work with the blind.
Schroeder has completed course work for a Ph.D. in educational
administration from the University of New Mexico. He is currently
writing his dissertation on teacher evaluation. 
     Schroeder has served his community and state in a number of
positions. With only a two-year respite, he has been a member of
the Braille Authority of North America since 1982, serving as
vice chairman for a term. He has also served on the governing
board of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf in New Mexico
beginning in 1984. Schroeder represented the Braille Authority of
North America and the National Federation of the Blind at the
International Conference on English Literary Braille in London,
England, in 1988. Since 1987 he has served on the New Mexico
Governor's Committee on Concerns of the Handicapped and was
elected to serve as vice chairman during the first year of his
second six-year term as a member of that body. In 1991 he became
the first president of the newly established International
Council on English Braille. 
     In 1980 Schroeder was elected to the board of directors of
the National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico and in 1982
became the president of the organization, a position he held
until 1986. In 1984 Schroeder was elected to the Board of
Directors of the National Federation of the Blind. From 1983 to
1989 he served as president of the National Association of Blind
Educators. 
     Schroeder remembers: "In 1978 I was getting a master's
degree in the education of blind children, a field in which there
was a nationwide shortage. After thirty-five or forty interviews,
I didn't have a single job offer. I had to deal firsthand with
the very real fact of discrimination against the blind. It is
hard to keep an experience like that from eroding your
self-confidence. It makes you question whether as a blind person
you can compete in society, whether you can get past people's
expectations and prejudices to show them what you can really do.
The National Federation of the Blind makes the difference. It
provides a way for blind people to give each other moral support,
encouragement, and meaningful information. It helps the people
who are coming along to have advantages we didn't--and in the
very act of encouraging and supporting others, we sustain and
nurture our own morale and self-belief."  

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Joanne and Harold Wilson.]

                          JOANNE WILSON
                  Teacher and Agency Director  

     Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1946, Joanne Ziehan Wilson
moved with her parents to Webster City, Iowa, when she was seven.
When she was 3, doctors had discovered that she had retinitis
pigmentosa. She remembers everyone's attitude toward her poor
eyesight. No one regarded her as blind, but everyone knew her eye
condition could lead to blindness, a fact which friends and
family did not want to confront. The whispers taught Wilson that
this being "blind" was a dreadful thing. She learned to pretend
she could see to avoid the pity that would follow if she could
not. And she learned to avoid thinking about blindness. It was
too awful. Never once can Wilson remember discussing blindness
with a teacher or friend at school. She never met a single blind
person. All she knew was that she did not want to be blind or
think about it. Being blind wasn't respectable. 
     After Wilson graduated from high school, she enrolled in a
junior college. At that time the Iowa Commission for the Blind
conducted a career day for blind students, which she attended.
For the first time she met blind people. They were confident and
capable. She decided that at the end of her second year of junior
college she would take time out to attend the Orientation and
Adjustment Center. Those nine months she describes as "the most
exciting time of my life. I found freedom, and it wasn't always
easy." 
     In 1969 Joanne Wilson graduated with honor from Iowa State
University, where she received a B.S. in Elementary Education.
During one quarter she was selected as a Merrill Palmer Scholar
to do advanced work in education in Detroit, Michigan. 
     For the next four years Wilson taught elementary school
(second and fourth grades) in the Ames, Iowa, public school
system. In 1971 she received a master's degree in Guidance and
Counseling. During this time Wilson helped to organize the North
Central Iowa Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind, and
she served for several years as its president. From 1977 to 1979
she was first vice president of the National Federation of the
Blind of Iowa. 
     In 1973 Wilson had stopped teaching to begin a family. She
is now the mother of 5 children ages 5 to 15. In 1979 she and her
family moved to Louisiana, and here she continued her Federation
work. In 1981 Wilson led the formation of a new NFB chapter in
her hometown of Ruston, Louisiana, and forty people attended the
first meeting. It was the eighth chapter in the state. Today in
Louisiana there are twenty-one chapters. 
     Joanne Wilson was elected President of the NFB of Louisiana
in 1983 and has been elected for successive two-year terms ever
since. In 1985 Governor Edwin Edwards recommended to the State
Legislature that money be appropriated directly to the NFB of
Louisiana for a training center for blind adults, and the
prestige and reputation of the organization were such that the
legislature responded affirmatively.  
     The Louisiana Center for the Blind opened in October of 1985
with Joanne Wilson as its director, and the program which she has
built is rapidly coming to be recognized throughout the nation as
a model of excellence. Well over two hundred students have now
enrolled in the program, and they graduate ready for competition
in the mainstream of society and convinced that it is respectable
to be blind. In the spring of 1991 Joanne, who had been divorced
from her first husband for a number of years, married Harold
Wilson, a quiet man who shares his wife's dedication to improving
the lives of blind people everywhere. 

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Gary Wunder.]
[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Sue Wunder.]

                           GARY WUNDER
                  Senior Programmer Analyst and
                    Electronics Technologist

     Gary Wunder was born three months prematurely in 1955, the
oldest of four children. His family lived in Kansas City,
Missouri, and Wunder remembers that since he was blind from
birth, he managed to persuade everyone in his family except his
father to do precisely what he wanted. It would be many years
before Wunder could appreciate his father's instinctive
understanding that Gary had to learn to do things for himself.  
     Wunder tells with amusement the story of his dawning
awareness of his blindness. When he was two, his home had sliding
glass doors separating the living room from the patio. When those
doors were closed, he could not hear and therefore did not know
what was happening on the other side and assumed that no one else
could either. One day he found several soft drink bottles on the
patio and broke them. His father then opened the doors and asked
if he had broken the bottles. Gary said he had not and that he
did not know how they had been broken. His father then astonished
him by saying that both his parents had watched him break the
bottles and that his mother was now crying because she had
thought surely her baby couldn't tell a lie. Gary's response was
to say, "Well, she knows better now."  
     Wunder attended grades one through five at a Kansas City
public school. When he was ten, a boy who attended the Missouri
School for the Blind persuaded him that he was missing real life
by staying at home. At the school, his friend told him kids rode
trains and buses. They could bowl and swim and didn't have to
listen to parents. As a result Wunder did some persuading at home
and was on hand for sixth grade and some necessary but painful
lessons about that real world.   
     At the close of seventh grade Wunder returned to public
schools, having learned several vitally important lessons: he
knew the basics of using a white cane; he recognized that his
father's demands on him had sprung from strong love and eagerness
for his son to succeed; and he understood that people beyond his
own family had worth and deserved his respect. But he had also
learned that the school for the blind was not the promised land,
and he was delighted to be once more in public schools for eighth
grade and high school. He was elected to the National Honor
Society his senior year but struggled with the mechanics of
getting his work done. Braille was not readily available, and
readers were hard to recruit without the money to pay them.  
     Wunder planned to attend the University of Missouri at
Kansas City in order to live with his grandmother, but after a
taste of freedom at the orientation center in Columbia, Missouri,
the summer before college he decided to enroll at the
University's Columbia campus, where everyone walked everywhere
and where he could contrive as many as three or four dates an
evening if he hurried from place to place.  
     Wunder enjoys recounting the adventure which  persuaded him
that a blind person should always carry a white cane: "I was
having dinner with a young woman who lived near me, so I had not
brought my cane, figuring that I wouldn't need it. To my
consternation and her distress, my plate of liver and onions slid
into my lap. She asked if I wanted her to walk me home so that I
could change. I was already so embarrassed that I assured her I
would be right back and that I did not need her assistance. The
busiest intersection in Columbia lay between me and clean slacks,
and after I successfully survived that street crossing, I swore
that I would never again be caught without my cane."  
     Wunder decided to major in political science and philosophy
because he felt compelled to avoid the science and math that he
loved but feared to take. During his sophomore year he met a
professor from Central Missouri State University who suggested
that he was ducking the challenge. Together they explored the
question of whether or not a blind person could follow schematics
and read volt-meters. The answers seemed to be yes, so Wunder
transferred to Central Missouri State, where he graduated in 1977
with a degree in electronics technology. He had done well with
the courses, but he did not see how he could run a repair shop
with its responsibility for mastering hundreds of schematics for
appliances. He could teach electronics, but the professors from
whom he had learned the most were those who had firsthand
experience. He didn't want to be the theory-only kind of teacher. 
     Wunder looked for interim jobs after graduation while he
tried to decide what to do, and he discovered the hard way that
blind job-seekers have to be better than the competition in order
to be considered at all. He vowed to become so well trained at
doing something that would-be employers could not ignore him.
Wunder enrolled in a ten-month course in computer programming
offered by the Extension Division of the University of Missouri.
No blind person had ever entered the program before, but Wunder
completed it successfully and was hired immediately (in the fall
of 1978) by the Pathology Department of the University of
Missouri Hospital and Clinics in Columbia. Years and promotions
later, Wunder is successfully working at the hospital and is now
a senior programmer analyst in the Information Services
Department.  
     Wunder first learned about the National Federation of the
Blind the summer before his senior year of high school. He says,
"In the beginning I thought this talk about discrimination was a
pretty good racket. No one did those things to me, and I assumed
that all this Federation talk about jobs' being denied and
parents' having children taken away from them was an effective
way of raising funds. I didn't realize that my father's name and
reputation in my hometown were protecting me from the worst of
real life. So far I had gotten what I wanted, including a
motorcycle to ride on our farm and my own horse. It was some time
before I recognized that these talented and committed blind
people whom I was getting to know in the Federation were trying
to teach me about the world that I was going to inherit. They
frightened me a little, but more and more I wanted to be like
them."  
     In late 1973, several months after Wunder started college in
Columbia, Missouri, a Federation organizing team arrived to
establish a new chapter, and he took an active part in the
preparations. Wunder was elected president, and when he
transferred to Central Missouri State two years later, he
organized a chapter in Warrensburg. In 1977 Wunder was elected
first vice president of the NFB of Missouri, and in 1979 he
became president. Except for one two-year term, he has continued
in that post ever since. Wunder was elected to the Board of
Directors of the National Federation of the Blind in 1985.
     Wunder is a devoted family man. He is married to the former
Sue Micich, who was at the time of their marriage president of
the NFB of Wisconsin.  
     Looking back reflectively over the years of his involvement
with and commitment to the Federation, Wunder says: "Of all I
learned from my parents about honor, responsibility, and the
necessity to be competent, what I could never get from them was a
sense of where blind people fit in a world composed mostly of
sighted people. Friends and loved ones had always told me how
wonderful I was (wonderful for a blind person, that is), but
until I came to know members of the National Federation of the
Blind, no one had the experience or knowledge to say how I could
expect to measure up alongside the sighted. The NFB was the first
place where I didn't get a round of applause for performing the
routine activities of life. If I wanted my Federation colleagues'
recognition and admiration, I had to merit this attention. It
sounds contradictory, but while I was learning that I wouldn't be
applauded for insignificant accomplishments, I was also learning
that I didn't have to possess special compensatory senses or
talents to make my way in the world. When you think that your
only opportunity for success lies in being a musician, when you
know that your only musical talent is in listening, and when you
suddenly find that you are capable of doing the average job in
the average place of business, your sense of freedom, hope, and
possibility know no bounds."








                 ******************************
     If you or a friend would like to remember the National Federation of the
Blind in your will, you can do so by employing the following language:
     "I give, devise, and bequeath unto National Federation of the Blind,
1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, a District of Columbia
nonprofit corporation, the sum of $_____ (or "_____ percent of my net estate"
or "The following stocks and bonds: _____") to be used for its worthy purposes
on behalf of blind persons."
                 ******************************

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Barbara Walker]

                          BABY-SITTING
                        by Barbara Walker

     From the Editor: In the National Federation of the Blind
there are three simple sentences which we have repeated among
ourselves and to others so often that they have become more than
words and more than slogans. Barbara Walker's story,
"Baby-Sitting," is a graphic demonstration of the truth of those
three sentences. Read her story. At the end of it you'll find the
three sentences I'm talking about. Incidentally, Barbara Walker
is one of the finest people I know.

     As I hung up the phone, I thought to myself, "I bet Sue has
no idea what she has just done." To her it was probably just
another routine thing to do. But as I told my husband about it, I
felt the warmth that true acceptance brings flowing through me
and giving a spark to my comments.
     "Jim," I said, "Sue just called and suggested that we have
our school parent-teacher conferences back to back so I can watch
Eric during hers and she can watch Marsha and John during ours.
She asked if I would arrange it since she's real busy at work
during Larry's free time."
     It was a routine call about a routine matter for parents. So
what was I so thrilled about? It was the first time anyone had
talked to me about watching their children without commenting in
some way or expressing some apprehension about my blindness. Sue
did tell me later that people had asked her about how she could
trust me to watch Eric. She had told them that all she knew was
that my children seemed fine and well cared for to her and
whenever she wanted to know specifically how I did things she
asked. 
     Unfortunately, Sue is still an exception in this and many
other everyday circumstances for the blind. But people like her
help people like me deal with the more typical approaches we
face, such as that with Chong.
     Chong, like Sue and several others, had been providing rides
for my children to and from pre-school. Occasionally, she would
invite my children to play with hers after school and then bring
them home. They enjoyed it, and as they got to know Jenny and
Bryan better, wanted to have them to our house. The first couple
of times I asked Chong about it, the reasons they couldn't seemed
plausible. But by the third time, it seemed that perhaps reasons
were becoming excuses. My children began wondering aloud why
Chong's children couldn't play at our house. At one point, Marsha
said she thought Jenny was disappointed about not coming. I
thought about blind friends who had talked about this kind of
thing. Now it was happening to me. Perhaps we were all paranoid
and jumping to conclusions. I thought of Sue and decided we
weren't.
     The next time I talked to Chong, I said that my children
loved to play at her house, but they were wondering why they
could never play with Jenny and Bryan at ours. I talked about
Jenny's apparent disappointment. Then I took the plunge and asked
if my blindness had anything to do with it. She said shyly, "No,
not really." I said that if it felt uncomfortable to her, I would
be glad to explain how I do things or answer questions. I told
her I am used to doing that. She said she didn't have any
questions, and we arranged for a time for them to come.
     On the day that they were to come, she called and said that
Bryan was sleeping late and she would prefer not to wake him. I
said we weren't on a schedule that would make their coming later
a problem. I was relieved when she agreed to that.
     When they arrived, I explained to them in their mother's
presence that I was going to put bells on their shirts so I would
be able to hear where they were going. I also explained my rule
about answering when I call their name unless we were playing
hide and seeksomething which is only done with everyone knowing
before the game starts.
     From the time their mother left until she returned,
three-year-old Jenny asked almost nonstop questions about my
blindness. She wanted to know how I kept track of things, how I
got food, how I knew where I was going, how I read stories, how I
knew what color things were, how I picked out my clothes, how I
washed myself and my children, how I knew who people were, etc.
When I changed her two-year-old brother's diaper, she watched
with keen interest as I cleaned him and snapped up his clothes.
The children all had a good time.
     When Chong came to get Jenny and Bryan, I told her what a
good time we had all had. I said Jenny had asked a lot of
questions and had been very interested in how I do things. I then
told her what Jenny had asked and how I had answered. She
listened intently, occasionally adding a comment or question of
her own. As they prepared to leave, Jenny, who had been in the
other room with my daughter during most of Chong's and my
conversation, talked excitedly to her mother about my ways of
doing things, most of which were just like hers.
     I had the distinct impression that Chong and Jenny had
wondered to each other about things before coming to our house.
Both the bubbly three-year-old and the reserved mother seemed
pleased about learning new things, and our relationship
thereafter was much more relaxed and comfortable.
     Since that time, I have had many opportunities to supervise
other people's children. Sometimes the parent or parents have
been immediately receptive to trade-offs such as the one Sue
initiated with me. Sometimes it has taken direct conversations or
recommendations from others to help parents feel comfortable
about my watching their children. There continue to be a few who
just won't do it.
     My perspective on this is that we, through our everyday
lives, are making progress. I am glad there are people like Sue
to provide a balance for those who won't accept our lives for
what they are. Sue and others like her give substance to our
acceptance of ourselves as part of the mainstream of society. I
also appreciate those like Chong who are willing to listen and
change their minds about us. Without them, the progress we're
making would not be possible. 
     Most of all, I applaud children for their willingness to ask
questions and remind us that change is occurring through them. As
they expect us to take charge, we find it more possible to do so.
As they challenge us to live what we say, we reach to do that,
too. As we in the National Federation of the Blind share our
experiences with each other and with the rest of society, we will
find encouragement and the strength to continue to educate
ourselves so that the success of acceptance will breed success.
It is a privilege to be a part of the process.
     As we in the National Federation of the Blind have learned
so well, the real problem of blindness is not the loss of
eyesight. The real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of
information which exist. If a blind person has proper training
and opportunity, blindness can be reduced to the level of a
physical nuisance.



                        CONVENTION UPDATE
                       by Kenneth Jernigan

     During the latter part of February I was in the Midwest
looking for convention sites for 1994 and 1995, and the trip was
extremely successful. But before I get to that, I want to say a
few things about the upcoming 1993 convention in Dallas.
     In the first place I hope you have made your hotel
reservations. This promises to be one of the very best
conventions we have ever had, and if you haven't made
reservations yet, please do it as soon as possible. Contact the
DFW Hyatt at: Hyatt Regency DFW, Post Office Box 619014,
International Parkway, Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, Texas 75261, or
call (214) 453-1234.
     As to travel arrangements, you should contact Singer Travel
by calling their toll-free number, 1 (800) 248-3929. Singer is
our official travel agency, and we have made arrangements with
both Northwest and Continental for special rates. The discounts
will be substantial, and the Federation will also benefit if you
use Singer. If you live in a city where neither Continental nor
Northwest flies or is convenient, Singer will work with you to
get the best possible rates and discounts. Please do not contact
the airlines directly. Call Singer.
     Those of you who attended the 1990 convention in Dallas will
remember that the hotel staff was one of the friendliest we have
ever had. The DFW Hyatt is truly a luxury hotel, and the NFB of
Texas plans to show us what real Texas hospitality is like. This
year (as we did in 1990) we will go to Bear Creek for an outdoor
barbecue. There will be tours throughout the Dallas area, and
there will be exciting program agenda items. Don't miss it.
     As to 1994, I know you will be pleased. We are going to the
Westin Renaissance Center in Detroit. The only way to describe
the hotel and adjoining facilities is to use the word
spectacular. The main hotel tower is seventy-three stories high,
with a revolving restaurant on top. There are almost twenty other
restaurants in the facility--McDonald's, Shoney's, and a variety
of others, both fast food and upscale. The Renaissance Center,
which is in the same complex as the hotel, has a complete
shopping area--women's stores, men's stores, children's stores,
book stores, gift shops, and almost every other kind you can
think of. As usual, our rates are good: singles, $38; doubles and
twins, $43; triples, $45; and quads, $47.
     In 1995 we are returning to Chicago. We will be meeting at
the Chicago Hilton and Towers, which was formerly the Conrad
Hilton. Originally the hotel had 3,000 rooms, but after a
renovation of 180 million dollars, it has about half that many,
with the elevators and infrastructure that were planned for
3,000. There are fourteen high-speed elevators in a single bank,
as well as other facilities in proportion. Steve Benson says that
Chicago in '95 will be even better than Chicago in 1988, and
Allen Harris reminds us that the last time we held a convention
in Detroit was in 1962. He says that Michigan will make us want
to come back every year.
     Meanwhile, however, it's Dallas in '93, and Glenn Crosby
says, "Y'all come!"


                     CONVENTION ATTRACTIONS

     From the Associate Editor: Every year's National Convention
is an absolutely unique event. The agenda items, the exhibits,
the new friends and business acquaintances: all these give each
convention its own character and significance. Some activities
lend a luster to the convention in part because they do take
place every year and provide helpful fixed points in the whirl of
events. In this category are the meetings of the Resolutions
Committee and the Board of Directors, the annual banquet, and
many seminars and workshops of the various divisions and
committees. Here is a partial list of activities during the
convention being planned by a number of Federation groups.
Presidents of divisions and committee chairs have provided the
information. The pre-convention agenda will list the locations of
all events taking place before convention registration on Sunday,
July 4. The convention agenda will contain listings of all events
taking place after that time.

                     Convention Art Display

     A new feature to enrich the 1993 NFB National Convention
will be a display of the work of blind artists. The NFB Artists'
Exhibit will be held Wednesday afternoon and evening, July 7, for
interested Federationists and the public at large.
     If you are an artist interested in exhibiting your work, you
are invited to contact Mrs. Janet Bixby, 208 West Boscawen
Street, Winchester, Virginia  22601; phone (703) 722-4712, as
soon as possible. Your work may be exhibited for sale or not, as
you choose. It must be original--that is, no kits or work from
patterns. Please indicate what kind of work you do and make an
estimate of the amount of space you would like to have. You will
receive additional information about our plans as they are
completed. 
     If you are interested in art, remember to look for the NFB
Artists' Exhibit in the Hyatt Regency Hotel at the Dallas-Fort
Worth International Airport. Based on the artists who have
already agreed to show their work, we know this exhibit will be
an exciting and interesting experience.

               Blind Industrial Workers of America

     The BIWA will conduct its annual meeting from 1:00-5:00 p.m.
on Monday, July 5. Everyone who works in a sheltered workshop for
the blind or who is interested in sheltered shop issues is
cordially invited to attend this meeting. Membership in the
division costs $3, and board members will be selling drawing
tickets at $1 apiece in order to raise money for the division's
programs.

                    Braille 'n Speak Seminar

     The National Federation of the Blind in Computer Science
will again be sponsoring a Braille 'n Speak seminar at this
year's convention of the National Federation of the Blind. The
seminar will be held Saturday afternoon, July 3, from 1:00 p.m.
to 5:00 p.m., somewhere in the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Deane Blazie,
president of Blazie Engineering, will be conducting the seminar.
People who have attended Blazie's Braille 'n Speak presentations
in the past will tell you that the seminars are lively, exciting,
informative, and totally worthwhile for Braille 'n Speak
beginners and even for people who don't own a Braille 'n Speak
yet. If you haven't taken the plunge and purchased your very own
Braille 'n Speak, feel free to attend the seminar and find out
about this popular electronic note-taker and information-storage
device. Deane Blazie assures me that there will be Braille 'n
Speaks aplenty available for folks to try.
     For more information contact Curtis Chong, President of the
National Federation of the Blind in Computer Science, 3530 Dupont
Avenue North, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55412; Phone: (612) 521-
3202.

                 General Child Care Information

     As usual, child care will be available during the 1993
convention. The volunteer director of child-care services is Mary
Willows. Mrs. Willows is an experienced educator, the mother of
two children, and a long-time leader in the National Federation
of the Blind of California. This volunteer job is a major
undertaking. It takes a tremendous amount of time from many
Federation parents who care deeply about making the NFB
Convention an enjoyable and enriching experience for every member
of the family who attends. 
     Child care is provided not only during the parent seminar on
Saturday, July 3, 1993, but during the convention sessions, the
banquet, and other special meeting times as resources allow.
Parents are asked to make these donations for child care: $50 for
the week (including the banquet) for the first child and $25 for
each additional child; or, if you do not need the full week of
day care, $10 per child per day, and $10 per child for the
banquet night. Parents who cannot contribute the suggested
donation should contact Mary Willows to discuss what donation
they are able to make. Mary will be available in the child care
room before and after sessions, or you may contact her in advance
at 3934 Kern Court, Pleasanton, California 94588; (510) 462-8557.
Since the suggested donation does not cover all expenses, other
donations from individuals and groups are much appreciated.

           Committee on the Concerns of the Deaf-Blind

     At 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 4, the NFB Committee on the
Concerns of the Deaf-Blind will conduct a seminar on technology
for deaf-blind people. We hope that as many deaf-blind people and
their friends as possible will take part in this program. If you
are deaf-blind and plan to attend this seminar, please contact me
before May 1. My contact information is Boyd C. Wolfe, 944 W.
Main Street, Apt. 1010, Mesa, Arizona  85201; phone (602) 890-
8061, voice. Please call evenings or weekends using your state
relay service so that my wife Connie, who is hearing, can take
your calls. We plan to have the texts of the formal seminar
presentations available in Braille for your convenience, but we
must have an accurate count beforehand. Deaf-blind convention
delegates should be prepared to tell us Sunday evening which
meetings they plan to attend and for which they will require
interpreters or guides. Those interested in trying their hand at
interpreting can also give us their names at this time. If you
will be unable to attend the Sunday evening meeting, please
contact either Brenda Mueller or Connie Ryan in the hotel with
the necessary information early in the convention. 
     On Wednesday evening, July 7, the Committee will hold its
annual meeting. Everyone is welcome to both the seminar and this
meeting. We hope to see as many of you as possible in Dallas. 

                       Diabetics Division

     The Diabetics Division meeting will take place at 7:00 p.m.
on Monday, July 5. This year, in addition to a guest speaker, we
hope to break into a number of discussion groups. The precise
nature of these is yet to be determined, but plan to come and
take part. 

                       Guide Dog Division

     The Division meeting of the National Association of Guide
Dog Users will be held on Saturday, July 3, 1993, from 1:30 to
5:30 p.m. This year's meeting will be chock full of information
and a source of lively discussion. The directors of our three NFB
training centers, Diane McGeorge, Joyce Scanlan, and Joanne
Wilson, will talk to us about their past and present experiences
with guide dog users as students at the centers. They will
explore with us how the guide dog can be integrated into their
training programs.
     A representative from Seeing Eye and Brad Scott, the
director of training at Leader Dogs, will present their schools'
philosophy of rehabilitation, incorporating the ownership issue
into their discussion. Several schools are changing their policy
with respect to ownership, and you will want to hear the reasons
for these changes. Representatives from several states with
divisions or committees of guide dog users will present reports
of their activities since last summer. We will also discuss ways
to abolish the Hawaii quarantine for guide dogs. Did you know
that a round-trip charter flight for 100 people from Seattle to
Hawaii would only cost $530 per person? Come to the meeting.
Let's talk about it. Let's beat this quarantine. We can do it.
     There will also be a three-hour evening seminar in which you
can discuss issues about the guide dog and its impact on your
life. We will discuss training, maintenance, transfer, school
selection, philosophy, and other related issues. This is an
important seminar for those who are thinking of getting a guide
dog or who want more information about how to use a guide dog.
The date of this evening seminar is yet to be announced.
     The officers of the division have been working to insure
that the hotel relief area for the dogs will be as convenient and
clean as possible this year. Instead of relying on hotel
personnel to maintain this space, we have made arrangements to
hire outside workers to keep it clean. This should result in a
more pleasant facility for owners and dogs alike; but, as you
would expect, the new arrangement will cost a good deal. For this
reason we have decided to ask each dog owner to pay $25 for use
of the relief area. This fee is payable at division activities
early in the week. In addition, for your convenience several
members of the division will circulate throughout the week to
collect your fee and give you your sticker, indicating that you
have done your part. If you cannot pay the fee, please contact
Paul Gabias as soon as possible to work out another arrangement.
He can be reached at 475 Fleming Road, Kelowna, British Columbia,
Canada V1X 3Z4; phone (604) 862-2352.

                     Human Services Division

     The '93 convention of the National Federation of the Blind
will once again include the annual meeting of the NFB Human
Services Division. This division has been established to serve as
a forum for Federationists working or studying in professions
dedicated to human service. This includes counselors, social
workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, advocacy and medical
professionals, as well as human resources professionals and
administrators of service-related occupations. We encourage
students pursuing careers in these areas to attend, and we
provide a lower dues structure for students and unemployed
professionals.
     This year's program will once again explore many issues
relevant to human services workers. The following are a few
topics the program will focus on: the Americans with Disabilities
Act, making sure blind people are fairly represented in seminars,
task forces, and consulting efforts; a job panel of successful
blind human services workers; psychological and career testing
issues for the blind, a discussion of limitations and usage; and
effective counseling for blind individuals considering human
services occupations.
     As you can see, we will have a full and varied agenda. Along
with the annual meeting this year, the division will be selling a
stress management tape especially prepared by the division to
assist all of us to manage the stress that demanding lives
produce. Look for this low-calorie way you can contribute to the
activities of the division. See you at convention. 

                Job Opportunities for the Blind 

     Whether you are a blind person looking for a job or a
professional person assisting blind job seekers, it will be worth
your time and money to attend the 1993 NFB Convention, July 3
through 10 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Dallas-Fort Worth
International Airport. High on your list of must-do activities
will be those offered by the Job Opportunities for the Blind
(JOB) program. In addition to a national job seminar and
authoritative information on the Americans With Disabilities Act
of 1990, there are recruiters looking to hire qualified
applicants with a disability, introductions to successful blind
persons in fields that interest you, and free networking
breakfasts. Through JOB you can connect with the combined
knowledge of thousands of blind persons in thousands of different
jobs. Here are some specifics for 1993:
     The 1993 JOB National Seminar will be held on Saturday, July
3, 1993, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., in the hotel. This will be
an exciting three hours of blind persons' talking about their
jobs and how they got them. Come for practical tips from those
who know best because they've been there. 
     This year as last, recruiters from federal agencies and from
private firms have plans to visit the seminar. Some recruiters
have said they will be available later in the week at the JOB
Table in the Exhibit Hall, so bring your updated resume.
     JOB has hosted very successful networking breakfasts every
morning of convention for the last four years. All breakfasts
begin at 7:00 a.m. and are BYOB (Buy Your Own Breakfast). There
are two kinds. Miss Rovig chairs the general JOB networking
breakfasts. To give everyone a chance to interact, they are
limited to no more than eight persons. JOB applicants and
volunteers are invited to call Miss Rovig to reserve a chair. 
     Last year the specific-interest breakfasts had so many
participants that it became difficult to network. Therefore they
will now be held in a separate area of the restaurant with
participants selecting food from the breakfast buffet. Each table
will be limited to six to eight persons. Our breakfast
chairpersons will assist with introductions and make a list of
the participants who wish to be included so that continued
networking will be easier, once we all are back home. Call Miss
Rovig at (800) 638-7518 or the chairperson of your breakfast to
reserve a seat. Here are the four specific-interest breakfasts
for 1993:
      The FOURTH ANNUAL JOB BLIND LAWYERS' BREAKFAST will meet
on Sunday, July 4. Mr. Bennett Prows of Seattle, a lawyer working
for the Office of Civil Rights, will chair. His home phone number
is (206) 823-6380.
      A JOB BREAKFAST FOR BLIND PERSONS IN MEDICAL FIELDS will
meet Monday, July 5. Bob Hartt of Virginia will chair. He is an
experienced medical group administrator. If you are in any field
connected with medicine or medical care or if you would like to
be, you will enjoy networking at this new special breakfast. His
phone number is (804) 741-9989.
      A JOB BREAKFAST FOR BLIND INSURANCE AGENTS will meet on
Tuesday, July 6. Jeff Pearcy of Louisiana will chair. He is a
certified independent insurance agent and annuity writer. If you
have been, are now, or would like to become an insurance agent,
you will find this new special-interest breakfast a must-do
event. His phone number is (512) 453-3956.
      The SECOND ANNUAL JOB BREAKFAST FOR BLIND ARTISTS AND
CRAFTSPEOPLE will meet on Wednesday, July 7. Mr. Steve Handschu,
a professional sculptor from Detroit, will chair. His home phone
number is (313) 842-1804.
      Inspired by the JOB Program, John Miller, a
telecommunications engineer from California, will chair the
SECOND ANNUAL BLIND ENGINEERS BREAKFAST on Monday, July 5. If you
have questions about this event, contact Mr. Miller at (619) 587-
3975. Reservations are not needed for this breakfast. 

     Job Opportunities for the Blind is a joint program of the
National Federation of the Blind and the U.S. Department of
Labor. The national seminar and all other JOB services are free.
Questions? Breakfast reservations? Free JOB Sample Packet? (Free
copies of the 1992 National JOB Seminar on 2-track cassette are
still available.) Contact JOB at (800) 638-7518 or write JOB, c/o
NFB, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230.

                       Merchants Division

     "The Organized Communicator: Your Best Defense Against
Stress" is the title of a three-hour workshop to be conducted by
the Merchants Division on Saturday, July 3, from 9:30 a.m. to
12:30 p.m. This is a practical workshop emphasizing strategies
for dealing with time, people, and problems. The registration fee
is $20 a person, payable at the door. The workshop leader is Dr.
Betsy Zaborowski, President of the NFB Human Services Division
and a practicing psychologist. 
     Monday afternoon the Merchants Division will hold its annual
meeting. As usual the group will discuss issues of interest to
independent business people. Make plans to join us. 

[PHOTO: Group listens to young woman play piano and sing. CAPTION: Spirits are
high and competition is tough at the musical showcase of talent.]

         The Composition and Musical Showcase of Talent

   Again this year at the annual Showcase of Talent (July 6), we
plan to focus on musical composition. We must have at least three
to five entrants to make it competitive. Compositions will be
first on the program. There will be a $100 and a $75 prize for
the two best submissions.
     Following the compositions we will conduct the popular
musical Showcase of Talent. Because of the fact that our NFB
family has another big event on the night of our showcase and
because of the number of contestants, we must have a tight game
plan. Talent offerings must be kept to five minutes, so we will
ask that introductions be sufficient without long conversations
or emotional pleas. Just talent, please!  Also electronic music
may be used in the background, but singing in unison with a
recorded vocalist does not show the talent of the member and must
be ruled out.
     There are getting to be so many performers that we would
like to screen our talent. Please send cassettes of your planned
performance and a self-addressed stamped envelope before June 15
to Mary Brunoli, 31 Sherbrooke Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106; (203)
522-0206. If selected, you will be first on the showcase part of
the program. There will be a $100 and a $75 prize for the talent
showcase part of the program. There will also be a youth division
for contestants under the age of thirteen, for which a $25 first
prize will be awarded.
     Sunday, July 4, will be the date of the music division
meeting, including, we hope, a presentation by a professional
singer and composer. We will also have a presentation by a
representative from the music department of the National Library
Service.

             National Association of Blind Educators

     At 1:00 p.m. Monday, July 5, the National Association of
Blind Educators will hold its annual meeting during the fifty-
third Convention of the National Federation of the Blind. Again
this year we will begin with small group discussions. Educators
will have a chance to talk to other blind educators with the same
subject interests. Then blind educators from all levels of
teaching will share their experiences. The rights and
responsibilities of blind educators will also be addressed. One
of our very successful teachers, Mary Willows, will share her
experiences working in an itinerant program for multi-handicapped
blind students. Of course, we will again have the greatest
interviewer ever, Fred Schroeder, fire the usual questions about
how the blind can teach the sighted as any other educator does.
     Our agenda will be packed with useful information for anyone
in or thinking of entering the field of education. Everyone is
welcome. Come and partake of the best lessons ever.

              National Association of Blind Lawyers

     On Monday, July 5, the National Association of Blind Lawyers
(NABL) will hold its annual meeting and conference as a part of
the 1993 Convention of the National Federation of the Blind. The
agenda for this conference will include informative presentations
and discussions of interest to practicing attorneys, law
students, paralegals, and other legal professionals. For the past
three years the NABL conference has been approved by state bar
associations for credit toward continuing education at bar. The
passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act has raised
critical questions about how the rights of blind and disabled
persons may be protected under this law. If you are currently a
member of NABL, you will want to attend our 1993 conference. If
you are not, you are invited to attend the conference and to join
the Association. NABL membership is open to all those interested
in the legal profession, including blind lawyers, judges, law
students, paralegals, legal assistants, and legal secretaries.
Membership in NABL includes a subscription to the American Bar
Association Journal, which is reproduced on cassette by the
National Federation of the Blind. NABL dues are $10 per year for
practitioners and $5 per year for students. Dues for 1993 may be
sent to Sharon Gold, President, National Association of Blind
Lawyers, 5982 South Land Park Drive, Sacramento, California
95822.

       National Association to Promote the Use of Braille

     You all come! The NAPUB meeting, which is scheduled to take
place at 8:00 p.m., Monday evening, July 5, is guaranteed to make
you glad you were in attendance. Believe me when I say that it
promises a good agenda, lots of fun, and an opportunity to work
with some of the most enthusiastic and capable people in our
movement--Oh, I forgot to tell you that this meeting always holds
some surprises. See you there! 

      National Federation of the Blind in Computer Science

     The 1993 meeting of the National Federation of the Blind in
Computer Science will be held at the National Federation of the
Blind convention in Dallas. The NFB in Computer Science meeting
will take place from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday, July 5,
1993. The exact room for the meeting will be listed in your
convention agenda. Here is a brief look at some of the program
items being planned for the meeting:
     1. A discussion of optical character recognition (OCR)
technology. As reading machines become ever more popular, it
seems appropriate to discuss the underlying concepts involved in
optical character recognition technology with the principal
vendors of that technology in the field of blindness. These
include Xerox Imaging Systems and Arkenstone.
     2. A discussion of electronic bulletin boards and networks.
Bulletin boards and electronic networks are growing in
popularity. Many of them are particularly useful to blind people.
It seems appropriate, therefore, to put together a panel of
individuals who can speak knowledgeably on this subject.
     3. Access to the Windows platform. As of this writing, there
is at least one company (Syntha-Voice Computers, Inc. of Canada)
which markets a software package that is supposed to enable blind
computer users to access programs running under the Windows
platform. There are many aspects of this software (and any other
similar software that may be developed by other vendors) that are
worthy of in-depth technical discussion.
     Of course, we will continue to discuss IBM's Screen Reader
for OS/2, and we will have another technical interchange to
facilitate sharing of technical knowledge and information.
Other topics of technical interest may be added to the program as
we get closer to the time of the meeting. Look forward to an
exciting and highly technical meeting--a chance for you techies
to talk shop. For more information contact Curtis Chong,
President of the National Federation of the Blind in Computer
Science, 3530 Dupont Avenue North, Minneapolis, Minnesota  55412;
Phone: (612) 521-3202. See you all in Dallas! 

[PHOTO: Group listens to demonstration of talking computer. CAPTION: David
Andrews, systems operator for NFB NET, demonstrates how to access the computer
bulletin board for a roomful of eager Federationists.]

                    NFB NET Training Seminar

     If you lie awake at night wondering what ZMODEM is, if you
don't know what a QWK packet is, or if you just want to learn how
to use your modem or to upload or download files, then come to
the NFB NET training seminar, which will be held as part of the
1993 NFB National Convention in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday, July
3. The seminar will take place from 9:00 a.m. until noon and from
2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The exact location will be announced in
the Pre-Convention Agenda, available in Dallas. 
     The morning session is for beginners, and topics to be
covered will include the basics of telecommunications, how to
call NFB NET, how to register, navigating around the system, and
leaving and receiving messages. The afternoon session is for more
advanced users and those who attended the morning session. Topics
to be covered include uploading and downloading files, locating
files, getting the Braille Monitor and other NFB publications,
changing your parameters on NFB NET, using off-line readers, and
more. There may also be time to discuss other on-line services
and bulletin boards which feature things of interest to blind
computer users.
     Attend the second annual NFB NET Training Seminar and learn
how to be among the first to get the Braille Monitor each month,
and find out about all the late-breaking news that is regularly
available to NFB NET callers. The seminar will feature
explanations and real live examples by NFB NET's Systems
Operator, David Andrews. All you need to bring is something to
take notes with and your questions. See you on the third of July.

[PHOTO: Blind child pets stuffed leopard. CAPTION: Kids look forward to
children's activities during the parents seminar each year at National
Convention.]

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Claudell Stocker instructs parents and others in the use of
the slate and stylus.]

               Parents of Blind Children Division

     Activities especially for parents of blind children will
begin this year on Saturday, July 3, with an all-day seminar. The
theme of this year's seminar is "Meeting the Needs of the Blind
Youngster." Registration for the seminar will begin at 8:00 a.m.,
and the seminar will start at 9:00 a.m. A general session with
speakers and panels will take place in the morning, and
concurrent workshops will be conducted in the afternoon after the
lunch break. The afternoon workshops will adjourn at 5:00 p.m.
     The afternoon workshop topics will include Developing an
Appropriate Individualized Education Program (IEP); Networking
Support for Parents and Professionals of the Blind Multiply
Handicapped Child; The Needs of the Deaf-Blind Child; Promoting
Good Travel Skills (Mobility); Integrating Braille into the
Classroom and Everyday Life; Teaching Daily Living Skills: Who,
When, and How?; Alternative Techniques for the Junior, Middle,
and High School Blind Student; Teaching Responsibility: When and
How Should Blind Children Take Charge of their Own Education and
Daily Living Needs? 
     There is no registration fee this year for the Parents
Seminar. For those who want it, a packet of literature and
materials will be available for a fee of $5.00. 
     Also on the day of the parent seminar (Saturday, July 3) the
Parents of Blind Children Division will sponsor a program of
organized fun and learning experiences for children ages five to
twelve. (We encourage older youth to attend the parents seminar
with their parents or to take part in other NFB workshops on that
daysuch as the half-day Job Opportunities for the Blind (JOB)
Seminar.) This year the children's program will be organized and
led by Mrs. Carla McQuillan. President of the National Federation
of the Blind of Oregon, Carla is an experienced educator with
impressive credentials as a teacher, administrator, and
independent day care provider. This year's program will be a day
trip to a nearby dude ranch which features, among other things, a
huge petting zoo; a playground; hiking areas; and, for the older
children, opportunities for horseback riding and demonstrations
of how to groom and care for horses. The grooming portion of the
program will be conducted by volunteer Federationists who work
with horses either professionally or as a hobby. 
     Since the number of children who can be accommodated for
this trip is limited by space available on the bus and by the
ratio of volunteer workers to children, we urge you to pre-
register your children for the Saturday, July 3, day-trip.
Children will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please contact Carla McQuillan if you have any questions about
the day-trip, if you want more information about pre-
registration, or if you have a child with special needs. Her
contact information is 52 North 65th Street, Springfield, Oregon 
97478; phone (503) 726-6924. The fee for the trip is $12 for
children ages 5 to 8 and $16 for children ages 9 to 12. This fee
includes the cost of transportation, entrance to the dude ranch,
and lunch.
     The parent seminar on Saturday is not the only activity of
interest to parents or the only chance to meet other parents.
Saturday evening, from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m., the NFB Parent and
Student Divisions will co-sponsor a Hospitality Night for
parents. Everyone (including children) is invited to this
informal event. Toys will be available for young children, and
older youth will have a chance to mingle with each other and with
slightly older college students, members of the NFB Student
Division. 
     The NFB Parents of Blind Children Division Annual Meeting
will be held on Monday afternoon, July 5. At this meeting we get
an opportunity to meet and hear from our parent groups from all
over the country. We discuss local and national projects (such as
our annual Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest), elect officers,
listen to a presentation from the 1993 Distinguished Educator of
Blind Children award winner, accept committee reports, and
discuss activities of our state and regional parent divisions and
chapters. 
     The following day, Tuesday, July 6, Claudell Stocker will
once again conduct a special three-hour introductory Braille
workshop for parents who want to learn Braille. She conducted
this workshop at our convention last year, and it was one of the
most sought-after, successful seminars of the convention! If you
have been considering learning Braille or struggling to learn it
on your own but not making much progress, you will not want to
miss this workshop! It will be an intensive, hands-on learning
experience. The goal is for everyone to leave the workshop able
to read and write some Braille. Space will be limited to twenty-
five persons, so be sure to register right away! 

                   Public Employees Division 

     The annual meeting of the National Federation of the Blind
Public Employees Division will be held at 1:00 p.m. Monday, July
5. We are planning an exciting, informative program. A
representative from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission will discuss large changes in the Federal Equal
Employment Opportunity program. New regulations effective October
1, 1992, are expected to expedite the EEO process for federal job
applicants and employees. 
     On July 26, 1992, Title I of the Americans with Disabilities
Act became effective. This provides antidiscrimination protection
for disabled state and local employees. The U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission and the state human rights agencies both
have jurisdiction. We will discuss how this law may help you as a
state or local employee.
     See you in Dallas.

                    Public Relations Workshop

     The Public Relations Committee will conduct a workshop again
this year for anyone interested in learning more about
competently publicizing the National Federation of the Blind or
representing the organization more effectively in the media. The
workshop will take place from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, July 3,
and everyone is welcome. If you have assigned responsibility in
this important area of the Federation's work, you should try hard
to take part in this event. 

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Julaine Arient-Rollman demonstrates a kick at the self-defense
workshop conducted during the 1992 convention.]

                      Self-Defense Workshop

     With so much news about crime coming at us through the
media, most people are really concerned about what to do if they
find themselves about to become victims of purse-snatchers or
other assorted hoodlums. Last year's self-defense seminar was
designed to meet that need for practical knowledge, and it was
such a tremendous success that we have decided to offer it again
at this year's convention in Dallas. We've expanded it, in fact,
to a full day, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 3.
     Once again for only $15.00 you will learn about how to take
total charge of your physical body--self-defense, body shaping,
and maintaining that shape through weight management.  You will
learn basic proven self-defense techniques from Federationist
Julaine Arient-Rollman and her assistants.  You will discover how
many calories your food should provide per day to lose, maintain,
or gain weight.  In short, you will learn how to acquire the
security and positive image which come from being fit and
confident about your body and how to use it to discourage those
who would harm it.
     If this is the sort of seminar you have talked about but
have put off taking, here is your chance.  All you need to do is:
     1. Pre-register by sending your name, telephone number, and
a check for $ 15.00 payable to Marie Cobb to her at 202 South
Augusta Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21229.  Space is limited in
this seminar (the only one we are offering this year), so
register as soon as possible.
     2. Wear workout clothes like sweats or jeans to the seminar
(hard cups for the gentlemen are required, obtainable from local
sporting goods stores at a modest price).
     3. Bring note-taking materials.
     Both men and women of all ages are welcome.  Last year we
had a wonderful time, made some new friends, and acquired a great
deal of practical knowledge which may serve us well.  Your
fifteen-dollar fee also buys lunch.  See you in Dallas!

                     Social Security Seminar

     On Wednesday afternoon, July 7, there will be an outreach
seminar on Social Security and Supplemental Security Income: What
Applicants, Advocates, and Recipients Should Know. The purpose of
this seminar, which will be conducted jointly by the National
Federation of the Blind and the Social Security Administration,
is to provide information on Social Security and Supplemental
Security Income benefits for the blind. Seminar presenters will
be Sharon Gold, President of the National Federation of the Blind
of California, and J. Kenneth McGill, Special Assistant to the
Associate Commissioner for Disability, Office of Disability,
Social Security Administration.

[PHOTO: Winners grab their poker chips during a card game at Monte Carlo Night
at the 1992 NFB convention. CAPTION: Everyone has fun in Monte Carlo whether
they're on the Riviera or at the National Federation of the Blind convention.]

                   Student Division Activities

     The annual seminar conducted by the National Association of
Blind Students (NABS) will take place this year on Sunday
evening, July 4. The agenda will be packed with important,
interesting, and amusing items. Get there early for registration
and to be sure of getting a seat. For the past several years we
have had standing room only by the time the gavel comes down. 
     Wednesday evening, July 7, from 8:00 p.m. to midnight the
division will again sponsor our Monte Carlo Night. If you have
attended this wonderful evening before, you know what fun it is.
If you haven't, be sure that you don't make the same mistake this
year. Consult your convention agenda for the locations of both
these memorable events. 
     NABS will be staffing a table in the Exhibit Area this year.
We will have division literature to nourish your mind, no-spill
plastic cold-drink bottles for sale to sustain your body, and
tickets for our NABS drawing to uplift your spirit. Come be a
part of the most dynamic organization of blind students in the
world--just ask us! 

                        Writers Division

     The Writers' Division of the National Federation of the
Blind has a busy schedule planned for the 1993 convention in
Dallas. Here is an outline of those activities.
     At 1:15 to 4:00 p.m., Saturday, July 3, the authors'
workshop will feature book authors telling their stories about
what it's like to write a book. One best-selling author has
already been scheduled, and others are pending. At least two
persons will be featured. A small admission fee will be charged.
The author who has already agreed to present is William Deer, a
private investigator.
     Book Auction: In addition, the Division is currently
obtaining autographed books from authors. These books will be
offered for sale at auction at a time to be announced. Three
authors whose works will be available are Stephen King, Rosalyn
Carter, and James Dickey. Jerry Whittle of Louisiana is
coordinating the acquisition of books. A list of the books
available will be provided at the Associate Committee table at
convention unless a person desires to make a sealed bid, in which
case they are encouraged to contact Tom Stevens at 1203 Fairview
Road, Columbia, Missouri 65203; or by phone until one week prior
to convention, (314) 445-6091, evenings.


                             RECIPES

     This month's recipes come from Illinois. They are hearty,
delicious dishes which Steve Benson, President of the NFB of
Illinois, assures us are favorites in the affiliate. Here they
are: 

                       ZESTY PUMPKIN SOUP
                          by Peg Benson

     Peg Benson is Steve's wife and an active Federationist in
her own right. Steve testifies that this soup is delicious.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 3/4 cups (16-ounce can) Libby's solid pack pumpkin
1 cup half-and-half
sour cream and chives, optional

     Method: In large saucepan melt butter and saute onion and
garlic until soft. Add curry powder, salt, coriander, and red
pepper. Cook 1 minute. Add broth and boil gently, uncovered for
15 to 20 minutes. Stir in pumpkin and half-and-half and cook 5
minutes more. Pour into blender container and cover. Blend until
creamy. Serve warm or reheat to desired temperature. Garnish with
a dollop of sour cream and chopped chives, if desired.


                  SPAGHETTI A LA ROSIE MCCREARY
                        by Cathy Randall

     Cathy Randall is the first vice president of the National
Federation of the Blind of Illinois. She says that this is her
very favorite recipe for spaghetti.

Ingredients:
2 onions, finely chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1/8 pound (or less) butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 large can mushrooms
1 teaspoon sugar
1 #2 can tomatoes
1/2 pound Merck cheese
1 can ripe olives, may substitute green instead
3/4 pound spaghetti pasta, cooked according to package directions

     Method: Brown onions and pepper in butter. Add flour and
juice from mushrooms, stirring to keep the flour from lumping.
Add sugar and tomatoes. To this mixture, add cheese. When sauce
thickens to the consistency of white sauce, add mushrooms (the
sauce may be a little thinner than the usual white sauce). Slice
a can of ripe olives and stir them into sauce. Place the sauce
and the cooked spaghetti in casserole dish in alternating layers,
beginning with spaghetti and ending with sauce. Bake uncovered
until heated through, about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. This sauce
can be frozen and thawed another day for mixing with other pasta.


                          FRENCH BREAD
                        by Cathy Randall

Ingredients:
1 French bread loaf, sliced three-quarters of the way through
4 ounces butter or margarine
finely chopped garlic or garlic powder, optional
1 large brown paper bag

     Method: Warm butter to room temperature (do not melt in
microwave). If you wish, add garlic to taste. Apply butter
generously to both sides of each slice of bread. Place loaf in
brown bag on a cookie sheet. Fold open end of bag under loaf to
close and place in a pre-heated 400-degree oven for 10 minutes.
Make sure bag does not touch oven heating coils. When ready, this
bread is crusty on the outside and buttery soft on the inside. It
is excellent with the spaghetti recipe just given. 


                        EGGPLANT PARMESAN
                       by Elizabeth Browne

     Dr. Elizabeth Browne is a member of the Board of Directors
of the Chicago Chapter of the NFB of Illinois. She is also a
frequent contributor to the Braille Monitor. Steve Benson says
that the following recipe is spectacular. Actually, what he said
is that "It just won't stop!" 

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/3-inch rounds 
2 sweet peppers (green or red) cored and sliced in rings
1 pound fresh mushrooms, stemmed, washed, and sliced
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and halved
1 12-ounce can prepared Italian sauce, with or without meat
1 cup coarsely shredded pizza cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, and 1/2 cup Italian-style bread
crumbs blended together to coat eggplant slices 
Olive oil (for frying eggplant)

     Method: Dip eggplant slices, one at a time, into the beaten
eggs, then coat each slice in the mixture of bread crumbs and
Parmesan cheese. When oil (just enough to cover bottom of frying
pan) is very hot, cook each slice of eggplant quickly, about a
minute on each side. Place fried eggplant on warm platter to
await layering. In large casserole, place several spoonfuls of
sauce on bottom, then eggplant, followed by pepper rings, pizza
cheese, sauce, mushrooms, grated cheese, and drained artichoke
hearts until all ingredients are layered. Add any remaining sauce
and top with a dusting of grated cheese, and cover. Bake at 350
degrees for about 35 minutes. 
     The fragrance (for it is truly perfume more delightful than
incense to the gods) will bring strangers in from the out-of-
doors. Serve with tossed green salad, including endive and
spinach, and fresh, crusty Italian bread or rolls. Cool Italian
lemon ice and espresso will attempt to calm your palate after
this culinary experience. 


                   TURKEY TETRAZINI ALMANDINE
                         by Pam Gillmore

     Pam Gillmore is an active member of the Chicago Chapter of
the NFB of Illinois. 

Ingredients:
1 8-ounce package thin spaghetti or egg noodles
3/4 cup slivered almonds, slightly toasted
1/4 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sherry
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of black pepper
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups cooked turkey or chicken, diced

     Method: Cook spaghetti in boiling, salted water until just
tender. Combine soup with milk and sherry. Season with nutmeg and
pepper. Put half of spaghetti into a 2 1/2-quart casserole dish.
Sprinkle with half the cheese then half the chicken or turkey.
Sprinkle half the mushrooms over the meat layer. Pour half the
soup mixture on top and sprinkle half the almonds over the
surface. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Bake covered in a
350-degree oven for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Remove cover and
bake 5 minutes longer. Serves 6.

                     SWEET AND SPICY PICKLES
                      by Linda and Don Hert

     Don Hert is the President of the Quincy Chapter of the NFB
of Illinois. 

Ingredients:
1 quart or 48 ounces of dill pickles, drained and sliced 
2 cups sugar 
1/4 cup vinegar
12 cloves
5 cinnamon sticks, broken
dash salt 

     Method: Combine all ingredients in jar and screw down lid.
Turn jar upside-down and back again often until pickles form
their own liquid. Refrigerate jar, turning it occasionally. Eat
pickles next day.

                          DILL PICKLES
                      by Linda and Don Hert

Ingredients for brine:
1 quart vinegar
3 quarts water
1 cup canning salt
Medium cucumbers, sliced, whole, or spears
8 heads of fresh dill
24 cloves of garlic
32 to 40 black pepper corns
8 teaspoons alum

     Method: In each of 8 quart jars pack cucumbers, 1 head dill,
3 cloves garlic, 4-5 black peppercorns, and 1 teaspoon alum.
Bring brine ingredients to a boil. Pour boiling liquid into jars
until the contents are covered. Seal jars with sterilized canning
lids. The recipe makes 8 quarts. Let stand for at least sixty
days before sampling.

                      CORN BAKED CASSEROLE
                   by Mary Jo and Carol Seiler

     Both Mary Jo and Carol are active Federationists, and Mary
Jo is a member of the Board of Directors of the Illinois
affiliate. 

Ingredients:
1 package Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 8-ounce can whole kernel corn
1 stick margarine or butter, melted
1 8-ounce can cream-style corn
1 8-ounce carton sour cream

     Method: Mix all ingredients well. Pour into a 2-quart
casserole dish and bake at 325 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes.


                   * * MONITOR MINIATURES * *

**Dialysis:
     During this year's National Convention in Texas, dialysis
will be available. Individuals requiring dialysis must have a
transient-patient packet and a physician's statement filled out
prior to treatment. Patients should have their dialysis units
contact the desired location in Dallas for instruction on what
must be done. A mandatory prepayment of twenty percent
(approximately $35) must be paid before each dialysis treatment.
This amount is not covered by Medicare.
     Please schedule dialysis treatments early since space is
limited. Dialysis locations require at least a thirty-day advance
notification and serve on a first come first serve basis.
Following are two locations close to the convention hotel:
     1. Irving Dialysis Center: c/o Irving Community Hospital,
2845 West Airport Freeway, Suite 120, Irving, Texas 75062; phone:
(214) 258-0880. The unit is open six days a week (Monday-
Saturday). Patients are billed a physician's capitation of $20
per day. This location is about ten minutes from the hotel, right
off the south entrance of the airport.
     2. Dialysis Center HEB: 2700 Tibets Drive, Suite 203,
Bedford, Texas 76201; telephone: (817) 354-8811. For scheduling
contact the Director of Nursing. This location is open three days
a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and is about fifteen
minutes from the hotel, right off the south entrance of the
airport.
     If your dialysis unit cannot confirm a space for you,
contact Ed Bryant for assistance: 811 Cherry Street, Suite 309,
Columbia, Missouri 65201; telephone: (314) 875-8911.

**For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     I am interested in selling a V-Tek Voyager XL
projector/reader with monitor. This unit is in new condition. The
sale price is $1,500 or best offer. If interested, contact Dennis
Robbins at (717) 569-8615.

**In Memoriam:
     We recently received the following letter from Ollie Cantos:
I am sorry to report the death of two charter members of the
North Central Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of
Louisiana, Pappa Frank Golden and Della Killgore, both of whom
died recently at the age of ninety. For years they served the
Federation loyally and faithfully. Indeed, the blind of Louisiana
and the nation are much better off because of their work.

**Elected:
     Mary Jane Fry, Secretary of the National Federation of the
Blind of Rhode Island, reports that at the October 24, 1992,
State Convention the following were elected: Barry Humphries,
President; Grayce Grout, Vice President; Mary Jane Fry,
Secretary; and Raymond Gauvin, Treasurer. Edmund Beck, Howard
Applegate, and Richard Gaffney were elected as board members to
serve two-year terms. Cathy Gaffney was elected to serve on the
board for a one-year term.

**For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     For sale, an IBM-compatible 286AT with 640K onboard memory,
two floppy drives, 40Mb hard drive, a 101-key keyboard, and
VISTA, a computer magnification system from Telesensory Systems,
Inc. Manuals are included. All set up and ready to run. Price
$995, or best offer. For more information contact John A.
Chilelli, 112 Nordmere Drive, Edinboro, Pennsylvania 16412; phone
(814) 734-1271.

**Braille Digital Clock Calendar Available for Assembly:
      Radio disk jockeys and other professionals who need
accurate knowledge of the time should find the following item of
interest: 
     The Kentucky Department for the Blind has developed a
digital Braille clock calendar. It displays the date or time on a
6-cell refreshable Braille display. The time is displayed in
hours, minutes, and seconds. The cost of parts for this clock is
approximately $600. 
     To obtain plans for the digital Braille clock calendar or to
discuss having this instrument custom-built, you may contact Mr.
Wayne D. Thompson, Electrical Engineer, Kentucky Department for
the Blind, 427 Versailles Road, Frankfort, KY 40601; telephone
(502) 564-4754 or Fax (502) 564-3976.

**Easier Access to NFB NET:
     David Andrews, Director of the International Braille and
Technology Center for the Blind, has provided the following
information: 
     As many of you know, the National Federation of the Blind
established a computer bulletin board system (BBS) over a year
and a half ago.  This is a special computer system which allows
people with computers and modems to use them to exchange files
and messages with us here at the National Center for the Blind.  
     NFB NET contains many files of interest to blind computer
users, such as demos of Braille-translation software and screen-
review programs.  There are also informational files listing
sources of adaptive technology and more.  NFB NET now has over
700 registered users.  In addition to file exchange, NFB NET also
provides its users with the ability to ask questions and exchange
information with other users through messages posted on the BBS. 
These messages are divided into areas by their topics.  There are
message areas concerning computers and technology, hobbies,
cooking, Star Trek--just for fun, and a wide variety of other
subjects.  At the time NFB NET was founded, we established two
areas specific to blindness.  They are called NFB Talk and Blind
Talk.  They have also been carried by over twenty-five other
BBS's around the country.  
     NFB NET belongs to a worldwide network, a collection of
bulletin boards, called Fidonet.  Fidonet has over 20,000 member
BBS's around the world with over ten thousand in North America
alone.  Many of the message areas carried by NFB NET come from
the Fidonet network.  Once a message area (called an Echo in
Fidonet jargon) becomes a part of the network, it is said to be
on the "backbone."  This means that it is easily available to all 
ten thousand plus BBS's in North America.  All they have to do is
request it from their normal Echo source.  Our Echos, NFB Talk
and Blind Talk, have reached the point where we have been able to
get them added as a part of the Fidonet backbone.  So now they
are readily available to all Fidonet BBS's in North America.
     Here is some specific information about our Echos.  NFB Talk
is for the dissemination of news and information about the NFB
and its activities.  It is also intended for the discussion of
NFB's philosophy of blindness and topics of specific interest to
members of the National Federation of the Blind and our friends
as they relate to the NFB, our policies, activities, and
philosophy.
     Blind Talk is for the discussion of general topics of
interest to blind and visually impaired persons, our friends and
relatives, and anyone else who is interested.  Possible topics
include, but are not limited to, computers and adaptive access
technology, Braille and Braille literacy, cane travel, guide
dogs, alternative techniques of  blindness, etc.  This Echo is
intended to promote the positive philosophy of blindness
developed and promoted by the National Federation of the Blind. 
Blind Talk also provides access to the International Braille and
Technology Center for the Blind, the world's largest
demonstration and evaluation center for computer technology used
by blind persons.
     If you use a computer and a modem and you regularly access a
bulletin board that is a part of the Fidonet network, please ask
your Systems Operator (SysOp) to pick up NFB Talk and Blind Talk. 
This is a great way for you to keep up with what is happening
here at the National Center for the Blind and with other
Federationists around the country as well as opening up another
avenue for spreading the word about the National Federation of
the Blind and our activities.  Please ask your local Fidonet
BBS's to pick up NFB Talk and Blind Talk today.  SysOps who have
questions or problems should contact David Andrews at Fidonet
1:261/1125.
     Finally, for those who want to learn more about NFB NET
specifically and BBS's in general, the NFB NET Training Seminar
will be repeated again this year at the 1993 national convention
in Dallas.  It will be held on Saturday, July 3rd.  There will be
a three-hour morning session for beginners and a three-hour
afternoon session for advanced users. Happy modeming!

**For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Xerox Kurzweil Personal Reader, which features both hand and
automatic scanner, nine high-quality Decktalk male and female
voices. Contrast control allows dot matrix print recognition.
Includes Braille and cassette instructions. Asking $5500. Price
includes free delivery anywhere in the U.S. If interested,
contact Karl Smith at (801) 967-5655.

**Wish to Find:
     We have been asked to carry the following request:
     Does anyone have a Tactile Speech Indicator (TSI) that is
not being used, or does anyone know where one can be purchased?
This is not a TTY. It is attached to the phone so that callers
can signal deaf-blind people by vibration. Contact Elizabeth
Kendall, 13817 Cedar Road, South Euclid, Ohio 44118.

**Elected:
     On January 20, 1993, the New York City Chapter of the
National Federation of the Blind of New York elected the
following officers to serve two-year terms: Carl Jacobsen,
President; Ray Wayne, First Vice President; Vivian Yacu, Second
Vice President; Tracy Carcione, Secretary; and Gerald Carcione,
Treasurer. Elected to serve as board members were Harold Wenning,
Gilda Finazzo, Gary Grassman, and Edwin White.  Will Messing was
elected state board delegate and Vivian Yacu alternate delegate.

**For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Kurzweil Personal Reader, Model 30 with hand-held and book-
edge scanner. Documentation in large print, Braille, and
cassette. Software gives access to a variety of documents,
including items produced on dot matrix printers. Asking $4,000 or
best offer. Those interested may contact Alan Clive, 143
Fleetwood Terrace, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910; or call (202)
646-3957 (day) or (301) 589-7145 (evening).

**New Chapter:
     We recently received the following communication:
     On Saturday, February 13, 1993, the National Federation of
the Blind of Texas organized a new chapter. The name of our new
chapter is the National Federation of the Blind Brownsville
Chapter, and we are proud to say that it consists of twenty-five
members from Brownsville and Matamoros, Mexico. There was much
local interest in our organizing effort outside the blindness
community, and several members of the press took the opportunity
to come and learn more about our organization. We learned much
from our friends on the southern side of the border about
conditions for the blind in Mexico, and now they want to be a
part of our Brownsville Chapter in an effort to learn how they
might improve the conditions which they told us about. We are
glad to have them as members, and we think they have come to the
right organization for guidance in changing what it means to be
blind in Mexico. As part of our organizing effort in Brownsville,
we elected officers. They are as follows: Mario Medellin,
President; Ernestina Notargiacomo, Vice President; Gracella
Medellin, Secretary; Richard Sammons, Treasurer; and Javier
Guerrero, Board Member. We are proud of our new chapter, and we
believe that we have made a positive step in changing the lives
of blind people in the Texas Valley and Mexico.

[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Betsy Zaborowski.]

**Appointed:
     Dr. Betsy Zaborowski, a licenced psychologist practicing in
Baltimore and president of the Human Services Divison of the
National Federation of the Blind, was recently appointed to a
three-year term on the Committee on Disability Issues in
Psychology of the American Psychological Association. Dr.
Zaborowski is one of six appointees to this committee, which
deals with all issues related to persons with disabilities within
the American Psychological Association.

**Upgrades Available:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Arkenstone, Inc., the Sunnyvale, California, maker of PC-
Based and stand-alone print reading products, has introduced two
new products over the past nine months. Consequently, they are
now offering a series of upgrades, trade-ins, and discounted
purchases to existing customers as well as to educational
institutions and nonprofit agencies.
     For individual users there are discounts and possible
upgrades or trade-ins on existing TrueScan-based systems. These
deals may also be available to owners of TrueScan-based OsCar
systems from Telesensory and DocuRead Expert systems from Adhoc
Reading Systems. Educational institutions and nonprofit agencies
are able to purchase an Open Book Deluxe, a stand-alone reading
machine, normally priced at $5,995 for $3,000.
     Arkenstone expects these offers to be available through the
end of April at least, depending on demand. For more specific
information call Arkenstone at (800) 444-4443.

**For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     I have for sale a new Braille writer, asking $350. Also two
Braille carrying cases, asking $30 each. Please contact Wanda
Story at P.O. Box 8701, San Jose, California 95155; or call (510)
278-6525.