                       THE BRAILLE MONITOR

                     October-November, 1990

                    Kenneth Jernigan, Editor


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


              THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND 
                     MARC MAURER, PRESIDENT 
 


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                   Baltimore, Maryland 21230 

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

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THE BRAILLE MONITOR

PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

                            CONTENTS

                                           OCTOBER-NOVEMBER, 1990

THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND: FIVE DECADES OF PROGRESS

NEWSLINE, AN EXCITING DEVELOPMENT

MORE TROUBLE AT THE IOWA DEPARTMENT FOR THE BLIND
by Kenneth Jernigan

THE REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION:
ITS RELATIONSHIP TO BLINDNESS AND CONSUMERISM
by Nell Carney

BUDGET RENT A CAR SEES THE LIGHT

WATCH YOUR PENNIES
by Marc Maurer

LAUGHTER ABOUT BLINDNESS: A DIFFERENT VIEW
by H. G. Jim Burns

BRAILLE: A SURVIVAL SKILL FOR ALL BLIND PEOPLE
by Dawnelle Cruze

DOWN AND OUT IN BERWYN, ILLINOIS:
DIALOGUE MAGAZINE GOES UNDER
by Barbara Pierce

UPDATE ON RECORDING FOR THE BLIND

BRAILLE READERS ARE LEADERS CONTEST, 1991

POVERTY AND PROGRESS IN JAMAICA
by Barbara Pierce

REPORT ON POLAND
by James Sanders

SCHOLARSHIPS, 1991
by Barbara Pierce

RECIPES

MONITOR MINIATURES



     Copyright, National Federation of the Blind, Inc., 1990

[LEAD PHOTOS. PHOTO #1: Jacobus tenBroek standing a podium
microphone at 1965 convention, Washington, D.C.  CAPTION: The
National Federation of the Blind has a rich and varied history.
The twenty-fifth anniversary convention held in 1965 at the
Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., was one of our most
memorable. Dr. Jacobus tenBroek (above) took an active part in
the conduct of convention sessions. PHOTO #2: Audience seated
during 1965 convention session. CAPTION: Below, conventioneers
wait for a general session to be gaveled to order. Those with
long memories or good powers of observation may recognize several
of those pictured here.]





[PHOTO/CAPTION: Participants in the Five Decades of Progress
panel--standing (left to right): Michael Baillif, Barbara Walker,
Ruby Ryles, Marc Maurer, Ramona Walhof, and Barbara Pierce;
seated (left to right): Tim Cranmer, Donald Capps, Joe DeBeer,
Hazel tenBroek, and Kenneth Jernigan.]


              THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND:
                    FIVE DECADES OF PROGRESS

     From the Associate Editor: On Wednesday morning, July 4,
delegates to the 1990 Convention of the National Federation of
the Blind had a chance to reflect upon the fifty years of history
that the organization celebrated throughout the week. A panel of
ten participated by contributing their personal recollections.
Dr. Jernigan, who chaired this agenda item, announced that every
chapter, state affiliate, and national division was invited to
place one item or small packet of material in a time capsule
being prepared by the organization for examination in the year
2040. One of the first contributions will be a videotape of the
July 4 general convention session. The retrospective segment of
the morning's activities began with a twenty-six-minute-long
cassette recording recently prepared by Dr. Jernigan and Ronald
Meyer, which captures a number of exciting moments in the
Federation's history. The tape was played for the audience, which
sat transfixed while voices and moments from the past came to
life again. The tape is available from the Materials Center at
the National Center for the Blind for $2.00. The tape began with
an introduction by Dr. Jernigan as follows:

     It has been said that the conventions of the National
Federation of the Blind resemble nothing quite so much as the
gathering of the Scottish clans. We come together to renew
friendships, show off our children, engage in feasting (and a
little carousing), pray together and have fellowship, celebrate
our victories, plan wars, lament our losses, welcome new members
to the family, mourn for the departed, make foreign alliances,
discuss business, contemplate the future, and remember the past.
At our fiftieth anniversary it is especially appropriate that we
remember the past.

     Following this introductory paragraph, the cassette
presented recordings of the call to order of representative
Federation conventions back through the years, beginning with
President Maurer's opening of the Denver convention in 1989. Then
followed recordings of Dr. Jernigan's call to order of the
conventions of 1984, 1976, and 1970. Next came Dr. tenBroek's
opening of the 1967 convention in Los Angeles and the 1957
convention in New Orleans. Then came recordings from the 1950s.
Dr. Jernigan said: 
     "In 1956 we met at the Bellevue Hotel in San Francisco. It
was the first time we had held a convention on the West Coast. We
were in a period of growth--and the hotel could not hold us. We
met in the auditorium of the Masonic Lodge, and Dr. tenBroek
called the meeting to order."
     Next on the cassette were representative excerpts from
significant banquet addresses back through the decades.
     Dr. Jernigan: The focal point of our National Convention is
usually the banquet. Last year in Denver there were so many of us
that we not only filled the ballroom but overflowed into the
lobby. President Maurer gave the principal address. He said:
     "Our words, our thoughts, and our dreams reach for a
tomorrow which is bright with promise, and the heart of that
promise is the individual determination of each of us and the
unshakable power of our vehicle for collective action--the
National Federation of the Blind."
     Dr. Jernigan then continued: The 1987 convention marked the
end of the first year of the Maurer presidency. In his banquet
address, he talked of his experiences as a former federal
employee. He said:
     "Whether it was an airline, an employer, a department of
government, or a service agency for the blind, what they said
about blindness was always just about the same. I felt right at
home. It was exactly like being back at Notre Dame. The blind are
courageous; they will get a good grade; no need to work; and
plenty of meaningless assignments. But since 1940 there has been
a new element, a new force which has changed the balances. You
know what it is as well as I do. It is the National Federation of
the Blind."
     Dr. Jernigan: 1986 was my final convention as President. We
were meeting in Kansas City, and the banquet was one of our best.
In concluding my banquet addresss I said: "At this convention we
have elected a new president. Marc Maurer will make a good
president. He will lead the movement with a firm hand, and he
will lead with love and maturity. My brothers and my sisters,
come!  Let us move together into the third generation of our
movement."
     Dr. Jernigan: In 1981 we met in Baltimore. The National
Center for the Blind had been established three years earlier and
the delegates toured the facilities with pride. The downpour of
rain did nothing whatever to lessen the enthusiasm. In fact, when
we went to Washington to meet in our thousands on the Capitol
steps, some of us wished for its cooling effects. The banquet was
the climax of the convention. I said in the banquet address:
"Among times there is a time that turns a corner, and everything
this side of it is new. Times do not go backward. For the blind
the corner has been turned, and the time is now. To paraphrase
the Biblical statement:  Upon the rock of Federationism we have
built our movement, and the very gates of hell shall not prevail
against it!"
     Dr. Jernigan: In 1976 we were meeting once more on the West
Coast--in Los Angeles. The banquet was symbolic of the mood of
the delegates:  reflective and determined. I said in the banquet
address: "The road stretches on for decades ahead, and it
stretches backward to the nightmare past of slavery and pain.
Yes, I say slavery, and I mean exactly what I say. I use the word
deliberately, for no black was ever forced with more absolute
finality to the sweat of the cane fields or driven with more
terrible rigor to the heat of the cotton rows than we have been
forced to the broom shops and the backwaters and driven to the
rocking chairs and the asylums. Never mind that the custody was
kindly meant and that more often than not the lash was pity
instead of a whip. It was still a lash, and it still broke the
heart and bruised the spirit. It shriveled the soul and killed
the hope and destroyed the dream. Make no mistake!  It was
slavery--cruel, degrading, unmitigated slavery. It cut as deep as
the overseer's whip and ground as hard as the owner's boot. But
that was the past--another time and another era. This is a new
day!"
     Dr. Jernigan: In 1973 the Federation met in New York City.
We were at the height of our confrontation with the National
Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually
Handicapped (NAC), and we marched to NAC headquarters carrying a
coffin for NAC's burial. At the banquet, we talked of the role of
the blind in history. This is what I said:
     "We've come a long way together in this movement. Some of us
are veterans, going back to the forties; others are new recruits,
fresh to the ranks. Some are young; some are old. Some are
educated; others not. It makes no difference. In everything that
matters, we're one; we are the movement; we are the blind.
     "Just as in 1940, when the National Federation of the Blind
was formed, the fog rolls in through the Golden Gate. The
eucalyptus trees give forth their pungent smell, and the Berkeley
hills look down at the bay. The house still stands in those
hills, and the planes still rise from San Francisco to span the
world. But Jacobus tenBroek comes from the house no more, nor
rides the planes to carry the word.
     "But the word is carried, and his spirit goes with it. He it
was who founded this movement, and he it is whose dreams are
still entwined in the depths of its being. Likewise, our dreams
(our hopes and our visions) are part of the fabric, going forward
to the next generation as a heritage and a challenge. History is
not against us:  The past proclaims it; the present confirms it;
and the future demands it."
     Dr. Jernigan: In 1990 we have published a history of our
first fifty years. Its title is Walking Alone and Marching
Together, the concluding lines of the 1968 banquet address. It
was the year of Dr. tenBroek's death, and my first year as
National President. This is how it went:
     "In this time of transition, in this changing of the guard
in the affairs of the blind, we might articulate our prospect and
our vision by paraphrasing some words from the inaugural address
of a recent President of the United States:
     "Let the word go out from this place and this moment that
the torch has been passed to a new generation of blind Americans,
a generation born in this century and fully belonging to it, a
generation committed to the belief that all men (seeing or blind)
are capable of independence and self-direction, of attaining
equality and pursuing happiness in their own way, of serving each
other and helping themselves--of walking alone and of marching
together. And march together we will!" 
     Dr. Jernigan: When we met in Los Angeles in 1967, all of us-
-including Dr. tenBroek--knew that it would be his last
convention. He delivered the banquet address. Here is how it
ended:
     "Through all the years and decades of our existence as an
organized movement, for all our splendid success in gaining
allies and winning public support, we have faced the persistent
opposition of those whom we may rightfully call the "hard-core"
custodians. The main thrust of their attack upon us has always
been, and is today, that the blind people are not ready for
equality--not prepared for the burdens of freedom--not strong
enough to stand upright and walk alone down the main streets of
society. To this denial of equality by the agencies, the
organized blind reply:  we are not only equal to you--but we're
also equal to your challenge."
     Dr. Jernigan: In 1965 we met in the nation's capital, and
more than a hundred members of Congress attended the banquet. Dr.
tenBroek talked of our first twenty-five years. Here is what he
said:
     "So this is the twenty-fifth anniversary. It's a long time,
and it's a great organization. Twenty-five years--a quarter of a
century--how much time is that? In the biography of a social
movement, based on justice and equality, it is a measurable
segment. In the life of a man--say, from his thirtieth to his
fifty-fifth year--it encompasses the best years, the very prime,
when experience, energy, intellect mingle in their most favorable
proportions, before which he is too young, and after which
(pardon me for saying it) he is too old. As a man who spent those
twenty-five best years of life in and with the Federation, I have
few regrets, immense pride, and boundless hope for the future." 
     Dr. Jernigan: In 1961 the Federation was torn asunder by
civil war. Although the great majority of the members wanted Dr.
tenBroek to continue as President, he was sick at heart as he
contemplated the internal strife. He came to the podium to report
to the members, and his message brought tears to most of those
who were present. He said:
     "In the past few years I've been called many things and
compared to many people. In the February Free Press a new
comparison bobbed up:  I was compared this time to Julius Caesar.
We all know what happened to Caesar. He was assassinated, and it
was not just in character. In Shakespeare's version, Marc Antony
came to bury him. Today, my friends, I play the role of Marc
Antony. I come to bury Caesar. Today, in a few moments, I shall
turn over the gavel. When I do, my resignation shall be complete
and effective."
     Dr. Jernigan: The highpoint of the 1956 convention in San
Francisco was Dr. tenBroek's banquet address, "Within the Grace
of God."  We were in the opening stages of our battle for the
right of the blind to organize. None of those who were present
will ever forget the memorable climax of Dr. tenBroek's address.
He said:
     "In the sixteenth century, John Bradford made a famous
remark which has ever since been held up to us as a model of
Christian humility and correct charity. Seeing a beggar in his
rags groping along a wall through a flash of lightning in a
stormy night, Bradford said: "But for the grace of God, there go
I."  Compassion was shown; pity was shown; charity was shown;
humility was shown; there was even an acknowledgement that the
relative positions of the two could and might have been switched.
Yet despite the compassion, despite the pity, despite the
charity, despite the humility, how insufferably arrogant!  There
was still an unbridgeable gulf between Bradford and the beggar.
They were not one but two. How much more consistent with the
facts of individual and social life, how much more a part of a
true humanity, to say instead: `There, within the grace of God,
do go I.'
     Dr. Jernigan: In July of 1952 the Federation met in
Nashville. It was my first national convention. It was also the
first time that we had ever had an address by our President on
nationwide radio. Dr. tenBroek spoke on the NBC network:
     Announcer: "Blind men and women from all over the nation are
gathering today in Nashville, Tennessee, for a four-day
convention of their organization, the National Federation of the
Blind. In our studios is the President of the National Federation
of the Blind, Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, of Berkeley, California. The
National Federation of the Blind is the organization of the blind
themselves. It is dedicated to the presentation of the problems
of blindness as the blind see them, and to the solutions of those
problems as the blind have worked them out.
     "Dr. tenBroek has been blind since the age of seven. He
holds doctoral degrees from the Universities of Harvard and
California. He has taught law at the Universities of Chicago and
Colorado. For the past ten years he has been a member of the
faculty of the University of California and is presently also a
member of the California State Social Welfare Board.
     "Dr. tenBroek will speak on `The Role of the Blind in a
Democratic Society.' NBC takes pleasure in presenting Dr. Jacobus
tenBroek, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
speaking by transcription from the studios of WSM in Nashville."
     Dr. tenBroek: "I should like to ask you to join with me in
seeking the answer to what may seem an easy question:  Have the
blind a right to a place in the sun--or only to a shelter?
     "In more convention terms, the subject I shall discuss with
you this afternoon is the role of the blind in a democratic
society. No doubt that sounds like a simple and straightforward
issue, clear enough in its meaning if not in its solution. But I
fear that the appearance of simplicity may be greatly misleading;
and so before proceeding further I shall ask you to bear with me
while I attempt to clarify the principal terms involved--the big
word, `democracy,' and that other term, `the blind.'"
     Dr. Jernigan: The first recording of Dr. tenBroek's voice
that we have was made at the 1952 national convention in
Nashville. The banquet was held at the Andrew Jackson Hotel, and
Tennessee's Governor Gordon Browning was present to introduce Dr.
tenBroek. I was also at that banquet as master of ceremonies. Dr.
tenBroek spoke on a familiar theme. This is what he said:
     "It is thus no accident that, in the twelve years since the
National Federation of the Blind was founded, significant gains
have been made in the public assistance field, in vocational
rehabilitation, and in other social services which improve the
economic lot and cultural integration of the blind. The
principles on which the National Federation of the Blind is
founded reflect a positive determination to finish the process
that has been begun and to effect a complete transformation of
the social role of the blind, from helpless, pauperized, and
segregated wards, held in social custody, to full and equal
members in society as first-class citizens."
     Dr. Jernigan: These have been the sounds of the first fifty
years of the National Federation of the Blind. When the members
gather to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the movement,
perhaps they will remember and once again recall these voices
from the past. If so, let this be our message to you of that
generation:
     We of the first fifty years worked to create a climate of
public opinion and opportunity which would permit you to have
equal treatment and full citizenship. We leave you a proud
heritage and a strong vehicle for collective action. Take this
heritage, this vehicle, this National Federation of the Blind.
Use it. Cherish it. And never forget your link with those of us
who went before you, or your obligation to those who will follow.
Remember that no one can give you freedom:  You must either take
it for yourself, or not have it. This is a lesson which each
generation must learn again.
     We speak to you from the convention of the fiftieth year,
and we send you our love--and our bond of union to last through
the centuries.
                      ____________________

     Following the playing of this tape, Dr. Jernigan introduced
the members of the panel, whose job it was to discuss their
recollections of the Federation during the decade in which each
of them joined the movement. Dr. Jernigan said:

     Of course, it would be only appropriate to begin such a
presentation by having words from the sole person, so far as I
know, who is still alive and who attended the 1940 convention.
That person is Hazel tenBroek. Before I put Mrs. tenBroek on, I
want to say just a few things to you. You will recall that in a
memorable passage in that twenty-fifth anniversary banquet
speech, which you just heard, Dr. tenBroek said this: "The
Federation was not born with a silver spoon in its mouth. The
workers were few, and the cupboard was bare. Each month, if I may
be personal for a moment, as we received our none-too-bountiful
salary as a young instructor at the University of Chicago Law
School, Hazel and I would distribute it among the necessities of
life: food, clothing, rent, Federation stamps, mimeograph ink,
and other supplies. So did we share our one-room apartment. The
mimeograph paper took far more space in our closet than did our
clothes. We had to move the mimeograph machine before we could
let down the wall bed to retire at night." Now, lest any of you
think that the mimeograph machine was merely a legend, let me
tell you what the files from the Federation say:

Chicago, Illinois
May 12, 1941

The Young Office Equipment Company
210 North Adams Street
(I don't know whether it's still there or not.)
Chicago, Illinois
Attn.: Mr. R. E. Hoover

Dear Mr. Hoover:
     Enclosed please find check number 16 in the amount of
$67.94, payment in full on 78A mimeograph machine number 41601 as
per contract dated May 7, 1941.
Thank you for your courtesy.

Sincerely,
Jacobus tenBroek

     That's what the files say.
     I could not pretend to do justice in introducing Mrs.
tenBroek. Hazel tenBroek symbolizes the best in us all. She truly
deserved to be the first of the first ladies. I have worked
closely with her through the years, and she is everything that
the legends say she is. Here is Hazel tenBroek. I'm going to hold
the clock rigorously on the other members of this panel, but she
can talk as long as she wants to.

                         Hazel tenBroek

     This is a joyous time and a difficult time. We begin playing
old records, and old memories begin to flood through one's mind.
It's hard to sort things out.
     I thought I might begin--since I just had permission--to let
my mind wander a little more and settle a few old questions that
everyone keeps asking.
     Why was he called "Chick"? Mr. Riggs, an old gentleman who
had been to the blind school with my husband, wrote me a couple
of years ago. "We called him Chick because we thought his name
was Chicobus." Other people had other ideas, but that is the one
that seems to have stuck. It took time for a few of them to
realize that he wasn't called Jake. His name was not Jacob but
simply the Latin for James. Somehow he never did become Jim.
     One amusing result of the James and Jacobus routine was
that, when he received his doctorate from Harvard--it was of
course all in Latin--his name was properly written, Jacobus
tenBroek. It was signed by Jacobus Conant, Jim Conant, who was
the president of Harvard at that time. But the amusing thing is
that it came addressed to James tenBroek.
     Other things sort of wander through the mind at a time like
this. There's the story I told to Dr. Jernigan the other morning
about historians and history. We all look back through our own
tunnels. A couple of friends of mine were discussing this fact.
One was a highly renowned specialist in classic Spanish
literature, and the other a respected Latin American historian
with a world-wide reputation, and the classicist said to the
historian, "But Woodrow, it's like this. Historians write the
best fiction."
     But back to the Federation. The National Federation of the
Blind was born of historical necessity, but the birth was no
surprise, given the events and the personalities involved. The
1939 amendments to the Social Security Act of 1936 imposed
rigidly uniform application of federally dictated requirements on
state clients for the Relief of the Poor. In many states these
requirements removed more generous provisions than those
contained in the federal law. States were thus forced to choose
between receiving federal funding and going it alone. In
California, for example, retention of certain funds for
rehabilitative purposes would have to be sacrificed. Missouri and
Pennsylvania, among others, faced similar choices. It was obvious
that solutions could no longer be sought only in state houses.
Answers would have to be found in the nation's capitol. It was
equally obvious that a strong, unified voice of the blind,
speaking together through their own democratically chosen
representatives, was imperative.
     The times were equally fortuitous for those who were to have
a hand in forming the instrument to carry out the necessary
mandates. Here is a little about the personalities in those
times. Wherever he taught, students sought out Jacobus tenBroek
for advice, whether he was their assigned advisor or not. These
students instinctively knew that he cared. Life seemed to get out
of hand for a number of them during the course of any semester,
and Professor tenBroek would set them back on course. The most
frequent query from these tortured souls was: "Why was I born?"
The reply, however gently put, was always the same. "That is not
a relevant question. The real question is, now that you're here,
what are you going to do about it?" Jacobus tenBroek had been
doing something about it all his life.
     For the course titled "Do Something About It," Jacobus
tenBroek had the most talented, knowledgeable, and brilliant
teacher of this century. He was a man well versed in adversity,
discrimination, and professional and intellectual rejection.
There was no one who could do something about it as well as Dr.
Newel Perry. Dr. Perry early realized the value of acting in
concert. Soon after the turn of the century, Dr. Perry returned
from an extensive sojourn in Europe and settled in New York City.
He discovered that the conditions for work and education of the
blind were deplorable. It was not long before he organized a
group of blind persons to take action. By 1907 the Governor had
signed a bill written, introduced, and nursed through the
legislature by Dr. Perry and his group. It provided a state
scholarship to cover readers for blind students who maintained
good grades.
     By 1940 Jacobus tenBroek, apt pupil of Dr. Perry, had had
his bouts with adversity, discrimination, and intellectual and
professional rejection. But he had arrived where he was by doing
something about it. The representatives of the seven states
gathered in Wilkes-Barre were all ready to do something. It is
interesting to note what problems beset the general blind
population during the ten years ensuing and how the NFB grew and
took on those problems by doing something about them. In 1940 the
organization was worried about amendments to the Social Security
Act to enable states with more generous programs to retain the
federal contribution. From the August 9, 1941, convention
minutes, we note that states newly joined were Nebraska, Iowa,
Louisiana, Washington, and Colorado. A number of others were
announced as on the way.
     In 1941 legislation was proposed to strike the clause
authorizing the state agency to consider other income and
resources of the recipient. Also introduced was legislation to
strike the word "needy" from the Social Security Act and set a
minimum pension of thirty dollars. There was a report of the
finance committee, talk about ways to increase membership, and
discussions of the need for representation in Washington, D.C. By
August of 1941 there were resolutions about vending stands;
employment policy; placement in employment and gainful
employment; and, of course, exempt income. Later in the decade
civil service, special needs, responsibility of relatives,
discrimination, and wages in sheltered shops were added to the
list. If you look at that list, you can see that was quite an
agenda for the first decade.
     In 1948 the minutes note, "After much discussion the
president was instructed to find means to establish a monthly
Braille or print publication of the NFB." It went on, "Also
stated was the fact that states should support `the All Story
legislative supplement,'" which Dr. Perry had convinced the
American Brotherhood for the Blind to let him do. In the
Federation it's always been communicate or perish. In the
Federation, too, we must look to the past only for such strength
as it gives us to go forward in the work we must all do. Let's go
do that, and let's go do something about it.

     Dr. Jernigan: Now we move to the next representative from
the forties. Joe DeBeer was not present at the 1940 convention.
Mrs. DeBeer was. Joe was unable to attend, but very shortly he
was not only present at the convention but an officer in this
organization. Many things happened in those early days. Before
introducing Joe DeBeer to you, I want to give you some flavor of
it. I have, as you will gather, dug through the files. I cannot
speak from personal knowledge about the early forties. I joined
this organization in 1949 and attended my first national
convention in 1952. However, I have, as I say, dug into the
files.
     During 1990 we've worked with the National Library Service
and others, attempting to institute a system insuring that
teachers of blind children will know how to read and write
Braille and requiring proof that teachers really possess that
skill. I didn't sit through all of the Resolutions Committee
meeting, so I don't know whether we have a resolution on Braille
competence or not; but, if we don't, we might have done one--oh,
something like this:

     WHEREAS, many teachers have been given positions teaching
the blind without a knowledge of Braille: Now, therefore,
     BE IT RESOLVED, by the National Federation of the Blind in
annual convention assembled that we strongly recommend that no
person be appointed in any school to teach the blind who has not
successfully passed a rigid examination in the arts of writing
and reading Braille Grade II and that this provision be made a
statute in the several states.


     We might write such a resolution, or perhaps we could just
dig out the one that was passed in Baltimore in 1948, which is
what I just read you. So the problem and the commitment have been
with us for a long time.
     In 1941 the files tell me that there were 104 persons
present at the convention in Milwaukee. I believe that was Joe
DeBeer's first convention. The files tell me that our best
estimates as an organization were that in the entire United
States only 5,000 blind people were actually employed in any
way--sheltered, whatever--that's all there were.
     With that as a background, Joe DeBeer is from Minnesota. I
want to introduce him to you now to talk about the Federation as
he saw it in the early days. One of the early pioneers, here is
Joe DeBeer of Minnesota.

                           Joe DeBeer

     Dr. Jernigan, President Maurer, members of the Board, and
Federationists: I would like to mention a few things about the
changes that took place in the first ten years of the National
Federation of the Blind.
     In 1939 we had a new governor in the state of Minnesota. He
recommended that the blind get $21 a month for board and room. We
went in to the governor and told him that was a cut in what we
were receiving, and no person could live on it. He said, "I have
no time for working with a bunch of blind people." So he told us
to get out of the office. His secretary told him that was no way
to do. So three days afterwards, we were there picketing the
capitol for three days. We had papers printed saying exactly what
the blind were receiving and what the governor recommended. In a
few days someone told him that he'd better call in the blind
because we had called the Associated Press, United Press, and all
the radio stations we could get hold of. So he called and said,
"Tell Mr. DeBeer we are ready for the committee." In the
meantime, I had talked to the League of Women Voters. So we came
with one hundred ladies of the League, twenty from organized
labor, and seventy-five blind. They said, "How many are on your
committee?" I said three hundred, so they had to open the sliding
doors. It took a little longer to get the meeting started. The
result was that, instead of getting a cut of ten dollars, we got
a raise of twelve dollars.
     In the beginning we worked very hard to get a White Cane Law
passed. When companies were working on the sewer system, they
never had barricades on the sidewalks. Several injuries resulted.
It was the National Federation of the Blind that saw to it that
they were compensated for their injuries. After that all the
companies put up barricades when they were working on sidewalks
because there was a great deal of publicity about it.
     In the beginning it was very difficult to get an apartment
because the sighted public had an idea that blind people were a
fire hazard. So in big cities they would buy a hotel (an old,
unfireproof building) that would house the blind. To the surprise
of the public, no fires resulted, and in a short time you never
heard any more that blind people are more of a fire hazard than
the sighted public.
     There was very little reading material available. Everything
was Grade One or Grade One-and-a-half. Grade Two Braille was
entirely too complicated for blind people to learn. The blind did
not agree. So in the late 1940s some Federationists and other
people wrote in that they wanted more Grade Two Braille inserted
in the magazine. It was the Matilda Ziegler Magazine, I believe,
that was the first magazine in Braille; and I have been a
subscriber to it for over sixty years. Today, everything is in
Grade Two Braille.
     Then came the first recorder. It recorded on a spool of wire
a little thicker than a human hair; and, when that got tangled,
it really was a big mess. I had a spool of wire one time that got
tangled, and it took me two hours to straighten it out. The wire
recorder didn't stay on the market too long. Then we got the
first tape recorder. It played automatically. It had a little
crank with it that you could insert in the cassette so you could
rewind it by hand. Shortly after that a fully automatic recorder
came on the market--a great improvement. Now, of course, the
American Printing House for the Blind recorder plays six hours on
a cassette, and the voices are very natural. The greatest
improvement is the amount of material that is available from the
Library of Congress. For the first time the blind have almost the
same opportunity that the sighted have had for years.
     I interviewed some of the blind--a new organization. I think
they went into the investment business. Some Federationists are
very successful at it. I play at it a little bit once in a while.
I believe that the younger blind have much more of an opportunity
to get into the mainstream of life than we had fifty years ago.
Thank you, Dr. Jernigan.

     Dr. Jernigan: I want to let you hear something that Joe
DeBeer may not remember. Joe, the 1944 convention in Cleveland,
if you will remember, was recorded in the way that we recorded
things in those days--that is, you had a court reporter there who
took it down word for word. I want to read you a paragraph, Joe,
that is titled Joe DeBeer Statement. Here's what you said in
1944. It's a fine statement. It shows you something of the mettle
and the caliber of the people who set this outfit up.
     "Mr. Chairman," he said, "we had several restaurants in
Minnesota where they didn't allow guide dogs, and we asked about
it and were told that they said, unless it was public property,
they paid their taxes, and they owned the building. If they
didn't want the dogs in there, they could keep them out. But we
got around it by giving them publicity. The only way to do it
there was to make it miserable for them." And his final sentence,
"They didn't like the publicity, so they allowed the dogs to come
in."
     We're going to move on through the decades. Let me go back a
little bit, though, to the records for you. This is our heritage.
We ought to know about it.
     Dr. Newel Perry was really quite an individualist and a
rugged one. He would need to have been in those days. May 14,
1941, he wrote a letter to Dr. tenBroek, one sentence of which
said, "a ship load of blinded soldiers, returning home from
Europe, would stimulate our cause a good deal."
     That's May 14 of 1941, you see.
     April 12 of 1941, he said this to Dr. tenBroek. This was
when Dr. tenBroek was getting some criticism from certain blind
people about forming the Federation. So we were formed November
15 and 16, 1940. As of April 12, Dr. Perry said in his own terse
way, "Waste no time in arguing with blind cranks. Thank them all
graciously and ignore their criticism."
     As I say, such is the caliber of the people who set this
outfit up. I'll let you hear some other data, and then we'll go
to the next decade. At the 1941 convention, as I say, there were
104 persons present. In 1942 the record says, "This committee
estimates that the necessary budget of the National Federation of
the Blind for the coming year will be $5,500." Signed, Dr. Newel
Perry; Frank W. Hall (Minnesota); Emil Arndt (Wisconsin), the
first treasurer.
     1943. This is one you'll find interesting. You will observe,
in one of the appendices in our book, that there were no
conventions listed for 1943 or 1945. "Federation Executive
Committee votes to comply (this is '43) with government request
to postpone the 1943 convention. The Office of Defense
Transportation has requested (this is a letter that Dr. tenBroek
sent out to the members) the National Federation of the Blind and
all other associations to hold no conventions this year unless
such conventions are deemed necessary to promote the war effort.
The Office of Defense Transportation has left it up to each
organization to decide whether its meeting is essential in the
war effort. President tenBroek has polled the members of our
Executive Committee, and the Committee almost unanimously voted
to postpone our 1943 convention." So this was postponed.
     1946. "Gross income, National Federation of the Blind: (See
if this sounds familiar to you) Gross income, $6,156.41. Gross
expenses, $6,276.35. Deficit, $119.40." We've always been
fighting to have enough money to survive on.
     1946. "The banquet will be held Thursday evening (still
Thursday there) at seven o'clock. Reservations, $1.50 per plate,"
it said. On the other hand, a dime then would buy you more than a
dollar will now.
     1947. "The rates for rooms at the hotel are as follows:
Single rooms run from $3 to $5.25 (we, by the way, are doing
better than inflation on that one) with the majority in the $3
class and the $3.25. Double rooms are $4.50 to $6.75 with the
majority posted at $4.50. Twin bedrooms run from $5.25 to $7.25.
Banquet tickets (remember, we were in 1947, and inflation is
setting in) Banquet tickets will cost $2."
     1949. "Single rooms (this was in Denver--'46, of course, was
St. Louis; '47, Minneapolis; '48, Baltimore; '49 would have been
Denver; and '50, Chicago) Single rooms, $3.50 in 1949 to $6.
Double rooms, $6 to $8 (double bed), double rooms, $7 to $9 (twin
beds)."
     For whatever it's worth, in 1946, Kansas became the twenty-
third affiliate; 1948, Kentucky became the twenty-seventh
affiliate. By 1952 there were thirty-one affiliates.
     1949. I want to give you just quickly the 1949 attendance by
state to let you see how your state ranks nowadays with what you
were in '49. Alabama, three people attended. Arizona, one person.
California, sixteen people. Colorado (remember, we were in
Denver, so this is the host affiliate), twenty-nine. Illinois,
eighteen people. Iowa, two people. Kansas, three people.
Kentucky, two. Maryland, one. Michigan, eleven. Minnesota, one of
the big seven, the first ones starting it, seventeen. Missouri,
also one of those seven, (so was California, of course) ten. New
York, five. New Jersey, one. Ohio, in 1949 you had three people.
Oklahoma, you had three. Oregon, you had two. Pennsylvania, you
were one of the first seven; (it's different today) you had one
person in attendance in Denver. Tennessee had four. Wisconsin had
twenty. And Vancouver had one. Totaling 153, I'm told here. I
didn't take time to count them. I assume those additions are
correct. That gives you something of the color of the forties.
The heritage is one of which we can be proud.
     Let us now move to the fifties. How many of you, by the way,
attended your first NFB convention in the forties, say aye.
[scatter of single voices] How many of you attended first in the
fifties, say aye. [small but enthusiastic chorus] I'll tell you,
so did I. Our ranks are becoming thinner. How many of you in the
sixties, say aye. [shout from many voices] The seventies. [louder
shout from many more people] The eighties. [roaring noise] The
nineties. [a shout comparable to that for the seventies] Okay,
the future is secure. [cheers, laughter, and applause]
     All right, here we come to the 1950's. I first met this man
early in that decade. In fact, I had (we wouldn't have called it
dinner) I had supper at his home early on in that decade. He's
now the esteemed chairman of our Research and Development
Committee. From Kentucky, I want to introduce to you next Tim
Cranmer.

                           Tim Cranmer

     Let me tell you, this assignment is fraught with danger. I
have no idea what he may pull out of the hat--or the records. Oh
heavens--he threatens me. He has quotes from me.
     Dr. Jernigan called some weeks ago and asked if I would
participate in some reminiscing about the fifties. And I guess my
only qualification is the fact that I was there. My memory is not
as good as I would like. However, looking back on it, I can say
to you that there were three factors that have lasted in my
memory, probably cherished more each year. It was during the
fifties that I met the people of the Federation--the people that
brought it together, that made it work, and that had the greatest
impact on my life. I will only mention three, and those three
only briefly.
     Dr. tenBroek was the first national leader that I had the
privilege of meeting. You already know what a powerful orator and
charismatic leader he was. I knew that when I first met him. What
I didn't realize was how he worked on you in person, one on one
or in a small group. And so it was the days just before the
convention in Louisville that we met with Dr. tenBroek and went
to dinner. He told jokes like ordinary human beings, and he
laughed. You know, he had a physical condition that set him apart
from all other people--he wore a goatee. We had much fun with him
about that. But it was during those off hours and those off
moments that I acquired a dedication and a love for this man who
founded our movement. Throughout his life he continued to have a
profound impact upon me.
     There are two Kentuckians who were present at the first
convention and, I think, at all the conventions of the fifties.
They will be remembered by you, but not so well, I'm sure, and
not with the same dedication that I have. Harold Reagan was our
state president and a member of our National Board and certainly
a leader long to be remembered. He is still quoted in Kentucky.
He is still referred to frequently as the authority on the
history and the philosophy of the Federation and as the mentor of
all of us. The only other person from Kentucky that I would
mention is Bob Whitehead. He came on in the late fifties in a
leadership role, and he became our state president and served on
our National Board. He, too, continues to be an inspiration to
all of us.
     There were issues in the fifties, and they were not too
different from the issues of today. Basically they were issues of
discrimination. The one that affected me most dealt with
employment. We were trying to open the federal register for civil
service examinations so that blind men and women could seek and
compete for federal employment. That was the year I first entered
state work as a placement counselor. Every day I was going out,
facing the employers and trying to persuade them to hire blind
people, trying to demonstrate their competence. Among the
employers that I was calling on were the federal agencies. So,
when the national convention came to our city and was talking
about the issue of breaking into the federal register, I was a
ready supporter and was there with them.
     On the less political side, I want to say to you that the
experience of the first convention has stayed with me today, and
it is manifested in my walking and in my carrying proudly my
white cane. Because it wasn't until that year at that convention,
the first convention of my experience, that I realized it was
okay to be blind.
     That's the main thing I learned. In closing, I want to make
just one other observation. I'm asked often by interviewers for
one kind of quote or another: What was the most important thing
in the last twenty or thirty or forty years in the lives of the
blind? What's the most important technology today? What can we
look for in the future as the most important thing? And I would
say to you that I have three answers to that. The most important
thing in my past was the National Federation of the Blind. The
most important thing in my present life is the National
Federation of the Blind. And you can help me answer, what is the
most important thing in our future? The National Federation of
the Blind! Thank you, Dr. Jernigan.

     Dr. Jernigan: Thank you, Tim. We will have to move. I see
that we're moving in on time very sharply, but we have more
people to hear from.
     Also in the fifties, a man that I met mid-decade, from South
Carolina, the senior member of the National Board at the present
time (I believe his first convention was 1956, a memorable
convention). When I think of Don Capps, I think of integrity. Don
Capps is a member, a Board Member, a leader of this organization
whom we can be proud of. Don has reminiscences, I'm sure, of the
fifties. I want to introduce him now. Here's Donald Capps.

                          Donald Capps

     Dr. Jernigan, President Maurer, Mrs. tenBroek, fellow
Federationists: It's a signal honor for me to have this
tremendous opportunity to participate in this golden anniversary
convention of the National Federation of the Blind and to discuss
the decade of the fifties. I like to think of it as the fabulous
fifties. They really were in many respects.
     This is the thirty-fifth consecutive annual convention of
the National Federation of the Blind that I have attended.
Incidentally, in thinking about the centennial anniversary
convention, I see no reason why I shouldn't join Dr. Jernigan.
And, Dr. Jernigan, I'm prepared to sign a pact with you to be
present in 2040 for that convention if it's agreeable with you.
     There were four of us in 1956 from South Carolina, attending
the national convention in San Francisco. Of course there was
Betty, who's always been at my side, and then there was Lois
Bolden Tucker and her sister, Lucille Townshend. Incidentally, At
the 1956 convention Lois Bolden Tucker saw a PBX Braille
switchboard for the first time in her life. She was fascinated.
For some years Lois had struggled in a low-paying vending
facility and wanted a career change. When she returned to South
Carolina, arrangements were made for her to have that training,
and she secured a job through the assistance of the Federation.
There was no Job Opportunities for the Blind program in 1956, but
I believe that that was an early JOB success. It has made a
tremendous difference in her life. She served as a Braille
switchboard operator for more than thirty years and has recently
retired.
     Betty and I, along with Lois and Lucille, made the long,
3,000-mile trip across the country from South Carolina to
California in a 1954 Chevrolet that was mortgaged to the hilt.
There was no air conditioning in that fifty-four Chevrolet--not
many automobiles in 1954 had air conditioning. And it got hot; it
got mighty hot before we arrived in California. It took about a
week to go across the country.
     In 1956 I met the two real mental giants in this beautiful
movement you and I know today as the National Federation of the
Blind: Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, our distinguished founder, and Dr.
Kenneth Jernigan, our long-time leader.
     I recall very clearly the magnificent banquet address Dr.
tenBroek delivered at the 1956 convention entitled "Within the
Grace of God." It really made a tremendous impression on me. I
was so fascinated and interested in that speech that, when I
returned home to Columbia, I went to the radio station, and I
persuaded them to broadcast it. Dr. Jernigan, I suppose that was
one of the first public service announcements, lasting more than
thirty minutes.
     I was fortunate enough to be invited as a state leader to a
seminar at the University of California immediately following the
1956 convention. We discussed many things pertaining to blindness
and programs for the blind and about state and federal laws
affecting those programs. That seminar had a tremendous impact
upon me. I recall very clearly the woeful inadequacies of
programs for the blind. These revelations disturbed my soul so
deeply that I declared that, once I returned to South Carolina, I
would do my very best to change the situation.
     I learned other things in 1956 of equal value. Like Tim
Cranmer, for the first time I truly accepted the concept fostered
by the NFB that it is respectable to be blind.
     I also learned another important truth in 1956--that as
Federationists we must put service above self. You cannot be a
complete Federationist if you do not put service above self. As a
matter of fact, the 1956 convention breathed new life into me as
a blind person.
     In 1955 there were thirty-three state affiliates. In 1956
nine new state affiliates joined the National Federation of the
Blind, and our ranks became forty-two. Soon there would be forty-
eight, then fifty, and ultimately fifty-one with the District of
Columbia. As you can see, long before many of us, people were out
there on the barricades, recruiting members and state affiliates,
and we owe a debt of gratitude to them.
     As our ranks grew, so did our prestige, influence, and power
to the extent that they troubled the established blindness system
in those days. Many sheltered workshop managers and agency
directors resented the power and positions which we took
concerning what was best for the blind of the nation. Soon it
became apparent that we needed to do something about intimidation
and reprisals. If blind sheltered workshop employees and blind
staff members of agencies throughout the country dared to join
the National Federation of the Blind in the fifties, they were
intimidated; threatened with reprisals; and, in some cases,
dismissed. It was in 1957 that the Right to Organize bill was
introduced into the Senate by then Senator John F. Kennedy and
into the House by Congressman Walter Baring from Nevada. That
legislation had two cardinal provisions. One, the blind have the
right to organize without interference and harassment by
administrators of programs for the blind. Two, the blind have the
right to speak and be heard. While that legislation never became
law, it received such widespread coverage and endorsement that
the concept expressed in the legislation became a reality.
     In any large organization which develops tremendous
influence, there are times when there are family problems. There
were difficulties in the 1950s, ultimately referred to as our
Civil War.  At the New Orleans convention in 1957, when I was
still a rookie, I was invited to the suite of one Durward
McDaniel, who developed into one of the key players in the coming
strife. Although I was inexperienced and without a great deal of
knowledge about the internal workings of the National Federation
of the Blind--after all, I had been a member for only one year--
Mr. McDaniel discussed with me the merits of amending the
national constitution. He spoke of making it more democratic in
character, of limiting the times and terms of officers. It
sounded sensible to me at that time, but I soon learned that it
wasn't that he was concerned about the democratic process, but
that he had lost the nomination for second vice president a year
earlier.
     I recall, as the civil war developed and more and more of us
were becoming concerned about the effectiveness of the National
Federation of the Blind, there was a very important convention in
1959 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The nominating committee got under
way at about midnight, following a long day's convention. That
nominating committee meeting lasted until three a.m. My colleague
that year, Mildred Kirkland of Charleston, served on the
nominating committee, so I got much more sleep than Mildred and
some others got. The next morning, as the elections came up,
Mildred punched me and said, "Oh, by the way, Don, you were
nominated for Second Vice President last night."
     The NFB survived the internal strife and the civil war. We
came out of that unfortunate period much stronger and more
united. We were strengthened in character, spirit, and soul.
     Despite strife and civil war, the National Federation of the
Blind in the fifties began to receive recognition from various
state and federal officials. Several governors invited the NFB to
send in teams to evaluate their programs. I had the privilege of
participating in a 1958 survey of the West Virginia agency for
the blind. Betty and I were assigned the opportunity and
privilege of calling on blind persons who were recipients of what
was referred to then as ANB--you guessed it, Aid to the Needy
Blind. Now that has been made more sophisticated in recent years
because they refer to it as SSI today. But I recall very clearly
more than thirty years ago that Betty and I would complete the
day's work and return to our hotel room to reflect upon the
plight of the blind of West Virginia. And if I needed anything to
inspire me to go forward, West Virginia certainly helped. In that
year our son Craig was three years old, and our daughter Beth was
three months old, and there was scarcely money for travel, much
less for personal needs. We had to scrape up the money to pay for
a baby sitter to take care of the kids while we were gone for a
week. So we have progressed, and we have a strong and viable
heritage. I would challenge you to do the following: There is
nothing more rewarding than to recruit a new member for your
chapter, your state, and for the National Federation of the
Blind. When you leave this golden anniversary convention, go back
home and get to work on it. Thank you.

     Dr. Jernigan: Now, we have six people left. I'm going to
hold the clock tightly on you. The first four have been indulged
by the chair because it's a proper thing to do. We're coming down
now to recent times, coming to the sixties. And so you're going
to get somewhere between four and five minutes, and not one
second more. Therefore, time yourselves if you will.
     The first one of those is a current member of the National
Board. She attended her first convention in the 1960's. She has
made many contributions to this organization and is one of the
most vibrant of the leaders at the present time. I want to
introduce to you the president of the NFB of Idaho, Ramona
Walhof.

                          Ramona Walhof

     Dr. Jernigan came to Iowa in 1958 as Director of the Iowa
Commission for the Blind. He regarded it as a Federation job. I
graduated from high school in 1962 and became one of Dr.
Jernigan's students. I heard about the Federation but did not
join and was not urged to go to the national convention in
Detroit that year. Later I asked Dr. Jernigan why that was. And
he explained that the last several conventions had been so
terribly difficult that there was real concern about inviting new
people until it was certain that the bitter squabbling was
completely over.
     Dr. tenBroek visited us in Des Moines on his way to
California from Europe. He had been attending the meeting of the
World Council for the Welfare of the Blind. Dr. tenBroek's visit
was impressive and a bit flattering, but I had no desire to get
involved in another group of blind people right then.
     Dr. Jernigan used to maneuver me into doing things I would
rather not have done. I suggested that there should be a sewing
class at the Iowa Commission for the Blind, and I was told to go
and buy sewing machines. I had no desire to go on this trip, and
I didn't know how to buy sewing machines. But I went, and we got
the job done, as Ruth Schroeder (the home ec teacher) will tell
you.
     I went to college in Washington, D.C., and in 1965 the
convention came to me. Vice President Hubert Humphrey and Robert
Kennedy both made appearances at that convention. Nearly one
hundred Congressmen and Senators attended the banquet.
     Dr. tenBroek's banquet address was "The Federation at
Twenty-Five." I learned two important things at that convention.
One was that the Federation needed me, and the other was that I
needed the Federation. And that's what surprised me. The
Federation needed me. Those two things are still the most
important for everyone of us in the organization.
     In 1965 I met Gysbertus Veldhuizen from Wisconsin. I had
learned the Iowa lessons of independent cane travel and self-
confidence. Mr. Veldhuizen taught me about other techniques. I
had never considered them. He said, "I have been encouraged to
learn independent travel and would like very much to do so, but I
haven't had time, and I can hire all the help I need." He paid a
full-time guide to accompany him to the convention and ran a very
successful business. It was the first time I had ever met a blind
person who was rich.
     Gysbertus Veldhuizen also told me about when he and his
family moved to the United States from the Netherlands. He was
five years old at the time. The family was retained on Ellis
Island for several days. Why? Because Gysbertus was blind. That
made a deep impression on me and caused me again to want to do
what I could for the Federation and the blind.
     At the convention in Los Angeles in 1967 we formed the
Student Division of the NFB. It is hard to believe now but from
outside of Iowa there were only three blind college students at
the convention.
     During the next year the Student Division wrote the first
NFB book, The Handbook for Blind College Students.  We were
learning everything from scratch. We had to learn about printing
and binding and distributing. We ordered 500 copies of the
Handbook and wondered what we would ever do with them all. Almost
immediately the Library of Congress ordered 500 copies of the
Handbook, and we had to print some more. No one was as amazed as
the officers in the Student Division.
     Shortly after the 1967 convention Jim Gashel and I (Jim
Gashel was the president of the Student Division and I was the
secretary) went to Montreal to do some work. After we returned
home, Dr. Jernigan phoned Dr. tenBroek so we could tell him about
the trip. Dr. tenBroek was warm and enthusiastic. He asked what
country we were planning to do next. We told him we were
considering some organizing of members in Illinois, where there
was no affiliate. His answer was immediate. He said, "Well,
that's a foreign country."
     The NFB had affiliates in fewer than forty states in 1967.
Members of the Student Division helped to organize many during
the next six years. Sometimes it was like going to a foreign
country. We talked to people who were thrilled and happy to meet
with us and others who were hostile and angry. There were still
deep scars left from the NFB civil war.
     I myself helped to organize in Illinois, Kansas, Tennessee,
North Carolina, Michigan, and Washington State during 1968 and
'69. Some individuals who attended those conventions and those
organizing meetings are very well known today. They are Rami
Rabby, Steve Benson, Allen Harris, and Hazel Staley.
     I first met President Maurer in 1969--you guessed it--at an
organizing meeting, this time in Michigan. Also in 1967 the NFB
of Idaho succeeded in getting the legislature to create the Idaho
Commission for the Blind. It was an impressive accomplishment,
and there were only two or three members from Idaho at the
national convention. It was hard to understand how they had
succeeded. One of them was Chuck Walhof, who later became my
husband. He told me how it worked. Ten or fifteen blind people
without training or much sophistication went to the legislature
every single day until the bill passed late in the session. They
sat in the House and the Senate galleries, and they talked to the
Senators and Representatives every chance they got. They believed
it was persistence that worked.
     This gave the Federation the opportunity to make a huge
improvement in another state agency for the blind. I was
fortunate enough to be in Idaho soon after it all got started.
The 1960s were an exciting time to be in the Federation. We knew
that what we were doing affected blind people, and we ourselves
were learning and gaining confidence every step of the way. In
many ways the Federation really hasn't changed since then.


     Dr. Jernigan: Okay, we're moving along through the decades.
The next person I'm going to introduce really needs no
introduction from me. He serves as President of this
organization, and, Mr. President, you have four minutes, and no
more.

                        President Maurer

     Thank you, Sir. One thing I wonder about as I come to this
particular meeting of the Federation. When I joined the
organization, I used to listen at night to the words of Dr.
tenBroek, and they encouraged me. I wonder what he listened to.
     I joined the National Federation of the Blind in 1969. The
first convention I attended occurred in Columbia, South Carolina,
at the Wade Hampton hotel. In some senses the Federation of that
day no longer exists, but the underlying urgency for self-
organization, the goals to be achieved, and the spirit of our
movement are the same today as they were then. I was just out of
high school and wondering what my life would be like. I had
imagined working in a carpenter's shop. The convention was a
revelation. I had not known that blind people could be engaged in
such a wide variety of occupations. This revelation occurs again
and again. The wonder I felt at my first Federation banquet is a
part of me today. I sat in the banquet hall with my blind
brothers and sisters and heard Dr. Jernigan proclaim for all of
us our intention to gain independence, to achieve genuine
productivity, to secure our freedom.
     When I was growing up, I don't remember anybody's telling me
that blind people were second-rate. But even without hearing it
directly, I got the idea. My teachers believed that my
performance in school, while they said it was impressive enough,
wasn't really very important. I was a blind student. You could
expect high achievement from some students but not from the
blind. My future, according to them, was circumscribed by a very
limited set of opportunities. Although I would not have admitted
it, I felt the same way.
     I swam a great deal as a boy. A mile was no problem. It took
only time. One afternoon, I came to the pool I had been using for
years. A lifeguard who didn't know me well asked me to stay out
of the deep water. He said that as a blind person I would be more
difficult to watch. I thought the request was odd. But I
complied. I didn't know any better.
     Today I ask myself, what made it so difficult? Blind people
are not harder to spot in the water, they are not more
transparent, and they are not smaller. Yet I accepted his
explanation and swam in the shallow water.
     But those were the sixties, and these are the nineties. When
I came to the national convention, the whole atmosphere was
different. Sometimes the message was driven home directly. You
can be productive and you had better work hard to insure that you
are. Sometimes the behavior of the people involved was more
significant than the words they used. I had never before been
asked to take an active part in an enterprise of such far flung
objectives, such combined resources, and so many members. My
opinion counted. The Federation leadership and members said to
me, "Come, help us make the lives of the blind better," and they
meant it. Although there were several hundred people at the
convention in 1969, the voice of Dr. Jernigan spoke specifically
and directly to me. The Federation was personal. It still is.
Hundreds of us at that wonderful meeting felt that the problems
we faced were those of the Federation, and those of the
Federation were ours. We still feel that way.
     Today our movement is bigger than it was when I joined. In
1969 our National Office consisted of a few small rooms at the
Randolph Hotel Building in Des Moines. A few more than 700 people
attended the banquet that year. The convention agenda was less
than half the length of the one we are now using. There were only
half a dozen committees and three divisions. Twenty-five
committees and sixteen divisions accomplish much of the
integrated work of the organization in 1990. Our National Office
is the largest facility of its kind in the nation. We number our
convention participants in the thousands, not the hundreds.
     But with all of our expansion, with all of our growth and
progress, and with all of the changes we have made, the National
Federation of the Blind is still the same organization that I
joyfully met in the sixties.
     Shortly after becoming a member, I began my studies at the
university. One day a letter intended to persuade students not to
smoke was delivered. It said that smoking was largely a visual
pleasure. Blind people, the writer believed, didn't smoke as much
as the sighted because they didn't have the enjoyment of watching
the smoke rings. After reading this letter, I was glad that the
National Federation of the Blind had been established, that it
was alive and well, and that I was a part of it. The problems we
as blind people faced were too great to be solved by a single
individual or a small group. They still are. But with collective
action there isn't any difficulty we can't resolve. This is what
I felt in 1969. That feeling is still with me, and there are many
thousands of Federation members who share this determination. Our
increased size and diversification have not dampened our
enthusiasm. In fact, the very opposite has occurred. With the
experience of the years we have gained fervor and determination.
The wonderful fellowship of the Federation and the objectives for
which we are striving have not changed. There is a song. It is
called "The Wheeler Dealers." The last line says, "As long as
we've got money, that's enough."
     It isn't, but there's another thing that it brings to mind.
As long as we're the National Federation of the Blind, that's
enough.

     Dr. Jernigan: Thank you very much. We now move to the next
decade. I have first urged, then cajoled, and now I will wield
the gavel strongly and firmly.
     The seventies. The two Barbaras are going to talk to us for
the seventies. And they're both fine people, as you know as well
as I. They are both state presidents. One of them, the first, is
my esteemed colleague, who is Associate Editor of the Braille
Monitor and who also handles our public relations at these
conventions. I first met her quite a number of years ago. She can
tell you about that if she wants to or anything else in four
minutes. Barbara Pierce.

                         Barbara Pierce

     Luckily, President Maurer has just said a good bit of what I
intended to say, which will help me with my four minutes. Because
I think it's important. As I trace for you what I saw happen in
the seventies, you will see the kind of growth that took place
during that decade.
     At the beginning of 1974, I had only vaguely heard of the
National Federation of the Blind. I had read some publications by
the American Foundation for the Blind, and I knew that there was
a gaggle of hysterical fanatics out there on the edge of rational
human activity, known as the National Federation of the Blind,
and that's about all I knew. Then someone brought a stack of
literature to my home, and it was the most amazing phenomenon I
have ever experienced--that weekend that I spent reading and
being converted to Federationism.
     I should tell you that Dr. Jernigan informs me that at that
time, the Braille Monitor had a circulation of roughly three
thousand. Today that circulation is thirty thousand. Just a
zero's difference. I can tell you that I waited every month for
that magazine to get to my door. I consider that I was extremely
lucky to be one of the three thousand who were reading it at that
point.
     These are the kinds of things that I was learning about. I
didn't know anything about blind people. I had stayed away from
them. But I began to learn about these things. The Cleveland
Society for the Blind--I live thirty miles from the Cleveland
Society, which was telling blind vendors when to change their
underwear. The Minneapolis Society for the Blind was making
people like Lawrence Kettner sign waivers on their minimum wages
because the staff had arranged things so that they couldn't work
efficiently in the sheltered workshop, so they went out by
themselves and found competitive employment at significantly
higher wages with the help of the National Federation of the
Blind. Dr. Jernigan had just finally thrown in the sponge after a
period of martyrdom, serving as the only voice of rationality on
the NAC board, the National Accreditation Council for Agencies
Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped.
     By the end of the seventies, we were beginning what we
called then the cane wars. We began to have our troubles with the
airlines in the seventies. Those were the issues that we were
struggling with at that time. And how were we financing our work?
Well, those of you who were around in the seventies will remember
the Ludwig Candy Company. Remember that name? You all think that
you have a lot of candy surrounding you now with the M & M's
(which Ohio is selling) and the other candy for sale, but I'm
telling you the entire National Federation of the Blind was
selling Ludwig candy in the mid-seventies.
     We've progressed further. The seventies also saw the
beginning of the PAC Plan, the Pre-Authorized Check Plan. That's
when we started to get serious about how we were going to raise
money to allow this movement to have an annual budget of over the
$5,500 a year that Dr. Jernigan referred to earlier.
     We began the leadership training seminars in the seventies.
The first of those took place in 1973. These were long weekends
in which people got together with Dr. Jernigan and learned as
much as we could, like little sponges sopping up what our history
has to teach us and how this organization functions, so that we
could go out and be leaders across this nation. And that program
has made a profound difference.
     The Washington Seminars began in the seventies. We began
going to Washington in an organized way and having an effect on
Congress. And we began NAC-Tracking in the seventies: traipsing
around after NAC and standing outside, telling the public what
was going on.
     We had our troubles in the seventies, too. There were a few
people who thought they'd try a rerun of the civil war, and we
simply dealt them out in a big fat hurry and went on with our
work.
     The end of the seventies, I think, says it all. We started
with a readership of 3,000 or so on the Braille Monitor. We ended
with the National Center for the Blind in Baltimore, Maryland. It
was quite a decade, brothers and sisters. Thank you very much.

     Dr. Jernigan: A heritage indeed to be proud of. Now, for the
other representative of the decade of the seventies. She is a
person, again, who is quiet, unassuming, but steady and firm.
President of the NFB of Nebraska, here's Barbara Walker.

                         Barbara Walker

     It was December 4, 1974.  I sat in Dr. Jernigan's office at
the Iowa Commission for the Blind.  I had spent the two previous
days observing the Commission's programs for the purpose
professionally of broadening my education and getting some
direction as a rehabilitation teacher of the blind.
     But I had personal reasons for being there also.  I had
heard much about the Commission and the Federation.  I wanted to
know if the Commission really was all that it was cracked up to
be and wanted to know why Federationists from Iowa kept coming to
Nebraska to deal with legislative and other matters which I
presumed were none of their business.  I had also wondered why
Nebraska Federationists seemed to welcome what I saw as
interference from these Iowans.
     I went to Dr. Jernigan's office that day with a list of
questions:  "Why are Federation convention rates so low?"; "What
is meant by ACB-type groups?"; "Why does dual membership seem to
be all right with the ACB but not with the NFB?"; "Don't
Federationists use sighted people for what they need and then
sometimes claim to have done the things themselves?"; "Why just
the blind?  What about other handicaps?"
     After dealing straightforwardly with these issues, we came
to the real crux of the matter.  I acknowledged that the
Federation seemed to be working well in Iowa.  People were really
pulling together to make a positive difference for the blind. But
it was different in Nebraska.  Folks got together in the chapter
in Lincoln (my home town), I said, and had cake and coffee,
socialized some, maybe even agreed to work on something; but then
went home and, likely as not, complained about what had been
decided and backbit one another about it.
     Dr. Jernigan listened patiently to what I now know, having
been around awhile, may have been the millionth time he may have
heard such things.  Then he calmly asked me, without judgment or
malice, "And what are you doing about it?"
     I sat for a moment reflecting on what I had just done.  I
had just told the national president of an organization to which
I didn't belong what was wrong with a local component of that
organization, where I could be (but hadn't been) doing something
about it.  Having already discovered during that visit that I had
many misconceptions about the Federation and its workings, I
decided that the very least I could do was to go back to my job
and the Lincoln chapter of the Federation and look upon both with
the love and respect I had been shown, and with the new
understanding of the Federation's approach to issues which I was
gaining.
     I left that meeting personally exhilarated by the growing
conviction that I had found the key to improving my life and the
lives of other blind people.  I was also keenly aware that what I
was about to do was not going to be easy.  It was not without
some flak that I joined the Federation in January of 1975.  Many
of my friends and associates thought I was grasping for pie in
the sky and abandoning loyalties.  There were snubs,
confrontations, and some hard feelings.  But the issues have
become clearer to me, and I discovered there was much I could do.
     Within a month after I joined, I was elected president of
the Lincoln chapter.  I found myself dealing immediately with
controversy over a pamphlet put out by our National Office.  I
once again received patient and respectful guidance from
President Jernigan.  In May of that year I watched our national
representative, Mrs. tenBroek, lovingly turn a frustrated crowd
into a working body during one of our state convention sessions.
And in July of that year I experienced the magic of my first
national convention.  That was where I became inextricably a part
of the Federation family.  It was there I committed myself to
involvement in NAC demonstrations; improvements in Nebraska's
school, agency, and library for the blind, etc.; and other issues
facing us as blind people no matter how controversial things
might become, because I believe in the rightness of doing so.
     But as I have worked over the years in various capacities in
this organization, I have remained convinced that it is not what
we do that makes us so strong, important as that is.  Our real
strength lies in our love, respect, and commitment to one
another.
     As many of you know, my husband Jim, himself a staunch
Federationist, died suddenly of a heart attack a year ago June
19.  This past year I have tried to fulfill the pledge I made to
you at our convention in Denver to continue the cause to which he
dedicated his life.  As some of you know, grieving is itself very
hard work, and there have been times when it has threatened to
consume me.  But the presence and strength of God's, Jim's, and
your love have not allowed that to happen.
     Time does not permit me to elaborate on the specifics of
what President Maurer, Dr. Jernigan, and others of you too
numerous to mention have done for me.  Perhaps the lyrics of a
song I gave Jim on our eleventh and final wedding anniversary can
best express the kind of love which I believe is the foundation
of our Federation.  The song is from a Glenn Yarbrough tape Jim
purchased at one of our Community Outreach concerts.  With a
couple of minor modifications, it says:

Something very special,
Stronger than the granite in the hills,
We are a family;
Willows in the windstorm.
Bending, always standing, is our love.

Something very precious,
Woven with fragile threads of silk,
We are the fabric
Filled with brilliant colors.
Delicate and shining is our love.

We haven't just been lucky.
You and I have earned this love we share.
Sometimes it's magic!
Comfortable and gentle,
Strong, and yet so tender, is our love.

And after all the trees have fallen,
And stars no longer shine,
All we share together
Will outlast even time.
And forever I will love you.

     That's the kind of love Jim and I shared, and it's the kind
of love that undergirds this Federation.  When I joined, I did it
because I felt the need to deal with certain issues concerning
the blind, and the Federation offered both the vehicle and the
philosophy through which positive change could be made, and
dignity and respect maintained.  I continue to dedicate much of
my time and energy to the Federation because of the real lives of
the real people which those issues affect.  It is, I believe, a
worthwhile struggle.
     In closing, I would like to ask each of you, particularly
when times are tough and you're tempted to quit working or to
complain about other Federationists, to listen, as I do, for that
quiet yet compelling voice asking:  "And what are you doing about
it?" And to try to find answers which will preserve our 
foundation of love and respect.
     Dr. Jernigan: The 1980s we now come to. As often happens
with the junior members of families, you get the last of the
shortest. We're going to cut each of you to about three to four
minutes. It'll be closer to three. It is appropriate, by the way,
that we have for the 1980s a student and a parent. We're going to
begin with the president of the Student Division. He is a worthy
part of the membership and leadership team of this organization.
He's Michael Baillif. Michael started out in an uncomplicated way
being a Californian, and I'm not sure where Michael says he's
from now. Anyway, here is the president of the Student Division.
Michael, demonstrate to me that you've got discipline as a
student. You've got between three and four minutes, closer to
three. Here's Michael Baillif.

                         Michael Baillif

     Thank you Dr. Jernigan. It was 1984. I was seventeen years
old. The NFB was forty-four years old. I was a very young and
inexperienced scholarship winner. Very early one morning, I
recall standing outside a Phoenix, Arizona, Hyatt Regency
thinking, wondering who these people were. What was this
organization all about? Everyone was wearing suits and making
speeches. Particularly puzzling to me was this "Glory, Glory
Federation" stuff everyone was always singing about. Well, then
an event happened which seemed small but made a great impact upon
me. Blind people began to walk out of the hotel. One by one,
hundreds and hundreds of blind people began to issue forth from
that hotel. Some were going to breakfast; some were going to the
convention session early. All were traveling independently,
laughing, talking about the convention and the day's events. I
had just an inkling of the kind of incredible people's movement
the NFB really was. Later that same morning I sat in the
convention sessions and listened to the agenda items. I was
struck by an amazing thought that had never occurred to me. There
really was discrimination out there. As a blind person, I was a
member of a minority group. And the National Federation of the
Blind was the best, probably the only, way in which to address
discrimination and move toward first-class citizenship.
     I learned something else a couple of days later. One morning
Sharon Gold, Sheryl Pickering, and I were walking to a session. I
happened to be using a very short cane at the time and not doing
it very well. So I bumped my head on a tree, cut my forehead
open, and started bleeding all over the place. It was quite an
event. But there was no hysteria. I didn't even get much
sympathy. Sharon and Sheryl simply helped me find a Band-Aid for
my forehead and suggested that in the future I might want to try
using an NFB cane. We walked into the convention session just in
time for the call to order.
     These three perceptions of my first convention--that the NFB
is a people's movement, that this organization is the only way in
which we can move toward first-class citizenship, and that we are
a community of people who truly teach and really care about one
another--have been subsequently reinforced and re-emphasized over
the years. To me the Federation decade of the eighties has
symbolized an ever growing power and prestige and an ever
increasing ability and commitment decisively to address the
issues that face us as blind people--not only in the coming
decade, but in the next century. I can't wait to attend our
seventy-fifth and our one-hundredth conventions--not just to see
the triumphs which we will achieve, and not just to see the
challenges which will face us over the years, but also to
perceive the glory that we contemplate when we sing our song:
"Glory, Glory Federation."

     Dr. Jernigan: Well, Michael, you show a proper discipline
and some command of the language. So thank you very much. I see
why you got elected.
     Finally, we come to a person who sometimes is known because
of her son, Dan Ryles, and sometimes Dan is known because of her.
You know, it's a two-way street. A parent, a teacher, somebody
who is as much a part of this Federation as if she herself were
blind. And this is Ruby Ryles. Ruby.

                           Ruby Ryles

     The eighties saw the organization of the Parents of Blind
Children Division (POBC). We're the parents of the blind who will
stand on this platform and lead the centennial celebration of the
National Federation of the Blind. Our children will be the first
generation to grow up under the strength, the power, and the
guidance of an NFB family. They are learning early in life the
power of the organized blind, the necessity of adult role models,
and the value of having parents taught well by the adult blind in
advocacy, attitude, and skill training. From Carbondale,
Illinois, to Carthage, Texas, to Spokane, Washington, to
Catonsville, Maryland, POBC parents are making noise in their
local school districts; and the reverberations have been heard in
state legislatures across the United States. Watch for our
influence in Washington, D.C. in the nineties because POBC
parents are fast learners. And my fellow Federationists, we've
been taught advocacy by the best.
     The eighties saw the phenomenal growth of state chapters of
POBC. Our annual business meeting on Monday saw twenty-five
states represented this year with other states organized but not
in attendance. Among other activities, these chapters have
produced exciting parent-training seminars, giving the benefit of
their experience of the National Federation of the Blind's
knowledge and training in advocacy to parents. As a parent and a
teacher, I've been privileged to speak to POBC seminars around
the country, and I'm always overwhelmed by the hunger of parents
for our message. Parents of blind children around the United
States are outraged with educational systems that will not
provide our children with basic academic and travel skills. They
are exasperated with professional jargon, reams of paperwork,
negative, condescending attitudes regarding our children, and
endless meaningless, intrusive testing. We are incensed by
professionals in the field who do not understand that a young
partially blind child needs a cane early in life. We are weary of
listening to the insipid excuses for not teaching our children to
read in Braille. Currently a child who is blind or partially
blind in all probability will be functionally illiterate at high
school graduation, due to the lack of specialized skill
training--specifically, Braille. Enough, we say. Our children
grow up so quickly. We cannot wait for professionals, agencies,
and school districts to get their acts together. We want that
appropriate education guaranteed to our children by Public Law
94-142, and our children need it now!  Our state president, Ben
Prows, echoed other Washington Federationists at our POBC parent
training seminar when he stated, "Professionals, if you want to
listen to us and work with us, we want to work with you. If not,
get out of our way."
     The National Federation of the Blind's Parents Division was
born in the eighties, and it is a force to be reckoned with in
the nineties. We're changing what it means to grow up blind.
National Federation of the Blind's Parents of Blind Children
Division, POBC, remember our name. You'll hear from us in the
nineties. Thank you.

     Dr. Jernigan: Very shortly now, we'll bring this segment of
the program to a conclusion. I remind you that the time capsule
is being prepared for the hundredth anniversary. I also remind
you that each chapter and each state affiliate is invited to send
an item to the National Office for inclusion in the time capsule.
You can send it either sealed or not, and mark it for the 2040
convention.
     You have heard this morning the heritage, the fifty-year
review of the Federation's growth, presented worthily.

     As we noted at the beginning of the article, this panel
presentation took place on Wednesday morning, July 4,
Independence Day. It seemed fitting somehow that the story of the
evolving emancipation of the blind should have been recalled on
such a day. Ours is a history in which we can all take pride.
     In 1940 freedom was a distant dream that only the boldest of
the blind dared to strive for. Today, because of the National
Federation of the Blind, it is a reality within the grasp of
many. We have grown in strength as we have struggled to win that
freedom, and we have deepened our commitment to continue the
battle until every blind person with the courage to stand and
fight for the right will also be free. Having built our history
with integrity, let us go forward to build our future with hope.



[PHOTO: Portrait of David Andrews. CAPTION: David Andrews,
Director of NEWSLINE for the Blind.]

                NEWSLINE, AN EXCITING DEVELOPMENT

     From the Editor: Sometimes we are asked why the National
Federation of the Blind has such vitality and such dedicated
support. One answer can be found in the following article.
Wherever the Federation goes, the quality of life for the blind
improves. Federation strength is equivalent to enthusiasm and
positive action.
     As Monitor readers know, Fred Schroeder (the Director of the
New Mexico Commission for the Blind) is a member of the Board of
Directors of the National Federation of the Blind. Arthur
Schreiber and David Andrews are Federation members and leaders. A
news release issued August 10, 1990, tells of exciting
developments in the state of New Mexico and once again answers
the question why the National Federation of the Blind. Here is
the text of the release:


                  Daily Newspaper Now Available
                      To Blind New Mexicans

     For the first time, blind New Mexicans are able to read a
daily newspaper, whenever and however they want, thanks to a new
service being provided by the New Mexico Commission for the
Blind. The new service, which is called NEWSLINE for the Blind,
went on-line officially on Wednesday, August 1, 1990
     NEWSLINE users access the service via a standard touchtone
telephone. By using the buttons on the phone, they are then able
to choose the section of the paper they wish to read and decide
to read, skim, or skip individual stories. Fred Schroeder,
Executive Director of the Commission for the Blind said, "Blind
people cannot truly be fully integrated into their communities
until they have equal access to information. NEWSLINE for the
Blind is an important step in providing blind New Mexicans with
that equal access."
     The NEWSLINE for the Blind service enables its users to read
virtually the entire newspaper seven days a week. The paper being
offered is the Albuquerque Journal. There are approximately 15
hours of reading each day, Monday through Saturday and 25 hours
on Sundays. The only things not read at this time are some of the
legal notices and the classified ads. NEWSLINE Director David
Andrews said, "We plan on reading at least some of the help
wanted ads from the Sunday paper later this year."
     All NEWSLINE users must sign up and receive an authorization
number from the Commission, to avoid copyright liability
problems. Once an authorized user has signed onto the system
correctly, he/she is presented with a menu of categories to
choose from. Choices are made with a two-digit code. The
categories include Local News, State News, National News, World
News, Sports, TV Listings, Movies, Area Events, Entertainment
News, Weather, Horoscopes, Editorials, Columns, Obituaries,
Grocery Ads, Department Store Ads, Drug and Sundry Ads, Sunday
Magazine, Features, the Travel Section and Comics.
     Once a listener has chosen a category he/she is
automatically presented with the first story in that section.
He/she can listen to it, skip to the next story, start that story
over again, or jump ahead or back in ten second increments.
He/she can also immediately exit that category to choose another.
All the reading is done by a group of over 75 specially trained
volunteers. 
     NEWSLINE for the Blind works by turning the volunteers'
voices into numbers, or digitizing them for storage on a computer
hard disk. The computer system is hooked up to a number of phone
lines and when listeners call, the volunteers' voices are turned
back into audio and fed down the proper phone line. Thus, the
caller hears the actual voice of the volunteer. The system
presently has eight incoming phone lines but can support up to 24
lines.
     The idea of "telephone reading for the blind" originated
with Jim Doherty, a radio newsman from Flint, Michigan. His
"Talking Newspaper" went on-line in February of 1987. Doherty
came up with the idea and worked with computer programmers to
bring the concept to fruition. He was supported and aided in
large part by Allen Harris and the other members of the National
Federation of the Blind of Michigan. Doherty has said, "It is the
belief and support of the National Federation of the Blind of
Michigan that kept me going at times." NEWSLINE for the Blind is
the third telephone reading service to go on-line. The second is
in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota and is sponsored by
their State Services for the Blind.
     The service in New Mexico was made possible in large part
thanks to the efforts of Arthur Schreiber who is General Manager
of KKOB Radio in Albuquerque and Chairman of the Commission for
the Blind's Board. Schreiber, who is blind himself, was first
introduced to the talking newspaper concept when he attended a
convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan
with Fred Schroeder. He met and talked to Jim Doherty while
there. Schreiber then came home and spearheaded the lobbying
efforts in the New Mexico state legislature that led to the
appropriation to fund NEWSLINE for the Blind. Schreiber said "I
have spent the majority of my career working in the area of radio
news, so I understand the importance of blind persons' having
access to current-in-depth news sources.
     NEWSLINE was dedicated in public ceremonies on Wednesday,
August 1, 1990. The ceremonies were emceed by Arthur Schreiber
and speakers included New Mexico Governor Garrey Carruthers as
well as gubernatorial candidates Frank Bond and Bruce King. The
ceremonies were followed by a reception which was sponsored by
the Albuquerque Journal.
     While NEWSLINE is free to New Mexico residents, there will
be a charge for out-of-state subscribers. There are a small
number of these subscriptions available at a cost of $8.50 per
month, which is the same as a regular subscription to the
newspaper. The caller of course would also have to pick up the
cost of any long distance telephone charges he/she would incur.
For subscription information, contact: NEWSLINE for the Blind,
New Mexico Commission for the Blind; 2200 Yale Boulevard, S.E.;
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106 or call (505) 841-8862.













                  *****************************

     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 of Kenneth Jernigan. CAPTION: Kenneth Jernigan,
Director of the Iowa Commission for the Blind from 1958-1978.]

       MORE TROUBLE FOR THE IOWA DEPARTMENT FOR THE BLIND
                       by Kenneth Jernigan

     The Iowa Department for the Blind, which was formerly known
as the Iowa Commission for the Blind, has had a series of ongoing
problems during recent years. Once the envy of the nation and a
recognized political power in the state, the Iowa Department for
the Blind now finds itself fighting for its very existence.
Earlier this year (see Braille Monitor for January and February,
1990) an official of the Department was convicted of stealing
state and federal funds.
     Now a new commotion has occurred and been publicized by the
media. Gregory Phelps, one of the Department's rehabilitation
counselors, has been arrested for soliciting sex while using a
state car. Here is how the July 26, 1990, Des Moines Register
reported the matter:

              Prostitution Bust Nets State Employee

     An employee of the Iowa Department for the Blind was
arrested last week in a Des Moines prostitution crackdown, and
the state car he was driving was towed away, police say.
     Gregory Phelps, 46, of Cedar Rapids, a vocational
rehabilitation counselor with the Department for the Blind, was
accused of soliciting a woman for sex. Police arrested Phelps
near Eighth Street and Forest Avenue about 8:20 p.m. July 19.
     The station wagon was towed to an impound lot, where it was
later retrieved by Phelps.
     A trial date on the misdemeanor charge was set for August
20.
                      ____________________

     The Braille Monitor takes no satisfaction in reporting this
incident, and personally I discuss it with heavy heart. Mr.
Phelps is generally recognized as being the best counselor that
the Iowa Department for the Blind has on its staff, and he seems
to be widely respected by the blind of the state. Whether this
unfortunate occurrence will do such damage to his reputation that
he can no longer function effectively as a counselor is yet to be
seen, but it will necessarily reflect adversely on the
Department.
     I know Phelps well, having employed him during the 1970s
when I was Director of the Iowa Commission for the Blind. He was
conscientious; he believed in the capabilities of the blind; he
cared about his clients; and he worked with dedication--and from
what I can hear, these traits have not changed.
     Yet, he finds himself in a situation where he is arrested
for soliciting sex while driving a state car, and one has to
wonder why. As you might imagine, I have asked myself whether
this could have happened during the happier days of the Iowa
Commission for the Blind--and the answer, of course, is that I
can't be sure. It didn't happen, and in some ways that is the
bottom line. If I had to try to find an explanation for the fact
that such an event has occurred now and probably would not have
occurred then, I think it would revolve around the commitment we
felt to what we were doing, our loyalty to each other, and our
pride in the agency. We thought we counted for something, that
the blind counted for something. We thought it mattered what we
did--and we were right. I do not believe that this spirit still
exists (or, for that matter, could still exist) at the Iowa
Department for the Blind, and all of us are poorer for it--the
blind of Iowa, the general public of Iowa, and the blind of the
nation. No, there is no satisfaction in discussing this
unfortunate occurrence, but we have a responsibility to report
what happens in the field of blindness--and we try to meet our
responsibilities whether we like them or not.


[PHOTO: Nell Carney standing at podium microphone. CAPTION: Nell
Carney, Commissioner of the United States Rehabilitation Services
Administration.]

           THE REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION:
          ITS RELATIONSHIP TO BLINDNESS AND CONSUMERISM
                         by Nell Carney

     On Thursday afternoon, July 5, 1990, Nell Carney, the newly-
appointed Commissioner of the United States Rehabilitation
Services Administration, addressed the convention of the National
Federation of the Blind. Because this was Mrs. Carney's first
opportunity to meet as RSA Director with the organized blind of
America, this was an historic occasion, and in retrospect it
would appear to have been an auspicious one. This is the way it
happened from Dr. Jernigan's introduction to the final question
and comment:

     Dr. Jernigan: Mr. President, it will be observed that the
first item on the afternoon agenda is listed as "The
Rehabilitation Services Administration: Its Relationship to
Blindness and Consumerism." The person to deliver that is Nell
Carney, who is the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services
Administration from Washington, D.C. I introduce Nell Carney,
although to many in this organization she requires no
introduction. I have known her for a long time. At one time she
was a student of mine in high school; that was in Tennessee. At
another time she was President of the National Federation of the
Blind of Tennessee. That would have been in the late sixties and
early seventies. She has been part of the organized blind
movement and has had long acquaintance with many of us. I've
always had a very productive and pleasant relationship with her,
and I'm particularly pleased that she has come today to talk with
us. I met with her earlier this year to talk about common
problems--problems that were matters of concern to rehabilitation
and also to us as blind people. She will take questions
afterward. Now, I want to present to you the Commissioner of the
Rehabilitation Services Administration, Nell Carney.
     Nell Carney: Thank you, Dr. Jernigan. It's a special honor
to have you, Sir, my former teacher, my mentor, and my lifetime
friend, introduce me to this audience in which for many years I
was a participant. President Maurer and ladies and gentlemen of
the Federation, I am informed that you have registered twenty-two
hundred people and that your attendance is close to three
thousand. I further am informed that that's probably the largest
gathering of blind people anywhere in the world in recent
history. I'd like to congratulate you on that, Sir.
     I am especially honored to be here this afternoon on this
fiftieth anniversary of the National Federation of the Blind, an
organization which certainly made a difference in my life as a
blind person and made a difference in the kind of services that I
received as a client of vocational rehabilitation and, in any way
that we can think about, influenced the paths that my career has
taken.
     I'm also pleased to be here to bring you greetings from
President Bush, who appointed me to this position; from Vice
President Quayle; from the Secretary of the U.S. Department of
Education, Dr. Lauro Cavazos; from the Assistant Secretary of the
Department of Education, Dr. Robert Davila, who is in charge of
the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services; and
from my own staff at the Rehabilitation Services Administration. 
Specifically, this afternoon in the audience, I am pleased to
tell you that Dr. Harold Viaille, who is the Commissioner in
Region VI here in Dallas, is here; and accompanying Dr. Viaille
is Loerance Deaver, who is the state representative in a number
of the states in this region; and finally, Mr. Lane is present
also in the audience.
     The Rehabilitation Services Administration exists within the
U.S. Department of Education and exists for one purpose only, and
that is to administer those authorities entrusted to the
organization by the United States Congress, including the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and its subsequent amendments through
1986 and the Randolph-Sheppard authorities. This past year, 1989,
the appropriation for our program budget, exclusive of our
salaries and expenses, was $1.6 billion. Of that $1.6 billion the
majority of the money, approximately 97%, was designated for the
state/federal vocational rehabilitation program, the programs
which provide vocational rehabilitation services in all of the
states, in some states through separate agencies for the blind,
as you all know. The formula for that program, and I'm sure you
know this also, is 80% federal money and 20% state match. The
grants themselves are based on a per capita and population
formula, which I am told by the authors of the legislation was
designed specifically to address the needs in those states where
there was economic depression. Besides the state/federal
vocational rehabilitation program, we also administer Title VII
of the Act, which is the independent living services program
(parts A, B, and C). As you know, part C of the independent
living program is specifically designated to provide independent
living services to the older blind population. In addition under
title VI, part C, we administer a supported employment program. 
This program is further enhanced through discretionary moneys
which support community-based Supported Employment projects as
well as systems change grants in twenty-seven of the fifty-one
states.
     Section 130 of title I of the Rehabilitation Act allows us
to provide services to Native Americans residing on reservations
through a discretionary grant program. In addition, under title I
we are allowed to provide vocational rehabilitation services to
migrant farm workers through a discretionary process. The
Randolph-Sheppard program is fifty years old, and in that fifty
years it has employed approximately 20,000 blind individuals.  I
know that you know, because that program is of great concern to
you, that it was designed to offer employment opportunities to
individuals who are blind--individuals who are trained and
licensed by a state licensing agency. We think of the Randolph-
Sheppard program now as being a big business program. The gross
sales in the Randolph-Sheppard program in 1989 were 376.2 million
dollars. That figure puts the Randolph-Sheppard program among the
top fifty food-production companies in this country, so we can do
no less than regard it as a big business.
     All of the programs I have described to you, with the
exception, of course, of the independent living program, are
programs which are focused on employment--the number one need of
individuals with disabilities in this country. Recently I was
attending the 1990 conference of the President's Committee on
Employment of People with Disabilities, and Patricia Neal, who as
many of you know is a film and stage star and a person who
suffered a disability--in her presentation she said that to
return to work after a disability is the ultimate affirmation of
life. That has sort of become our philosophy at the
Rehabilitation Services Administration. We're very aware that no
matter what else we provide to the disabled population, jobs are
still the number one need of this special population we exist to
serve.
     When I arrived at RSA, we took a look around and tried to
determine what the most serious deficit areas were and from that
drew four broad priorities which would be our focus of concern
for at least the next year, and probably throughout this
administration. The first of these is related to the reason that
we exist--to administer the Rehabilitation Act and the Randolph-
Sheppard program. We had to examine very carefully our attempts
to do that administration and, more importantly, to do it
responsibly.
     So our first priority became the responsible implementation
of the Rehabilitation Act and the Randolph-Sheppard Act in their
entirety. To carry out that goal, this year we have placed
somewhere in the clearance stream four regulatory packages which
directly address our services programs. The first of these is
deregulation of the "361" regulations, or the [Section] 110 VR
program. The second is the development of a deregulation package
for the supported employment program. The third is deregulation
of title VII Part A, and the fourth is the much-debated
indicators for the independent living program, Title VII Part B.
     In addition, we've examined Title III of the Act, which
provides a strong infrastructure for all the programs in RSA. One
of the programs in Title III is the 31 million-dollar training
program, which is designed to prepare new personnel in the field
of rehabilitation and to upgrade the skills and knowledge of
existing rehabilitation staff. In the past seven months we have
implemented a nationwide training needs assessment for this
program. We believe that the information we have gathered from
the grassroots sector across the country will allow us to
determine more accurately the training needs and establish the
priorities for the program in 1991.
     A second area of concern for us at RSA is policy reform. It
may not surprise you when I say that when I arrived, I asked the
staff for the policy file, and everybody started looking at
everybody else. There was no policy file in RSA in the central
office. We were recently cited by a GAO report as having been
remiss in the development of appropriate policies to provide
program guidelines to the grantees for RSA. Our initiative in
policy reform has involved the consumers and the other program
constituencies, such as state agency personnel, rehabilitation
facilities personnel, and the advocacy groups.
     A third broad area of concern to us at RSA has been the
internal management. When I arrived, there were forty-nine vacant
positions in the agency, many of which were very key positions. 
To date, we have hired and put into place thirty-two positions. 
I'm pleased to announce that the other positions which were
vacant are somewhere in the process of being filled. They're
either recruited or are about to be recruited. By this time, at
the end of December, there will be no vacant positions at RSA. 
Other activities in order to firm up and stabilize the management
in the organization have included the installation of a strategic
management process, which has resulted already in a 1990 work
plan and will result further in a long-range strategic management
plan, which will carry us forward with a blueprint for the next
five years.
     Our fourth area of concern and focus has been to reconnect
ourselves with the constituency, and by that we mean not only the
consumer organizations but the service providers across the
country, who have an interest in and a concern about the program
in the Rehabilitation Services Administration. To that end I have
visited all ten regions and held constituency meetings, in which
we have invited anyone who has a concern of any nature to speak
with us and to state those concerns. In addition to the ten
regional constituency meetings, I have visited a number of other
conferences and organizations. When I was hired for this
position, my charge was to go out and prove to the people that
government still works and works for the people it exists to
assist. Our constituency development initiative has been directed
in that manner. The future of rehabilitation is dependent upon
many things. As we face this new decade in this country and think
about the challenges that are ahead of us, certainly we are going
to have to give consideration to services to the under-served
populations which have been ignored for a number of years. 
Examples of that are minorities with disabilities who cannot
access our programs because of cultural variances.  Another
example is disabled individuals who reside in rural America. For
seventy years we have practiced urban vocational rehabilitation
in this country and not paid very much attention about how to
deliver rehabilitation services to those individuals who reside
in rural areas.
     Other under-served and unserved populations include
individuals with autism, with learning disabilities, individuals
who are disabled as a result of illness such as AIDS, individuals
who are disabled as a result of drug abuse. I think another
challenge in the 1990s is going to be the reauthorization of the
Rehabilitation Act in 1991. What do you the consumer--what do we
disabled Americans--want this landmark legislation to say in
order to be able to provide the services to future generations of
Americans with disabilities? The implementation of the Americans
with Disabilities Act will be a challenge for all the
rehabilitation network in this country in the 1990s and will also
be a challenge to the consumer organizations. We must inform
individuals about their rights and, at the same time, assure
protection of their rights.
     The last section of my speech I would like to direct to some
of my personal observations about my training as a blind person
and finally to talk to you about consumerism and its value to the
rehabilitation programs as they exist in this country. I have
often been quoted, and it's an accurate quote, that I would not
be where I am today if it had not been for vocational
rehabilitation. I have certainly said that. The other half of my
rehabilitation story, however, is the existence of a consumer
organization when I was seeking services from a state vocational
rehabilitation agency and when I was seeking to integrate myself
as a blind person in my community and to maneuver my way socially
through the community. Without the support and the backing of the
National Federation of the Blind and without the existence of
this organization to assist me, without its presence being there
behind me to assure that my rights were protected through the
state vocational rehabilitation agency, I certainly would not be
here today. I had a very positive rehabilitation experience, and
part of the reason I had that experience was, of course, because
I had the backing of the National Federation of the Blind.
     I had some of the same experiences that you have had. I
remember once my reader services were cut off. There was a
shortfall in the agency budget, and they decided that the thing
that blind people could do without was reader service. Because I
was in the Federation at the time, I contacted the leadership and
was told what to do; and the very fact that I was a member of the
Federation carried some clout in negotiating back the reader
services. That's one example of the importance I place on
consumerism in this country and the impact that I believe that
you can have on the services that are provided through the
various programs which are funded through the Rehabilitation
Services Administration.
     Dr. Jernigan and President Maurer, last evening I was
preparing for this presentation. Over the years I have collected
a number of the agendas of the National Federation of the Blind,
and starting about fifteen years ago, I started to notice a slow
but sure trend away from dealing with the rehabilitation
professionals in the country and the rehabilitation community and
toward other burning social issues in the community and in the
nation. One of my purposes for wanting to come here today is to
plead with you to reconsider your position and to think about the
impact that you as an organization, a consumer organization for
and of the blind, can have on the services that are provided to
blind people in this country. As long as the Rehabilitation Act
exists in its present form, as long as our network of services
are provided in their present form, there will be people who are
blind who will seek services from the public agencies. In order
to assure that those individuals have the same opportunities that
I have had and that other successful blind people in this country
have had, I believe that you need to be there to take us to task.
     I would be the first to admit to you that the Rehabilitation
Services Administration has been unresponsive--to put it mildly--
to the needs of consumers in this country. I would like to ask
that you reconsider and give us a chance to prove that we can be
responsive, we can be responsible, and we can attend to the needs
of special populations that we do exist to serve. As you know, in
the Rehabilitation Services Administration there is an Office for
the Blind, which in recent years has become not much more than
the overseer of the Randolph-Sheppard program and the various
arbitrations that go on around the country. It is my hope and my
plan that we will reinvigorate that office to give national
leadership to the separate agencies for the blind, but more
importantly, to those agencies where services for the blind are
integrated, to assure that the population of blind individuals
seeking services through state VR agencies will get optimal
opportunity for services. I ask that you join me and support me
and support RSA and our staff in expanding this program and
bringing it back to the state at which I believe it once
functioned.
     Mary Switzer, who was for more than two decades a leader in
rehabilitation and served in the same position that I hold today,
once said that life is faith and love; but most of all, she said,
it's hope. And I believe that consumer organizations, and
specifically the National Federation of the Blind, represent hope
for the young blind people in this country as it did for me when
I was a young woman growing up in Tennessee and seeking services.
And I ask that you think about that and think about the words of
Mary Switzer. Certainly the faith and the love and the enthusiasm
that existed here in this organization fifteen years ago I have
felt again today. I would ask that you reconsider your position
with rehabilitation. Make us do our job. Take us back to where we
used to be. Thank you very much.
     As I've indicated to Dr. Jernigan and President Maurer, I
would be happy to take questions.
     Dr. Jernigan: I am tempted to respond to Commissioner
Carney.  She said, you will remember, had it not been for
vocational rehabilitation, she would not have been here today. Is
that what you said? Well, you know, that's true with me too. I'd
have been a lawyer. I might have been here; I don't know. Of
course she might too. I want to respond for a moment, and then
I'll recognize you, Jim Gashel. You didn't get the first shot
this morning. Then I'm going to throw it open to a free-for-all
for a while and see if anyone wants to ask questions.
     I want to say to Commissioner Carney this: You're exactly
right. I counted up, and in 1988 we spent, I think, only about
two percent of our program on rehabilitation. We did because we
thought the system had become irrelevant to blind people. It is
not, as some people thought, because we were simply by nature
radicals who don't like things, or because we didn't like the
personnel involved. As you may know, in 1981 when the Reagan
administration came in, I was called by a Member of Congress and
asked if I would like to come over and testify about the
reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act and budgets for it. I
said, "If you can assure me there'll be some reform in the
program, the answer is yes. If not, the answer is no." He said
with some surprise, "Well, wouldn't you rather have the program
as it is with all of its weaknesses and problems than not to have
it at all?" And I said, "Well, whether you're surprised by the
answer or not, the answer is, no, I wouldn't." That seemed to
surprise him. I think the program can do a great deal. I have
hopes that under Commissioner Carney it will do a great deal. I
know that she knows the philosophy of independence. She is
herself a blind person. She has gone through the system. So sure,
it's still new in this administration. It still remains to be
seen what she'll do fully. But I have hopes that we will be able
to rethink our position on rehabilitation, and I can assure you
that, if rehabilitation is willing truly to be responsive to the
needs of the consumers and to listen--not just to the people it
picks to listen to, but to the representatives of organizations
of the blind, chosen by them--then we'll meet rehabilitation
halfway and then some. That at least we will do.
     Now, Jim Gashel, go.
     Jim Gashel: Yes, sir. Thank you very much.
     Commissioner, I just want to say that I'm really glad that
you're here. You know, you and I and others of us in this
movement have fought together side by side and shoulder to
shoulder. I will always remember coming to Tennessee several
times and working with you on a number of policies. I want to
talk with you about what I see as one of the major problems of
rehabilitation and something that I think the Rehabilitation
Services Administration can help on. And if you do, we're likely
to be in a better position to respond in the way that you were
suggesting. It's this: Almost every time I talk to people about
rehabilitation, it comes down to individual planning versus state
policies that say you can or cannot do something. Now the
Rehabilitation Act sort of gives you something on one hand and
sort of takes it away on the other. Section 102 of the
Rehabilitation Act says there's going to be an individualized
written rehabilitation program (IWRP) for everybody coming into
the program. That implies that we're going to take account of
everybody's needs, and we're going to try to do our best to serve
those needs. There are innumerable other sections of the
Rehabilitation Act that are interpreted to say almost exactly the
opposite. Those sections allow state agencies to place limits on
reader service, as you were suggesting, or to say that they're
going to take account of similar benefits in particular ways or
to deny services provided by some agency in another state, or to
do a lot of things that undercut individualized planning.
     Now, either the Rehabilitation Act means individualized
planning, or it doesn't. What I want to know is either in the
reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act or in regulations or in
something, will you work on this problem with us to see to it
that individualized planning takes priority over state policies
that say we can't get anything out of rehabilitation?
     Mrs. Carney: Yes, sir, I think individualized planning means
individualized planning, and I believe that that is one of the
things in the Rehabilitation Act that we absolutely must assure
the integrity of. And we're not doing that. I know specifically
of one situation that you and I have talked about that you must
have in mind today. I do believe that at RSA the leadership has
been remiss in giving adequate guidance and direction to states
in the plan development. You know each state plan exists for the
purpose of saying what that state organization will do for the
disabled population in that state--it's a contract between the
state and the federal government. This year, in fact in just the
past few weeks, I have sent out a directive to state agencies
saying that any change in their plan must be taken to public
hearing. We're getting feedback about it. The state agencies
don't like that very much, but that has to be. That's just one
tiny step toward assuring you, the consumers, of input where it's
important, because in the state plan the breadth and scope of
services are projected for that state agency, and you need to be
there and you need to be aware of what the state plan says. But
back to your issue about individualized services--it certainly
does say in the Rehabilitation Act that the IWRP is designed to
develop individualized services with input from the client or the
individual seeking services. To me that means that the client has
some choice about what the vocational goal is going to be. You
see, Dr. Jernigan, if this were a long time ago, you could have
said you wanted to be an attorney. Maybe you did, and maybe
somebody didn't listen to you.
     Dr. Jernigan: They told me, if I wanted to be an attorney, I
could go pay for it myself. If I wanted to be something else, I
could go and they'd help me. I didn't have any money.
     Mrs. Carney: I understand that. To me, the individualized
services program is a unique quality of rehabilitation as we
practice it in this country, and to me--I'm almost hesitant to
use the word--it's almost sacred. It is a property of the system
that we absolutely must protect. And yes, Jim, I will certainly
work toward regulation or statutory change or whatever is
necessary to assure us that individualized planning and execution
of a program are protected.
     Peggy Pinder: Good afternoon, Commissioner Carney. We don't
necessarily want to go back. I think what we want to do is find
the right future to go to. I don't think the National Federation
of the Blind has ever been criticized for failing to state its
position strongly. And that is true when a positive thing happens
as well as when something with which we don't agree takes place. 
I want to thank you publicly, Commissioner Carney, for something
you did earlier this year. The Federation through its scholarship
program has given a lot of money and a lot of encouragement to a
lot of blind students around this country. And we have over the
years had continual trench warfare with rehab counselors who, as
soon as we give the money, try to take it away. When this issue
was brought directly to your attention, Commissioner Carney, you
sat down and wrote it and put it out. It's a policy memorandum
from your office with your signature that says when a blind
student earns a scholarship and the earning is based on merit,
then the blind student gets to keep it. I want to thank you for
that.
     Dr. Jernigan: That is praise well deserved.
     Mrs. Carney: Dr. Jernigan, may I respond to Peggy--not about
the scholarship--I did it because it was the right thing to do. 
But I should know better than to come to this organization and
talk about going back to where we were. I agree with you that we
need to look to a brighter future.
     Diane McGeorge: Commissioner, I wanted to thank you for
coming to Colorado, and visiting all of the different regions. 
That has been very valuable. You stated there and you've gone on
record over and over that you do believe in choice, that people
should have choices in  where they receive their rehabilitation
services. My question is what is RSA doing to implement that
choice right now? You know that we have established some good
centers for rehabilitation training throughout the country. Yet
if there's a state that has its own center and a student wants to
come to another state center, it's a big battle. It can go to an
appeal process, sure. If the client loses the appeal process,
what do we do? So my question is really what is RSA doing now to
implement choice for people who wish to go to other states to
receive rehabilitation?
     Mrs. Carney: We are giving guidance to state agencies, which
says that, as a matter of principle, the development of the IWRP
is designed to provide choices to the disabled individual seeking
services. There are some states in which the state director is
very willing to allow services purchased from some other state
and some others where it isn't. We need to work together on those
states where it is a problem; but, Diane, things didn't get the
way they are at RSA overnight. The whole notion of choices in
rehabilitation is very new to a lot of people who practice
rehabilitation in this country. We have to keep saying it over
and over and meaning it and saying it from the leadership of RSA
until it catches on, and I do think it's catching on.
     Dr. Jernigan: I would say that I personally asked
Commissioner Carney some time ago to consider what could be done
within the context of federal law and policy. If a blind person
in one state feels that the training there does not meet his or
her particular needs and that a program in another state meets
those needs better, then the first state should not be permitted
to block that individual's going to the second state by cutting
off the individual's rehabilitation funds. I just want to be
clear that Commissioner Carney agrees with that in principle and
is doing what she can to see that atmosphere and program
implemented in the country. Is that a correct statement?
     Mrs. Carney: That's correct, sir. One of the things I think
we've been remiss at RSA in doing is providing adequate technical
assistance to state agencies in the development of the program to
assure that the rights of individuals are protected in the
development of those plans and that the concept of choice is
included in the development of the state plan.
     Diane McGeorge: I understand that, but you see, they all say
that we give the same kind of services that the other centers
offer. That just is not true. Our centers offer their students
the most important thing--belief in themselves as blind people.
     Dr. Jernigan: But Diane, even if it were true that state A
gives exactly the kind of services as state B gives, and a blind
person in state A really feels that his or her needs are best met
by going to state B, then I should think that what we want to see
established is that that blind person has the right to make that
choice; and what Commissioner Carney was talking about will do
more toward it than anything else I know. It keeps everybody on
their toes. That means if state A is not responsive, there's
always state B as an alternative. And I have hope and belief that
Commissioner Carney will give the technical assistance, the
nudges ultimately--that RSA will insist, if it must as a last
resort, that states follow that kind of choice policy.
     Mrs. Carney: Dr. Jernigan, that isn't different from ten or
fifteen years ago; we had to make these service providers
understand and see that we had to have choices in vocational
goals. So we've come a way since then.  This is another step in
the choices process.
     Dr. Jernigan: That's true.
     Michael Baillif: Commissioner Carney, blind students in this
country face a terrible problem which RSA can solve.   Currently
very often we go to our state agency and ask for basic academic
support services, technology support, and reader services. We're
told that we need to go to our colleges instead because they have
something like it and there is this concept known as similar
benefits. We go to our colleges, and the services there are
inadequate at best. We go back to the state agency, and they say,
"Sorry, our hands are tied by similar benefits." Very often blind
students spend more time seeking a source for and trying to
acquire services than we do studying. It's a real problem. RSA
can solve it if it will simply step forward and establish itself
as the primary service provider, responsible for seeing that
blind students receive adequate academic support services. Will
RSA do it? That worked with the blind population, and both times
we went through the same scenario. We placed people on jobs, and
we tell the employer that you have to provide reasonable
accommodation, and the end result of that was, of course, that
the employer didn't pay the blind person. We tried that with
colleges. The state vocational rehabilitation agency, which
serves you as your primary service provider. It is your public
service provider. It is responsible for carrying out your program
or seeing that the financial resources are available somewhere in
the community to carry out your rehabilitation program. And yes,
of course, one of the problems I think is that over the years we
haven't given very much leadership and direction to the service
providers in the country. That's going to change, and it is
changing.
     Eileen Rivera: Commissioner, I would like to underscore the
need to transfer benefits and go where you need to to get
training. I administer a vision rehabilitation center at Johns
Hopkins University, and in Maryland we have no place for our
patients to get any good training, whatsoever. We in good
conscience  can't even recommend that they go anywhere in state. 
They sit around at home, and they get discouraged, and we try to
fight with the rehabilitation agency to get them out of state.
Right now we've got a number of people who are waiting and
waiting and fighting the system, and they just can't take it
anymore. It's very urgent. It's a very important problem. 
     Dr. Jernigan: Okay, I think she has responded to that. 
     Jim Omvig: Thank you, Sir. Commissioner, two very quick
questions. as you know, I come from a background in a state where
the agency for the blind eagerly looked for blind people and gave
service to encourage people into training and opportunity. I now
live in Arizona, a state that doesn't offer that. In fact, it is
probably the worst program for blind people I have ever seen.
     Two kinds of things I want to address to you. First, the
state says you have to understand that the rules have changed
since you were in rehab. We can't really go out and help people
to get the kind of training they need. It's very complex and
cumbersome now, and that seems to be the defense they use. The
rules are different, and they can't aggressively seek to help
people. Connected to that I have two questions: (1) Is there any
mechanism through your office where we can deal directly with
some of the problems in the states? (2) (Diane McGeorge's
question made me think of this) Arizona has the notion that
orientation training is not needed at all by blind people in the
new era. A blind person is just supposed to go blind and
magically go on with life without training, period. And the state

fights. We have to appeal every time we want orientation training
for a blind person from Arizona. I'm wondering if you can also
issue any kind of policy guidance on that kind of thing?
     Mrs. Carney: I think we can offer leadership at the national
level, but again I would emphasize the value of the consumer
organization at the state level. Sometimes it's a question of
philosophy. It sounds like what you're saying is going on in
Arizona, but the consumer involvement at the state level will
always need to be there, no matter what we do at the national
level. (Well, consumer involvement at the national level of
course is important too.) But no matter what kind of guidance or
leadership we provide, it's going to take all of us working
together--the consumer and the leadership at RSA and your
national organization--being very active in order to be sure that
whatever guidance we give at the national level is implemented at
the local level, and to be sure always and forever that the
rights and opportunities of the blind individual are protected.
     Dr. Jernigan: Now I want to thank you, Commissioner Carney,
for coming. (She will be here for the banquet and for the rest of
this afternoon's program.) I want to tell you publicly that we
appreciate your coming here, but even more we appreciate the
direct manner in which you've dealt with questions. Obviously,
it's one thing to say things, and it's another to do them. But I
believe you will do what you said you will do, and if you do, it
opens the prospect of an entire new era in the relationship
between the organized blind in this country and the
Rehabilitation Services Administration. I think that there are
many things that past rehabilitation commissioners could have
done if they had been aware and if they had thought it was in
their best interest to do so. I believe that you are aware and
believe also that you believe it's in the best interest of
everybody to do these things. Time, of course, will tell. You
were at one time, as I say, a state president of this
organization. You were at one time a member of the National
Board. You know what this organization is. You know what its
goals and objectives are; and, therefore, you know what its
reactions will be to the kind of treatment it gets. We appreciate
your  coming, I tell you again, and we look forward to working
with you in the months and years ahead. If you meet us halfway,
we will do likewise, and we will be your strongest support.
     Mrs. Carney: Thank you, Sir.
     Dr. Jernigan: If you do not, of course, then we'll treat you
differently, but you know that before I tell you.
     Mrs. Carney: Yes, Sir.




[PHOTO: Portrait of Larry and Sandy Streeter.]

                BUDGET RENT A CAR SEES THE LIGHT

     In the July, 1990, issue of the Braille Monitor Larry
Streeter, a Federation leader living in Omaha, Nebraska, reported
on his battle with the staff at the Omaha Airport Budget car
rental agency to hire a mini-van for a weekend trip during which
a friend intended to drive. The inflexible folks at this Budget
car rental counter insisted that the driver and the owner of the
credit card must be the same person. They stoutly maintained this
position despite Mr. Streeter's insistence both that he had
rented cars previously from Budget with no such stipulation and
that this policy almost certainly violated the Nebraska White
Cane Law. Eventually the Streeters rented a van at a much better
price from one of Budget's competitors, but they did not abandon
the dispute.
     Mr. Streeter wrote to the President of Budget, explaining
the situation, and on May 18 Melinda M. Harre, Operations
Manager, responded with a thoroughly satisfying letter. Budget
Rent a Car Employees in Nebraska will now have no excuse for
flouting the provisions of the state's White Cane Law, and we can
be pretty sure that the ones at the Omaha Airport office will not
soon forget the Budget Rent a Car policy concerning blind
customers. Here is the letter that Larry Streeter received:

Omaha, Nebraska
May 18, 1990

Dear Mr. Streeter:
     Please accept our sincere apologies for the problems you
encountered with your recent attempt to make a reservation. Thank
you for taking the time to let us know about it. It's through the
comments of our customers that we can identify our strengths and
weaknesses so we can provide the kind of service you deserve from
Budget Rent a Car.
     Many people, I'm sure, are not aware of the Nebraska White
Cane Law. I have posted a copy of this law at our rental counters
to prevent this from happening again. I am sorry for any
inconvenience our error may have caused you.
     The normal procedure for this situation is to have you
initial that your driver would be doing all of the driving. We
would also need the proper identification from your driver and
your credit card with the proper secured authorization.
     Mr. Streeter, your business is very important to us. I would
like to offer you the complimentary use of a van or car for a
weekend of your choice. Please call me when you are ready, and
I'll make the necessary arrangements.
     We will make every effort to serve your future needs in a
manner more consistent with your expectations and our standards.

Very truly yours,
Melinda M. Harre
Operations Manager
cc: Joyce H. Roehrich
    Special Assistant to President


[PHOTO: Marc Maurer sitting at table reading Braille document.
CAPTION: Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the
Blind.]
                       WATCH YOUR PENNIES
                         by Marc Maurer

     The old expression (sometimes attributed to Benjamin
Franklin) goes something like this:  "Watch your pennies, the
dollars will take care of themselves." If expenditures take a lot
of money, we tend to think about them. Those which cost less are
sometimes made without much real consideration. Therefore, keep
track of the inexpensive purchases--they are the ones that will
cause bankruptcy in the long run.
     A few years ago we established a committee in the National
Federation of the Blind to consider ways of soliciting deferred
gifts. A deferred gift comes to the organization some time in the
future. The most common form of this gift is one which is made by
will. However, there are others. Some organizations raise most of
their money by asking people to make gifts in their wills. We in
the Federation receive some money from wills, but it is not a
major portion of our income. The amount we receive each year
fluctuates very greatly. Sometimes it is almost nothing.
     When we established the Committee on Deferred Giving,
somebody commented that the money we get from wills comes most
often from people who have not been members of the organization.
Gifts by will come primarily from outside the organization.
     Shortly after our 1990 convention, a man came to my office
to tell me about programs to encourage deferred giving. He wanted
to show me that such a program contained elements that I hadn't
thought of. He started with a dramatic example. This is how it
went. If a person owns a vacation home that is to be sold to
provide money for retirement, that person can sell it directly.
If it is sold by the owner, however, income taxes must be paid.
Therefore, it should not be sold. Instead, it should be given to
the Federation with the understanding that the donor will retain
the right to receive income. The Federation can sell the property
and keep the proceeds in a bank. Part of the money can be paid to
the person who made the gift. There are no taxes to pay on the
sale. Consequently, the Federation gets more money, and the
person who made the gift gets more.
     I told the man in my office that the National Federation of
the Blind would be willing to assist donors by participating in
such an advantageous relationship. He responded by telling me
that his task would be to write the papers. My task (he said)
would be to supply the names of people with the vacation homes
that they wanted to give away. At this point, it seemed to me
that the usefulness of continued conversation had about come to
an end. I made pleasant conversation for a short time and sent
the man away.
     However, I was to hear from him again. His letter arrived in
my mailbox in mid-August. It listed several ways to establish a
deferred giving program. It reminded me that laborious, constant
effort almost always produces results. His letter said that many
people make excuses for not having a deferred giving program. It
urged me to concentrate effort not on the multi-million dollar
bequest but on donors with more modest contributions to make.
     I thought about the letter and decided that some of its
points were worthwhile. I do not have a multi-million dollar
bequest that I can make. Nevertheless, I do have some money. I
suspect that many other Federation members are in the same
position. I have a family to consider. If I die before those in
my immediate family do, I want them to be provided for.
Nevertheless, I can make a gift by will to the National
Federation of the Blind, and I should make it. As I write this
article, my will is made. It was written to provide for the needs
of my family. Of course, part of my family is the Federation.
Consequently, the Federation appears there. I urge you to think
about making gifts by will to support our organization. I also
urge you to get others to follow your example. There are many
ways to do it. If you think that you might want to make a gift to
the organization, but you don't know precisely what the
possibilities are, please call me at the National Office. We will
try to find a way to help achieve the goals you have in mind.
Here are some suggestions about deferred giving.
     Gifts may be made by will or revocable living trust. There
are several ways to make a gift by will. The person making the
will can give a specific amount, a percentage of all the property
owned, a specified piece of property, or all that is left after
certain gifts have been made to others. A donor may also make a
gift through a gift annuity. This means that money or property is
transferred to the Federation with the understanding that income
will be paid to the donor each year. When the donor dies, the
remaining property belongs to the Federation.
     I have read many novels about people who owned estates. I
understand that when rich people die, there is an estate to worry
about. I have never thought of myself as a person with an estate.
However, I suspect that, when I die, there will be some money
left. This means that I will have an estate. Somebody will have
the pleasure of spending it. I have put a very substantial part
of my life into the National Federation of the Blind. I want our
wonderful organization to thrive. Therefore, I shall try to make
a gift in my will to the National Federation of the Blind. I urge
you to do the same.





           LAUGHTER ABOUT BLINDNESS: A DIFFERENT VIEW
                       by H. G. Jim Burns

     From the Editor: Jim Burns, who lives in Los Angeles, is a
retired psychology professor. I have known him for more than
thirty-five years, during all of which time he has been a member
of the Federation. He does not totally disagree with what Chris
Kuczynski says in his article about laughing about our blindness
which appeared in the April, 1990, Monitor; but as you will
observe, he has a slightly different point of view.

     Are we, the organized blind, taking ourselves too seriously?
Sometimes organizations do when their cause is not won, and both
bravery and determination are still needed to deal with ignorance
and misunderstanding about blindness.
     In the April, 1990, Monitor, attorney Chris Kuczynski argues
cogently in his article "The Child's Laughter and the Adult's
Responsibility," that as we mature, our laughter about blindness-
-even among our blind comrades--is unacceptable, because it
damages the image we feel the blind should present to the sighted
public. I fully agree that this image should show blindness is
respectable and that blind people are entitled to equal
opportunity to live in society. But he says it is not respectable
to be blind and yet laugh among ourselves about blindness and the
funny things we do as blind people.
     He's probably right. But remember that laughter relieves
tension. Not to laugh about our blunders and slip-ups due to
blindness implies the creation of a thin-skinned, dour-faced
people you can't have any fun with. We make ourselves different
from others who do laugh about their foibles and failings. Now,
above all things, except for our blindness, we do not want to
appear different from others. This produces an attitude of
strained tolerance toward the delicate blind around whom you have
to walk on eggs and wear kid gloves.
     Of course, chronic joking about blindness becomes a bore.
Also, there is no need to construct the stereotypes of the
plucky, ever-smiling blind person who makes everybody laugh just
to keep from crying. But a little laughter does ease the strain.
We blind receive far more sympathy than we are entitled to. The
sighted public will be more likely to improve in its attitude
toward blindness from behavioral example ("Who Are the Blind Who
Lead the Blind," Braille Monitor, September, 1989) and occasional
laughter about the blind among themselves, than they will by too
much philosophy and too much manifesto.
     When I taught psychology a few years ago, I attacked the
misplaced sympathy notion by asking if anyone knew any jokes
about blind people. Nobody could supply one. Then I would ask for
jokes about the deaf and about stutterers. These were not hard to
come by. Finally one student came up with a blind joke. When I
encouraged him to share with the class, he proposed a "miracle
cure," a nostrum in a cup. He said, "Take tea and see." Mild
amusement was experienced, but the ice was broken concerning the
"precious" blind.
     People often ask how you can possibly learn to read Braille.
The question is put less out of curiosity than it is from a
mixture of astonishment and sympathy. I usually reply that it was
slow going sometimes, but it was worth it even though it drove me
dotty. The questioners enjoy suddenly catching on.
     One joke I should like to leave you with assures the blind
have equal consumer advantages with the sighted as regards ladies
of the evening.

There was a young lady named Gail,
Whose blouse wore the price of her sale.
And tacked on behind
For the sake of the blind
Was the same information in Braille.

     A little laughter (especially shared laughter) hardly gives
rise to the fear of disrespect.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Portrait of Dawnelle Cruze.]

         BRAILLE: A SURVIVAL SKILL FOR ALL BLIND PEOPLE
                        by Dawnelle Cruze

     From the Editor: Dawnelle Cruze is one of the leaders of the
National Federation of the Blind of Virginia. She recently wrote
me as follows:
     "It was suggested by Charlie Brown and Seville Allen that I
send in the attached transcript of remarks I made at a public
hearing held in Richmond, Virginia, on July 10, 1990. This
hearing was called by a joint study commission composed of
members of the Virginia Department for the Visually Handicapped,
the Virginia Department of Education, and a couple of state
legislators, whose purpose is to determine whether Braille should
be taught to all blind and partially blind students in the
Virginia public school system. This, of course, is an issue that
is close to the heart of every concerned blind person who cares
about the training of the next generation. While there are many
areas of disagreement about how blind children should be
educated, I think almost every Federationist agrees that Braille
is a linchpin in the educational program of every blind child."
     This is what Dawnelle wrote me. Here is what she said to the
study commission:

     Braille--the six-dot system of literacy--is the only viable
language of learning which affords blind and partially blind
people the opportunity to compete on terms of equality in our
society today.  Without competency in Braille, blind people
cannot expect to maximize their potential in the world of work. 
The truth is that Braille is a crucial survival skill which all
blind and partially-blind students must master. Therefore, it is
imperative that Braille be taught to every blind student in the
school system of the Old Dominion.
     I remember the days when learning Braille was a respectable
accomplishment. Braille was a staple in the education of both
blind and partially blind students.  When I was in third grade,
my teacher asked me to assist her in providing Braille
instruction to a partially blind boy whose primary form of
literacy was large print.  This classmate ultimately discovered
that Braille was his medium of choice in taking notes and in
performing other daily tasks which required writing or the
immediate retrieval of information. As far as I know, this man is
still utilizing his Braille skills in his business today even
though he still reads large print.
     Conversely, I met a high school student two years ago who
was woefully lacking in the survival skill of Braille.  This high
school senior was a product of the public school system in
Virginia and had won a collegiate scholarship from the National
Federation of the Blind of Virginia. In discussion with him
concerning his use of the alternative techniques of blindness,
the student revealed that he had skated by during his public
school career without ever achieving fluency in Braille.  Rather
than using Braille, he had been encouraged to rely on tapes and
oral presentation. His spelling and writing skills were thus
neglected.  I would also venture to guess that his grades were
not as high as they might have been if this student had been
fully literate in Braille.  I shudder to think what happened to
this boy when he entered college and discovered the true meaning
of functional illiteracy!  How much more might he have achieved
if he had been schooled in the most basic language of literacy
for every blind person, Braille?
     The question comes to mind:  Why isn't Braille accorded its
proper place in the curricula of blind and partially-blind
students?  How and why has Braille lost its status over the years
as the primary literacy tool in every blind student's education?
Perhaps its fall from grace is partially due to the innate
negative attitudes about blindness which are held by the very
professionals who are tasked to train blind students in the
skills they will need if they are to assume their place in
society.  Those same negative attitudes are also held by those
educators who instruct these professionals in the alternative
techniques of blindness which will be passed on to their charges.
     Contrary to the popular belief among these educators, there
is no reason to use visual acuity as a yardstick to determine
whether or not a partially-blind person should be expected to
master the skills of Braille.
     Unfortunately, it is my observation that the trend has been
to turn away from Braille as the basic means of written
communication among blind and partially blind students in this
age of talking computers and visual magnifiers.  The order of the
day in the instruction of partially blind students seems to be to
camouflage their blindness as much as possible in an effort to
help them blend in with the mainstream.  Partially-blind students
are forced to accept print as their literacy medium in spite of
the eyestrain or inefficiency which might ensue.  After all--for
the most part--it is easier for the sighted itinerant and
resource teachers to teach reading and writing of print because
most of these teachers are not proficient in the use of Braille. 
Let me note here that this is not totally the fault of those
teachers.  College programs in special education are not
requiring them to learn Braille, and many are lucky if they even
receive one semester of Braille instruction.  In any case, isn't
it easier for the partially blind student to haul around a visual
television magnifier?  Can't the student use his speech-equipped
computer in class instead of that small slate and stylus which
would fit so easily into purse or pocket? Finally--and most
pertinent to the issue in question--who wants to look blind
anyway?
     It would appear that some professional educators have sought
to cut Braille out of the standard curriculum of alternative
techniques taught to blind children having some useful residual
vision. Furthermore, totally blind children have not been pushed
to attain real proficiency in reading and writing Braille.  Thus,
an alarming rate of functional illiteracy has been fostered which
is rampant among blind students throughout this nation.
     Part of the blame for this deplorable state of affairs must
be pinned on the community of blind adults who have not been more
vocal about the loss of status for Braille in the individualized
education plans for blind students and who have not been more
vigilant in reaching out to the parents of blind children to
educate them as to the importance of Braille instruction.  Too
many parents have been left ignorant regarding the fact that
Braille is the language of literacy for their blind and partially
blind sons and daughters.  Because these parents were not aware
of the benefits of Braille instruction--particularly in the case
of every partially blind child--these parents unquestioningly
swallowed the myth sold to them by sighted professionals
concerning Braille. That is, they believed that blind children
who still possessed some residual vision couldn't possibly be
blind and didn't need to gain facility in Braille. Furthermore,
these parents were told that their children couldn't possibly be
forced to learn Braille as long as they could still read print
with their classmates.  Trusting parents never took the time to
analyze this thinking.  If they had, they would have realized
that their children had no choice in the other subjects which
they were expected to learn in school in their basic educational
curriculum.  Was any fourth-grader ever asked if he wished to
study Virginia History?  Was any high-schooler given a choice
about learning basic English composition?  Can an
academically-oriented child opt out when it comes to studying
Algebra?  Of course not!  Like English or Algebra, Braille must
be a required subject among blind and partially blind students. 
These children must be required to master this vital language of
literacy before they are allowed to graduate from high school!
     Blind people--such as members of the National Federation of
the Blind of Virginia--are waking up and accepting the challenge
of insuring that Braille will be taught to all blind and
partially blind students in this country.  We are redoubling our
efforts to educate parents of blind children regarding the
absolute necessity of including Braille instruction in the
curriculum of their blind sons and daughters.  We are attending
meetings such as this one to rally around the cause of Braille.
We are demanding that those professionals in the education and
rehabilitation systems who claim to be supporters of Braille come
out of the closet and join in the fight to restore Braille to its
rightful place in the education of blind children.
     This issue is too critical to the success of blind and
partially blind students to be buried in professional jargon or
opinion.  Let us learn from the experiences of blind and
partially blind people everywhere and accept Braille as one of
the most necessary, basic alternative techniques of blindness. 
Let us go forward to re-institute Braille as a foundational
survival skill in the individualized educational plan for every
blind child.  Let us give Braille the same respect accorded to
ink print and acknowledge it as the medium of literacy for blind
and partially blind children.
     By doing these things, we will help all blind children along
their way toward obtaining first-class citizenship in today's
society.  We will have given them one of the most basic keys to
security, equality, and opportunity. With Braille as their
primary language of literacy, the next generation of blind
children will be better prepared to assume their places among
their sighted peers.  Having mastered Braille as one of their
major survival skills, these children will be literate enough to
maximize their potential and will reach for heights as yet not
gained by their blind compatriots.  Braille will have given them
the information they need to grasp their own success.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Portrait of Barbara Pierce.]

                DOWN AND OUT IN BERWYN, ILLINOIS:
                  DIALOGUE MAGAZINE GOES UNDER
                        by Barbara Pierce

     On Monday evening, August 13, 1990, the Board of Trustees of
Dialogue Publications, Inc. gathered sadly for what several have
characterized as an inevitable meeting--the one at which by an
all but unanimous decision they determined to end Dialogue's
misery. For twenty-nine years the organization produced a
quarterly magazine for blind readers and prided itself on its
refusal to take controversial stands, calling the resulting
fence-sitting objectivity (see the June, 1989, Braille Monitor).
Early this past summer the Board contacted the magazine's readers
and friends with an appeal for help. No one reading that letter
or the column in the summer issue of Dialogue that reprinted it
could avoid the conclusion that, unless some immediate source of
funding were found, Dialogue would be at the end of its tether.
     Clement Stone, the Chicago financier, had several times in
the past come through at the eleventh hour with enough money to
keep the enterprise afloat for a while; but, though Mr. Stone
apparently never himself rebuffed Dialogue's recent overtures,
according to one source he buffered himself with so many layers
of staff that the publication's fund-raiser could not get
through.
     It is now pretty generally agreed that Wally Adams was hired
in 1987 as director of development primarily because of his
contacts with Clement Stone. From the beginning Federationists
have gone on record as being dismayed at the poor quality of the
writing and worse attitudes about blindness displayed in the
fund-raising materials prepared by Mr. Adams. During the
intervening years, more than one Dialogue staff member has
complained bitterly in private about his appointment and has
commented with grimly perverse satisfaction on the
ineffectiveness of his campaigns and materials.
     During the months preceding their resignations from the
Dialogue Board of Trustees in early 1988, the two Federation
representatives repeatedly urged that the fund-raising materials
be rewritten and the campaign be reconceived. As one of those two
representatives, I can testify that most of our board colleagues
seemed to have no idea what we meant when we pointed out that the
materials were, at best, semi-literate and filled with
condescension toward the blind. Adams was a former member of the
board, he was a Lion, and he had some contacts with the Stone
organization. Therefore, he was the perfect man for the job, and
no Jonny-come-lately board members (blind or not, experienced
with non-profit fund raising or no) could possibly have anything
significant to contribute to the discussion. Though Jerry Novak,
president of the Board of Trustees at the time, suggests that he
was not happy with the notion of hiring Adams, the board embraced
the idea with no hesitation expressed by anyone in a leadership
position. Some on the editorial staff say now that it was Novak's
responsibility to find a way of scuttling the plan to hire Adams
before it ever got to the board.
     About the first thing Adams did was to formulate a plan to
raise five million dollars in (as I remember it) five years. It
seemed likely to me that the scheme would never raise much money;
and when I recently asked Dan Finch, Dialogue's managing editor
at the time of its demise, how successful this development
program had been, Finch commented, "When we were two and a half
years into the plan and two years and five months behind
schedule, we began to suspect that something was wrong." With all
this as background it is not surprising, then, that the day
following the August 13 board meeting, Wally Adams was sent
packing, but not before the damage was done.
     Friday, August 18, 1990, was the last day of work for Dan
Finch and Deborah Blank, the two editors; and other staff members
will be released as their tasks are completed. It is never
pleasant to watch people being thrown out of work; but, when
those folks have written competently and shared themselves with
their audience, it is like helplessly watching the suffering of
friends. Bonnie Miller, who until last winter was editorial
director, seems to have read the handwriting on the wall and
found another job before the crash. We can only hope that Finch
and Blank will be as lucky.
     One is left to ponder the question of why Dialogue did go
under. As I have spoken with staff members in the last several
weeks, I have been told both that there weren't enough blind
people in influential positions and that, because blind people
had been allowed to run things for so long, not enough business
principles had been applied to the operation. It seems fairly
clear that Dialogue Publications, Inc. has not had the
opportunity to benefit much from the application of sound
business practice, but I am certain that this has nothing to do
with whether or not the managers and members of the Board of
Trustees through the years have been blind.
     Jerry Novak (since spring of 1989, executive director of
Dialogue, while continuing as president of the board) has
concluded, as he said in interviews with the Braille Monitor,
that there is no longer a place for a publication like Dialogue.
He maintains both that the general public is no longer interested
in contributing to such a magazine and that the blind no longer
depend on Dialogue because they can now get much of the same
information from other sources.
     As a result, he has spent much time in the last year
exploring possible alternatives that might have allowed the
organization to branch out in new directions and still publish
the magazine, perhaps in fewer formats. He reports that none of
these efforts succeeded in the time Dialogue turned out to have
left. Staffers were hopeful at one point, according to Novak,
that Hadley School for the Blind might take over the publication
and keep it going, but he reports that Hadley eventually decided
against such a financial investment, and discussions broke off.
     So why did Dialogue go under? Obviously blind people are not
willing to pay even the production costs for themselves. The $20
a year requested for subscriptions did not begin to cover this
cost and was not paid by a long list of readers anyway. People
may argue that blind readers are too poor or too used to handouts
to bother paying for what they want, or that Dialogue's let's-
not-offend-anybody-by-taking-a-stand-on-anything policy no longer
holds the appeal that it may once have done. In any case, it
seems pretty clear to everyone that the general public really is
no longer interested in contributing to a charity that promises
only to provide a quarterly informational magazine to blind
people.
     Perhaps this is attributable to the proliferation of
disability organizations, all trying to raise money to support
their programs. Maybe it is actually that the NFB's efforts to
educate the public are taking hold. Maybe people are coming to
understand the real injustices that face blind people and to
recognize that we truly are competent and able to compete if we
are given the chance to prove ourselves. Those who are persuaded
by such arguments are likely to find that helping us to change
the status quo is more constructive than providing blind folks
with an occasional magazine to read.
     Dan Finch disagrees with those who have argued that Dialogue
Publications could have succeeded only if it expanded into new
areas. He believes that it might have survived if the staff had
been willing to make some hard decisions that would have resulted
in the magazine's shrinking. He maintains that Dialogue has
continued to straddle the fence, providing some technical
material and some non-technical features, allowing those
interested exclusively in either area to complain bitterly about
the presence of the other material. Finch thinks that if Dialogue
could have decided which sort of publication it should become, it
might have found a niche.
     Although spasmodic efforts are still being made to find a
wealthy individual or organization to take over, it really does
look as though Dialogue has produced its last issue. Novak says
that he and the board committee, appointed to oversee the
dissolution, are making an effort to wind up the operation with
dignity and responsibility. He is not prepared to say how long
this will take.
     Perhaps the most sensible epitaph for Dialogue was spoken by
Mary Borden, director of business affairs for the magazine and a
loyal and dedicated employee for many years. Jerry Novak reported
to me that Mary had pointed out that all things must die and
that, when an organization has outlived its usefulness, the time
has come to let it go. No matter how personally sorry employees
or readers may be to watch the ending of an era, "To everything
there is a season"; and for Dialogue this would appear to be the
season of endings.

     Postscript: As this issue goes to press in late September,
rumors continue to circulate that Dialogue may yet rise from the
dead. Several organizations have apparently expressed interest in
purchasing Dialogue equipment, but the name of Lifeprints
Magazine pops up time and again in whispers about takeover. Carol
McCarl, Editor of Lifeprints, accused the Braille Monitor of
attempting to "publish rumors" when the Associate Editor asked
her directly if Lifeprints was considering the acquisition of
Dialogue. With some heat she said that Lifeprints had only $6,000
in its treasury, and she had to maintain another full-time job to
keep food on the table. By implication at least, she certainly
suggested that she could not take on Dialogue in addition to her
other responsibilities.
     On September 18 Novak insisted that no decision had (as of
late September) been made by the special committee or
rubberstamped by the Dialogue Board. When pressed for a time
table, he did say that he thought that a final decision would be
made during the next month. It begins to seem certain that
Dialogue as a fixture in Berwyn, Illinois, and the darling of the
Illinois Lions Clubs is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, but
whether, phoenix-like, it will rise from its own ashes somewhere
else is still not clear as we go to press. An even greater
mystery is the question of how a newly resuscitated Dialogue
would bankroll itself. As the radio commentators used to say,
"Tune in again for the next exciting episode."


                UPDATE ON RECORDING FOR THE BLIND

     From the Editor: Monitor readers will remember that we
carried articles about Recording for the Blind in the May and
June issues this year. The first of these (by Adrienne Asch) was
generally favorable, and the second (by Cherie Heppe) was, by and
large, critical. John Kelly, the head of borrower services for
RFB, attended our fiftieth anniversary convention in Dallas and
spoke to our Student Division.
     He spent most of the week at the convention, and I had
several conversations with him while he was there. He said that
Recording for the Blind had severed its ties with the National
Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually
Handicapped (NAC) and that RFB would like to participate more
broadly than it had in the past in the affairs of the blind.
Kelly was open and amiable and seemed to make a favorable
impression.
     He told me that Ritchie Geisel, RFB's President, would like
to come to the National Center for the Blind to talk with me;
and, indeed, upon my return to Baltimore a letter from Geisel was
waiting for me. He came to the National Center for the Blind late
in July, and we talked at some length about a broad range of
topics. With respect to NAC, Geisel said that RFB had simply
quietly severed the connection, stopped using the NAC logo, and
dropped its accreditation. He said that RFB did not feel that
further association with NAC served any useful purpose but that
the withdrawal had been made without fanfare to avoid so far as
possible any controversy. I replied that if NAC is as destructive
as many of us say, all organizations of good will in the field
should take a public stand and not simply remain silent, leaving
others to clean up the mess.
     Geisel and I reminisced about RFB's past. There was a time
when the organization was relatively insignificant and of little
account. When it first started (in the late forties as I
remember), its books were recorded on soundscriber discs and
contained more scratch and static than literary substance. But
those days are gone. RFB is now a sizable, well-established
organization providing important and meaningful services to the
blind of the nation, and it clearly wants to take its place as a
major player in the field. The severing of relations with NAC is
obviously a step on that road, for how many agencies of any
consequence continue to allow themselves to be tarred with the
NAC brush? As part of our interchange Geisel talked with me about
the articles we carried earlier this year concerning RFB (see May
and June, 1990, editions of the Braille Monitor). Quite naturally
he was pleased with the first article and unhappy with the
second. He said he would like to make a statement to Monitor
readers, and I told him we would print what he had to say. If RFB
chooses to do so, it can make an increasingly important
contribution to the betterment of the lives of the blind of the
nation, not just by the provision of reading matter and textbooks
but by other means as well. Here are Mr. Geisel's comments:

Princeton, New Jersey
June 28, 1990

Dr. Kenneth Jernigan
Editor
The Braille Monitor

Dear Dr. Jernigan:
     As president of Recording for the Blind, I would like to
respond to the two recent articles about our organization that
appeared in recent issues of the Braille Monitor.
     Adrienne Asch's description of RFB (May, 1990) was accurate
and comprehensive, and we are delighted that she took the
opportunity to share her RFB knowledge and experience with
Monitor readers. As a long-time borrower, Ms. Asch provides
significant insights, and the two suggestions she offers at the
close of her article--for obtaining input from borrowers and for
the employment of blind individuals at RFB--are particularly
timely. This spring RFB formed a Consumer Advisory Council
composed of borrowers, parents of borrowers, and service
providers, and our first extensive borrower survey is scheduled
for this fall. Also, although RFB has employed blind people for
some time, we are presently exploring and purchasing adaptive
equipment to employ people in a wider variety of positions in a
cross section of our departments.
     Cherie Heppe's article (June, 1990), however, contained a
number of misstatements about the mission, scope, and policies of
RFB, which I would like to clarify for readers of the Monitor:
     1) The two print copies that RFB requires of books we record
are not for copyright purposes, but rather (as Ms. Asch had
correctly noted in her article) to insure quality in the
recording process. (One copy is read by the reader, who sits in a
soundproof recording booth and the other by the monitor, who
"proofreads" the text as it is being recorded.) This is not a new
policy but has been in effect since the 1960s, when RFB first
began compiling its recorded books in a permanent library
collection.
     2) Because RFB has specific (and stringent) guidelines for
the recording and acquisition of new books and can't record all
books requested by all people, it strongly endorses--and
regularly refers people to--smaller, independent recording
organizations. With only seven to ten percent of the books
published each year reaching any kind of medium (tape, Braille,
or large print) for blind and visually impaired people, it is
essential that we coordinate and not compete with other agencies,
to make the best use of the limited and finite resources of us
all. To do this, RFB has taken a leadership role in the Coalition
for Information Access for Print-Handicapped Readers (CIAPHR),
which seeks to compile a comprehensive data base of all of the
approximately 1,000 organizations that record books in North
America.
     3) Concerning Ms. Heppe's statement that "RFB raises money
and puts itself out to the public as providing comprehensive
services to blind borrowers," exactly the opposite is true. We
stress to the public and to our donors (as we are emphasizing
here) that we are not an "umbrella" organization providing a
variety of different kinds of services to blind people. Nor do
we, in fact, provide all kinds of recorded books. Our special
"niche" is recorded educational books that meet specific
criteria. Most of our grants are provided for very specific
projects (for example, a certain number of science books on the
junior high level) and certainly not for "comprehensive
services."
     4) As stated in our recording policy (which I have
enclosed), "Given the academic focus of RFB's library and the
limited capacity to meet all recording requests, RFB is unable to
record books that are not widely recognized for their academic
content. RFB does not record material for single classes or
individual schools, by a particular [geographic] population, or
for specific jobs or individual testing." RFB did not record the
books that Ms. Heppe requested for use in her classes in the Los
Angeles College of Chiropractic because they would have extremely
limited circulation value. To address Ms. Heppe's concern for the
many blind people who will attend other chiropractic and
professional schools which require the use of specialized texts,
I have enclosed bibliographies of the hundreds of volumes RFB has
on health-related fields of study including chiropractic , as
well as anatomy, rehabilitative medicine, physical therapy,
occupational therapy, and neurophysiology.
     Most of the new books in our collection are the result of
requests from our borrowers. However, this doesn't mean that we
can record all books requested by all borrowers. RFB provides one
specialized service to the best of our ability, within the scope
of our mission and purpose--and limitations. We fill an important
niche in the overall service system in our country that provides
materials in formats accessible to blind and visually impaired
people, but we are one resource among many. For an educational
book such as a textbook or advanced or specialized text, our
76,000-volume library is a good place to start.
     Incidentally, we are pleased to report that the book Ms.
Asch mentioned at the start of her article, Handbook for
Itinerant and Resource Teachers of Blind and Visually Impaired
Students, has just been completed by our recording studio in
Charlottesville, Virginia, and is available to all RFB borrowers.

Sincerely yours,
Ritchie L. Geisel, President
Recording for the Blind

                      --------------------

                     RFB's Recording Policy
           For Books Added To The Master Tape Library

     RFB records only complete, published, and copyrighted books
that are educational in nature. Academic levels of books recorded
range from fifth grade through graduate school and into the
professions. Subjects include social sciences, foreign languages,
mathematics and pure sciences, applied sciences and technology,
arts and humanities, philosophy, religious studies, medicine, and
law.
     RFB does not presently record dictionaries, encyclopedias,
atlases, Bibles, periodicals, including magazines, journals and
individual articles, manuscripts, pamphlets, general reference
materials, or sections of books.
     RFB makes every attempt not to duplicate the recording
services of other organizations. In particular, taped books that
are available through recreational reading sources, such as
NLS/BPH, or through religious organizations, such as the Xavier
Society, the Jewish Braille Institute, or the John Milton
Society, are not recorded.
     Consideration is also given to copyright dates and editions.
Books with copyright dates prior to 1980 are generally not
recorded when more recent editions exist in the library.
     Given the academic focus of RFB's library and the limited
capacity to meet all recording requests, RFB is unable to record
books that are not widely recognized for their academic content.
RFB does not record material used only for single classes or
individual schools (Yale Biology 101), by a particular population
(Philadelphia's Community Guide to Good Dining), or for specific
jobs or individual testing (Allstate Insurance Planner).
     RFB's librarians do not act as subject specialists. Instead,
they rely on the collecting patterns of more than ten thousand
other libraries in the network to which RFB belongs. Books
designated for further consideration are compared with the
holdings of other academic libraries of RFB's size and nature.
     These guidelines should be helpful in deciding what books
RFB will record. Exceptions will be considered, and if questions
arise, please direct them to Library Services or Recording
Services.

4/1/90





[PHOTO: Blind child sitting at desk in classroom reading Braille
book. CAPTION: Braille is a useful tool for all blind children.]

[PHOTO: Blind child sitting with Braille book in lap using slate
and stylus. CAPTION: Here Brent Ford of Maplewood, Missouri, uses
a Braille book as a lap desk as he writes with his slate and
stylus.]

            BRAILLE READERS ARE LEADERS CONTEST, 1991

     From the Associate Editor: Like many other lovers of good
books, I read myself to sleep most nights. I used to depend upon
plugging in a pillowphone to my Library of Congress playback
machine or record player to prevent keeping my husband awake, but
no more. For the last two years I have been working in a
concentrated way to increase my Braille-reading skill, so now I
snuggle down under the blankets with a Braille volume and perfect
my skill in turning pages silently while I practice my Braille.  
     It is a painless way of getting the drill I need, but it is
happening forty years later than it should have. On the whole I
don't believe that there is much to be gained from spending time
wishing that things had been different, but I do feel a twinge of
regret and a special excitement each fall when I see the
announcement of the annual Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest
for young readers. The skill that this contest promotes is so
desperately important to the future competence of today's
Braille-reading children that all of us must encourage the blind
youngsters we know to enter it and work to win. Every blind child
(with or without usable vision) increases his or her chances for
success by becoming a Braille reader. Here is the information
about the 1990-91 contest.

     The Parents of Blind Children Division of the National
Federation of the Blind and the National Association to Promote
the Use of Braille are pleased to announce our Seventh Annual
Contest for Braille readers, kindergarten through twelfth grades.
     The purpose of the NFB's Annual Braille Reading Contest is
to encourage blind school children to read more Braille. It is
just as important for blind children to be literate as it is for
other children. Good readers can have confidence in themselves
and their abilities to learn and to adapt to new situations
throughout their lives. Braille is a viable alternative to print
for the blind child, yet many blind children are graduating from
our schools with poor Braille skills and low expectations for
themselves as Braille readers. They do not know that Braille
readers can be competitive with print readers. The NFB's Braille
Reading Contest helps blind children realize that reading Braille
is fun and rewarding. They discover that Braille readers really
are leaders.

Who Can Enter The Contest?

     School-age children from kindergarten through the twelfth
grade are eligible to enter. A student can choose to compete in
any one of five categories. The first is the beginning print to
Braille reader. This is for children who have been print readers,
but who have begun learning and using Braille within the past two
years. This includes formerly sighted children who became blind
after they had learned to read print and partially-sighted
children who are or have been print users but have begun to learn
and use Braille in addition to or in place of print.
     Again, this applies only to children within the first two
years of learning and using Braille. After that they must enter
one of the other categories.  These are grades K-1, 2-4, 5-8, and
9-12.

Prizes For The Contest

     First-, second-, and third-place winners will be selected
from each of the five categories. All winners will receive a
special certificate and a distinctive NFB BRAILLE READERS ARE
LEADERS T-shirt, which will proclaim to the world that they are
winners. Cash prizes will also be awarded. In each category
first-place winners will receive $50, second-place winners $25
and third-place winners $10. Prizes will be personally awarded,
whenever possible, by representatives of the National Federation
of the Blind. Schools are encouraged to schedule the
presentations during the yearly school awards ceremony.
     Because we believe all the children are winners and deserve
recognition for their efforts, all contestants will receive a
Braille certificate and a special token for participating. We
also encourage schools to arrange public presentations to honor
these students. Again, members of the NFB will participate in
these activities whenever possible. 

Most Improved Braille Reader

     Special recognition will be given to the five contestants,
regardless of category, who demonstrate the most improvement over
their performance in the previous year's contest. To be
considered for the Most Improved Braille Reader Award the
contestant must enter the contest for two consecutive years,
cannot be a winner in the current or a previous NFB Annual
Braille reading contest, and cannot have won this award before.  
Winners of the Most Improved Braille Reader Award will receive
five dollars and a letter of commendation.

Rules for the Contest

     Contest first-, second-, and third-place winners will be
selected within each of the five categories. Winners will be
chosen based on the number of Braille pages read. The one who
reads the largest number of Braille pages will be the first-place
winner; the second largest the second-place winner; and the third
largest the third-place winner. The contest entry form must be
completely filled out and received by the judges no later than
February 10, 1991.
     Contestants must submit with their entry forms both Braille
and print lists of the books and magazines they have read. The
lists must contain information in this order: 1. Name of student
and student's contest category, 2. Name of book or magazine, 3.
author of book, 4. magazine volume and date, 5. Number of Braille
pages read in each book or magazine, and 6. Total number of
Braille pages read. Both Braille and print lists must be signed
by the certifying authority.

Certifying Authority

     The Certifying Authority is responsible for verifying that
the student has actually read the Braille material that he or she
reports reading and that the material was read between November
1, 1990, and February 1, 1991 (contestants may not count material
read before the contest begins); filling out and sending in the
contest entry form in an accurate, complete, and timely fashion;
and assisting the student in finding Braille materials to read
for the contest.
     Teachers, librarians, and parents may serve as certifying
authorities and as such must be prepared to cooperate with the
judges if they have any questions or need additional information
about an entry. All decisions of the judges are final.
      Official entry forms are available from the National Center
for the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland  21230.
Please use an official form when submitting the print list of
books and magazines read, or be sure to include all the
information listed in the Contest Rules section of this article.
If additional paper is needed, be sure to put the name of the
student and his or her contest category at the top of each
additional page and number each page (e.g., page 2 of 2). The
Braille list should follow the same format. Note: Please list the
author's name for books and list volume and date for magazines.
     Mail entries to Mrs. Sandy Halverson, 403 West 62nd Terrace,
Kansas City, Missouri 64113. For more information call Mrs.
Halverson at (816) 361-7813  or Mrs. Barbara Cheadle at (301)
659-9314.

[2 PHOTOS: One of Kenneth Jernigan standing outside with blind
students at a swing set, and one standing with them at a gym set.
CAPTION: Kenneth Jernigan is shown here with blind children at
the Salvation Army School for the Blind in Kingston, Jamaica.]

                 POVERTY AND PROGRESS IN JAMAICA
                        by Barbara Pierce

     In late September, 1990, the North America/Caribbean Region
of the World Blind Union (WBU) conducted its fall meeting in
Kingston, Jamaica, immediately following the annual gathering of
the Caribbean Council for the Blind (CCB). Several of the
delegates to the regional WBU meeting, including Dr. Jernigan,
traveled south early enough to attend the Caribbean Council
conference. 
     Although I am not a WBU regional delegate, I flew to
Kingston on Sunday, September 23 to chair a meeting of the
regional Committee on the Status of Blind Women since both the
other members of that committee were already there for the CCB
and WBU meetings, and it seemed like a good opportunity to do our
work and report to the region. During the three days I spent in
Kingston, I toured two facilities serving the blind of Jamaica. I
found both fascinating and, in their separate ways, inspiring. 
     Monday morning the group from Canada and the United States
drove to the Salvation Army School for the Blind on the outskirts
of Kingston. It serves all of Jamaica and sometimes accepts 
students from other nations in the West Indies. Founded sixty-
three years ago, it currently enrolls about 110 youngsters from
the age of five, or a little less, to eighteen, or a little more.
Rules are flexible in this loving institution; and, if a child
needs to enroll earlier or stay a little longer, things can be
arranged. 
     In 1973 the school moved to its current facility on several
acres of ground. Because Jamaica has both a tropical climate and
fairly steady ocean breezes, the school's construction is open
and airy. Many of the halls are nothing more than covered
walkways outside the classrooms, which themselves have large
windows to catch the slightest air movement. I would find such an
arrangement distracting as either a student or a teacher, but the
classes we passed were hard-working, and the children quiet. 
     The Deaf/Blind Unit was separate from the rest of the
school. There were three classes, and we talked to the teacher of
the preschoolers, who had nine children in her class. Several of
these were normally hearing and seeing youngsters who are
enrolled in order to give the deaf/blind children experience in
the ways in which other boys and girls behave. The teacher
commented that the parents of the regular students are pleased
with the program because their children would otherwise attend
classes of fifty to sixty in ordinary schools. 
     These children, like all those we saw, seemed busy and
happy. The teachers spoke with pride and affection of their 
students' accomplishments, and they obviously knew and cared
about each of their charges. 
     Major Lacario is the head mistress of the school and has
been there for twenty-five years. From what we saw, she is a
gifted administrator and a deeply committed educator. The
students put on an impromptu program for us during the course of
the morning. This consisted of songs and recitations from
individuals and small groups of students. All of the children
were charming. They wear school uniforms--gingham dresses for the
little girls, blue ones for the older, and blue pull-overs and
tan shorts for the boys. All of the performers conducted
themselves with poise and skill, and one little girl (so tiny
that she had to stand on a chair to reach the microphone) stole
everyone's heart. 
     Of course, things are far from perfect at the Salvation Army
school. Hurricane Gilbert did terrible damage, which is only now
being repaired. There are painful teacher shortages, and with the
almost total lack of housing in the Kingston area, it will be
very difficult to fill the positions even if money for salaries
is available. There are, of course, no computers, no magnifiers,
and painfully little in the way of strong vocational preparation.
Though Braille is being taught everywhere--I was introduced to
several four- and five-year-olds and told how many Braille signs
they had already learned this school year--materials and
equipment are woefully lacking. The conversion to American
Braille, particularly so that math and science can be taught more
effectively, is very slow. None of the students we saw were using
white canes. Those with a little sight guided their friends with
less. 
     In recent years more and more emphasis has been placed on
integrating blind students from the school into regular secondary
classes. The complications, though, are formidable. 
     How does a blind student enrolled in a regular secondary
school obtain accessible textbooks when there is no organization
in the country equivalent to the National Library Service or
Recording for the Blind and the only Brailling program is
conducted by the School for the Blind? How does he or she do
homework and complete tests in a form readable by the faculty
without a typewriter and the skill to use it? Can such students
reasonably be expected to travel to and from home--assuming that
home is in the vicinity of the school--and from class to class
when effective cane travel has never been offered to them? These
are only a few of the difficulties that beset those who yearn for
what in Jamaica is called integrated education. The wonder is
that there are actually students who are overcoming these and
many other barriers to their progress. 
     To gather some idea of what happens to blind Jamaicans after
they leave school, I also toured the Jamaica Society for the
Blind, the only agency directly charged with assisting blind
adults in Jamaica. Much of the staff was attending a seminar the
day I visited, so I was not able to talk with them, but what I
saw was both dismaying and inspiring. 
     A blind college student was prowling around the library,
doing research for a course on blindness--he is studying to
become a teacher of the blind. Hurricane Gilbert destroyed much
of the Braille collection, and that which survived is not yet
shelved in the newly provided space. The student found one book
on blindness. The librarian told him that there was a biography
of Helen Keller, and when pressed, he admitted that somewhere
there was probably something about Louis Braille. I mentioned
that he could find information in the Braille Monitor, which the
Society receives in Braille, but those volumes seemed to be in
circulation and so were not available. 
     My tour guide introduced me to about a half dozen men and
women who were caning chairs. I learned that in 1981 the
Salvation Army decided to close its workshop, and the people who
worked there lost their jobs. Seven of them pooled their
resources and formed a co-operative to continue chair-caning, and
the Jamaica Society gave them temporary space. That arrangement
seems to have become more or less permanent, and the co-operative
now has about a dozen members. A blind woman serves as secretary,
keeping records in Braille, and the Society provides other
clerical and support services to the group. I was told that many
of the wealthier people on the island give all their caning work
to the co-op, and the workers told me that the chairs they were
then caning were destined for sale in Miami. But one Society
staffer told me that they desperately need help with marketing
and administration of the business. There is no one to show them
what needs to be done or to train them to begin doing it. The
result is that the co-op members earn a pittance even though they
work for themselves. 
     In talking with them, I was struck with their clear
intelligence and articulateness. These are people who seem to
have made the most of their educational opportunities, but they
have apparently gone as far as their own efforts can take them. 
     The three rehabilitation officers were out during my tour,
so I had no chance to discuss their program and problems with
them. I feel certain, however, from what other staffers said that
they have too much to do and too little equipment. 
     The librarian told me that the Society desperately needs
tape recorders. Ideally they would like to have machines that
would play and record at both the slow speed used by the U.S.
National Library Service and the faster speed generally used for
cassette recording. The Society's library has on hand a number of
NLS-produced cassette books but very few players with which they
could be read. So the books sit unused, and the people sit idle. 
     A trip like mine to Jamaica leaves a thoughtful person with
mixed feelings. One cannot help being grateful for the services
and opportunities that do exist in this country. Sometimes, when
we collide with bureaucratic or institutional stupidity, we
forget just how much we really do have to be grateful for. Not
that we should slacken the struggle for equality of opportunity,
but it is salutary to remember just how much we have already won.
One ought not, however, to duck the question of what can be done
to help blind people around the world. Obviously we cannot divert
much of our resources and energy to assist blind people in less
developed countries. The need is so great that our investment of
money and expertise would be swallowed up without accomplishing
much good. If there is one thing that the past thirty years
should have taught us Americans, it is that throwing money at
international problems and handing out free advice solve nothing
and make enemies. 
     But there is benefit in learning, in coming to understand
the magnitude of the problems that face others around the world.
There may well be times and places when we can help appropriately
and effectively. There is certainly much to commend and nurture
in Jamaica. 
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Portrait of James Sanders.]

[PHOTO: Members of WBU Executive Committee seated in large
meeting room. CAPTION: The Executive Committee of the World Blind
Union meets at the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw,
Poland, March 26, 1990.]

                        REPORT ON POLAND
                        by James Sanders

     From the Editor: Jim Sanders is the National Director of
Government Relations and International Services for the Canadian
National Institute for the Blind. He is also one of the Canadian
delegates to the World Blind Union and makes valuable
contributions to the work of the North America/Caribbean Region
of the WBU. As Monitor readers know, the WBU Officers and
Executive Committee met in Warsaw, Poland, in late March of 1990.
I asked Mr. Sanders to gather data about the Polish Association
of the Blind and related matters. He did so, and the results are
interesting and informative; but it must be remembered that
neither he nor I can vouch for the accuracy of all the data we
were given. I should also say that it is my intention (assuming,
that is, that I ever get the time to do it) to write a report to
Monitor readers concerning the work I have been doing for the
World Blind Union, including my travels to Denmark, Poland,
Jamaica, and other places. But for the present such a report must
be placed in the pending file. Meanwhile here, in part, is what
Jim Sanders has to say:

                          Introduction

     An appreciation of the WBU Officers and Executive Committee
meetings is better understood within the context of the setting
and atmosphere of Poland and the situation in which the people of
Poland now find themselves. Supporting a population of 37.5
million, Poland (as with most Eastern Block countries) finds
itself politically and economically turned upside down almost
overnight. For the first time in over forty years Poles are
experiencing acute inflation and unemployment. As a result,
street crime in major cities is rising dramatically. The average
worker in Poland earns approximately $70 per month. Inflation is
wiping out life savings overnight. Combined with the artificially
managed economy, propped up by international borrowing, Poland
and the other Eastern Block countries face a monumental
challenge. Industrial pollution may well pose the biggest threat
and long-term social, health, and economic obstacle facing Poland
and surrounding countries.
     The atmosphere and reaction of residents throughout Poland
and, in particular, Warsaw, was optimistic and at times
enthusiastic. Many Poles remember the total devastation of Warsaw
and its re-building brick by brick. In fact, the present city is
approximately six feet higher than pre-World War II Warsaw,
because the bombed-out ruins were bulldozed and new buildings and
pavements constructed over the rubble. Plans for renewal have
once again begun.

                 Polish Association of the Blind

     As host of the WBU Executive Committee meeting, the Polish
Association of the Blind demonstrated their organizational skills
and international commitment despite facing severe financial
cutbacks of government support less than two months before the
conference. The Association has consumer-based structure and
could be considered the umbrella organization for all services to
blind persons and the direct provider of most services.
Approximately 73,000 blind and visually impaired persons are
registered with the Association. Through the Association-issued
identity card, blind persons have access to many financial
concessions and special considerations. For example, in Poland
the average family is allowed sixty square meters of living
space. If a family member is blind, the family qualifies for one
additional room to accommodate extra equipment such as Braille
books, guide dogs, etc. This access to government and other
services provides an incentive for blind persons to join and
become involved in the Polish Association of the Blind.
     We were told that membership entitles each blind person to a
say in the manner in which the Association is operated. Some 300
"circles" of blind persons form the local voluntary component.
From these, delegates are elected to sit on one of thirty-four
branches and, from these, thirty-four delegates are elected as
the governing body of the Polish Association of the Blind.
     The Association has a highly developed service delivery
system, with most branches having at least basic rehabilitation,
orientation and mobility, and counseling services available. At
its headquarters in Warsaw, the Association operates a
sophisticated technology center, Braille and talking book
production/distribution, and employment counseling/training.
Their state-of-the-art recording studios are often rented out to
professional musicians.
     The demographics of blindness in Poland parallels that of
North America. Their approach to employment through the use of
collectives does set them apart from our experience.

                      Employee Collectives

     In Poland, as with most Eastern Block countries, employee-
controlled collectives provide the majority of blind employment.
We were told that 15,000 blind persons are employed in Poland and
that approximately two-thirds of these work in thirty-three
collectives throughout the country. Products are sold
commercially and therefore must be of the highest standard.
Products include brooms, brushes, and mops; electronic components
for televisions and radios; and metal products for automotive and
building components.
     Earlier this year the government dissolved the collective
associations which acted as an umbrella group which assessed each
collective according to earnings and redistributed them to less
viable units. Now, each collective must be a financially self-
sustaining entity. This, combined with the general economic
condition of the country, has placed many collectives--blind and
sighted--in jeopardy. In fact, the blind collective in Krakow was
on a hunger strike during the time of the WBU meetings.
     The Bulgarian delegate to the WBU reported that blind
collectives in his country produce some 450 products in over 100
workshops and factories, with an estimated value of $180 million.

            Nowa-Praca--New Job: Knitting Collective

     Delegates were provided with a tour of this Warsaw-based
collective, which employs 320 persons. It produces high quality
hand- and machine-knitted garments. People can buy directly from
this factory. Products are also sold in regular retail outlets.
     We were told that all profits are combined and redistributed
to the workers with a portion of revenue turned back into the
business. At least to the present, collectives operate on a tax-
free basis. The equivalent of business tax is set aside and used
to provide workers with rehabilitation training, specialized
technology, education, and in some instances subsidized housing.
Workers meet each year to review the financial situation and vote
on a course of action. An addition to this factory is in the
process of being built. At the same time, the economic downturn
has caused a drop in sales and some loss of employment.
Management is looking for new and different products which would
help maintain the work force.

                   Laski School for the Blind

     Established in 1907 in Warsaw by a blind woman and moved to
its present 125-acre site within the Laski National Forest just
outside Warsaw in 1922, this school has become internationally
renowned. The center of a major World War II battle in 1939, the
complex was completely destroyed and rebuilt and once again
totally destroyed in 1944 under similar circumstances. Today it
is a complex of sixty separate buildings of various sizes,
shapes, and construction and houses 303 students from junior
kindergarten through to high school graduation. It is one of six
schools for the blind in Poland and the only privately operated
institution. It has maintained international links, including
annual direct consultation by staff of the Western Michigan
Orientation and Mobility School and the Philadelphia Low Vision
Clinic.
     In addition to an academic program, the School operates the
only infant stimulation program and training for multi-
handicapped blind children. It provides some community-based
vocational counseling and employment training, operates a low
vision and vision rehabilitation clinic, and established the Nowa
0Praca Knitting Collective some thirty-four years ago to provide
employment opportunities for many of its graduates. The
curriculum places great emphasis on Braille, orientation and
mobility, and general skills toward independent living.
     The majority of students are provided with residential
accommodation. Therefore, the School operates six days per week
instead of the normal five, thus allowing both students and staff
extended holidays throughout the year.
     There are many vocationally-oriented programs, including the
production of sophisticated electronic components and massage
therapy. These programs operate on a cooperative basis, enabling
the students to combine training with on-the-job experience in
business and industry. All programs are geared to independent
living, whether they are through higher education, employment, or
homemaking. Students in this and other specialized schools for
the blind are encouraged to transfer to regular schools in their
home areas as soon as possible.

                        Guide Dog Schools

     Poland's only guide dog training center is operated by the
police. "Less aggressive" dogs are trained as guides for blind
persons rather than as police guard and attack dogs. Generally,
blind persons in Poland do not consider this an appropriate
approach, both in philosophical and practical terms.

                           War Blinded

     There are approximately 700 war blinded persons living in
Poland today. Similar to North America, they have their own
association and network.


[PHOTO: Portrait of Peggy Pinder. CAPTION: Peggy Pinder, Chairman
of the Scholarship Committee of the National Federation of the
Blind.]

                        SCHOLARSHIPS 1991
                        by Barbara Pierce

     Every organization which sets out to improve the world in
some way requires from its volunteers countless hours of
uncomfortable, boring, and repetitive activity. Envelope-
stuffing, money-raising, and pavement-pounding in aid of the good
cause absorb a large part of everybody's energy and time. The
Federation is no exception in this regard. At every level of the
organization members are forever rolling up our sleeves to tackle
some unglamorous task, and usually a whole list of them. Luckily
for us, the company is good and the goal overwhelmingly
important, so we work with a will and discover all over again the
fun and satisfaction of hard work in a good cause. 
     One of the things that sets the National Federation of the
Blind apart from most other organizations, however, is the high
proportion of activities that do not fall into the worthy but
unexciting category I have just described. Talking to a class of
eager school children about the abilities of blind people,
working with the parents of a blind youngster for whom the future
suddenly looks promising, teaching a newly-blind adult how to do
the little things that give him back his dignity: these are all
part and parcel of our work in the Federation. 
     One of the most exciting programs we conduct each year with
the funds we so laboriously earn is our Scholarship Program. In
1991 twenty-seven men and women will be presented with
scholarships totaling $87,500 at the convention in New Orleans.
More exciting than this impressive figure, however, is the fact
that many hundreds of post-secondary students will apply for
these awards and, as a result, will come into contact with the
members and philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind.
Many of our most dedicated younger leaders today are men and
women who first learned about the Federation through the
scholarship-application process. 
     It is hard to overstate the importance of the NFB in the
lives of these students. At a time of great personal and academic
challenge in their lives, they discover the support, expertise,
and strength of the NFB as a resource on which they can draw and
to which they can contribute their own skills and experience.
This life-changing encounter will be a possibility every time a
blind student picks up a 1991 scholarship form during the next
several months, and past experience suggests that it will
certainly take place hundreds of times. 
     Do I describe this encounter too dramatically? I don't think
so. I am lucky enough to read a number of letters that are
written to President Maurer and members of the Scholarship
Committee each year. In their individual ways they paint the same
picture I have just sketched. Kyle McHugh, for example, is a
young woman who lost her sight rather quickly but was not able to
obtain good rehabilitation. She refused to be daunted by these
setbacks and has held a job for five years as Legislative
Assistant to one of Massachusetts's most influential state
senators. Last year Kyle decided to return to school to earn a
master's degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at
Harvard University. She applied for an NFB scholarship and was
chosen as a winner. She arrived at the convention still
recovering from extensive foot surgery and unable to walk quickly
or confidently. Was she overwhelmed by the tempo of the
convention or the pace of busy Federationists? Was she dismayed
by the evidence in others of skills that rehabilitation officials
had not thought necessary for her to master? Here is the letter
she wrote to President Maurer immediately following the 1990
convention. Judge for yourself: 

July 16, 1990
Boston, Massachusetts

Dear President Maurer,
     I wish to thank you and the entire NFB, not only for a very
generous scholarship, but for an extremely significant convention
week. It was an experience which I know has changed my life.
     The money awarded me by the NFB will certainly be of help in
paying the enormous cost of graduate school. I consider it an
honor to have been selected as a recipient of such an award.
     Perhaps more meaningful than the money, however, was the
time I spent at the NFB convention. I was greatly impressed by
the calibre of attendees, quality of programming, and efficiency
of operation. I feel privileged to have attended such an
inspiring conference.
     I found it especially encouraging that this was the fiftieth
anniversary of such a progressive organization. As I stood among
my 2400 fellow members, I knew that the rights of the blind would
never again be denied without a challenge.
     A friend recently told me that he felt that "the nineties
are the decade of the disabled." As long as NFB exists, every
decade will be ours.
     Thank you again for the scholarship and your inspiration.
Sincerely,
Kyle E. McHugh
                      ____________________

     That is what one 1990 scholarship winner had to say, and the
1991 Scholarship Program is even more impressive than those of
recent years. Several new awards are being offered. A complete
list is included in the text of the application, which appears at
the end of this article. Several changes should, perhaps, be
noted. This year there are several new awards designed to assist
students in particular disciplines: teaching, humanities, and
technical studies, in addition to those that have been offered in
the natural sciences, the social sciences, and professional
programs. The Ezra Davis Memorial Scholarship is $6,000 this
year, and the top scholarship award is $20,000. The magnitude of
this award reflects, not only the escalating costs of education
and of the technology which has simplified the lives of students,
but also our growing understanding that reaching and assisting
the nation's blind students is one of our most important
responsibilities. 
     Again this year we are mailing the one-page scholarship
forms to every college and university in the country, every
agency doing work with the blind, every Congressional office,
every NFB state president, and every member of the scholarship
committee. They will also be sent to anyone requesting them.
These are worthwhile scholarships which will be of real
assistance to blind students. The news about our scholarship
program should be disseminated as widely as possible. To receive
forms or to obtain further information, contact Peggy Pinder,
Chairman, National Federation of the Blind Scholarship Committee,
814 Fourth Avenue, Suite 200, Grinnell, Iowa 50112; Phone (515)
236-3366. Forms can also be had by writing to Scholarships,
National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson St., Baltimore,
Maryland 21230.
     The following people have been named to serve on the 1991
Scholarship Committee: Peggy Pinder, Iowa, Chairman; Adrienne
Asch, New Jersey; Steve Benson, Illinois; Jacquilyn Billey,
Connecticut; Charles Brown, Virginia; Sharon Buchan, Alaska;
Joanne Fernandes, Louisiana; Priscilla Ferris, Massachusetts;
Michael Gosse, Pennsylvania; John Halverson, Missouri; Allen
Harris, Michigan; Dave Hyde, Oregon; Tami Dodd Jones, Michigan;
Christopher Kuczynski, Pennsylvania; Scott LaBarre, Minnesota;
Melissa Lagroue, Alabama; Melody Lindsey, Florida; Matthew
Millspaugh, California; Sharon Maneki, Maryland; Homer Page,
Colorado; Barbara Pierce, Ohio; Ben Prows, Washington; Eileen
Rivera, Maryland; Fred Schroeder, New Mexico; Heidi Sherman,
Minnesota; Zachary Shore, Washington; Ramona Walhof, Idaho; Jim
Willows, California; Gary Wunder, Missouri; Robin Zook, Utah.
     Their terms begin January 1, 1991, and expire December 31.
They will work hard to ensure that the upcoming Scholarship
Program is as successful as the others have been. But each of us
must do what we can to spread the word about this effort. The
nation's blind students want to know about it, and it is our
responsibility to assist them in every way we can. 
     Here is the text of the 1991 National Federation of the
Blind Scholarship Form: 

                NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
                    1991 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

     Each year at its National Convention in July, the National
Federation of the Blind gives a broad array of scholarships to
recognize achievement by blind scholars. All applicants for these
scholarships must be (1) legally blind and (2) pursuing or
planning to pursue a full-time post-secondary course of study. 
In addition to these restrictions, some scholarships have been
further restricted by the donor.  Scholarships to be given at the
National Convention in 1991 are listed here with any special
restrictions noted:
     1. National Federation of the Blind Distinguished Scholar of
1991; $20,000; given by an anonymous donor to recognize the
outstanding achievement of a legally blind scholar in 1991.  No
additional restrictions.
     2. Ezra Davis Memorial Scholarship; $6,000; endowed by Ezra
Davis and given by the American Brotherhood for the Blind, a
nonprofit organization which works to assist blind persons. No
additional restrictions.
     3. National Federation of the Blind Scholarships; seventeen
to be given: three for $4,000; four for $2,500; ten for $2,000.
No additional restrictions.
     4. Melva T. Owen Memorial Scholarship; $3,000; given in
memory of Melva T. Owen, who was widely known and loved among the
blind.  She and her husband Charles Owen became acquainted with
increasing numbers of blind people through their work in the
"Voicepondence" Club.  Charles Owen says: "There shall be no
limitation as to field of study, except that it shall be directed
towards attaining financial independence and shall exclude
religion and those seeking only to further general or cultural
education."
     5. Howard Brown Rickard Scholarship; $2,500; winner must be
studying or planning to study in the fields of law, medicine,
engineering, architecture, or the natural sciences.
     6. Frank Walton Horn Memorial Scholarship; $2,500; given by
Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Barnum, the mother and stepfather of
Catherine Horn Randall.  No additional restrictions, but
preference will be given to those studying architecture or
engineering.
     7. Oracle Corporation Scholarship; $2,500; given by Oracle
Corporation of Redwood Shores, California. Oracle is known for
its groundbreaking relational data base management systems and
related software applications.  Scholarship given to encourage
blind persons to excel in computer and technical areas of study. 
Winner must be studying in computer science, engineering,
technical writing, or a similar discipline.
     8. National Federation of the Blind Humanities Scholarship;
$2,500; winner must be studying in the traditional humanities
such as art, English, foreign languages, history, philosophy, or
religion.
     9. National Federation of the Blind Educator of Tomorrow
Award; $2,500; winner must be planning a career in elementary,
secondary, or post-secondary teaching.
     10. Hermione Grant Calhoun Scholarship; $2,000; Dr. Isabelle
Grant endowed this scholarship in memory of her daughter. Winner
must be a woman.
     11. Ellen Setterfield Memorial Scholarship; $2,000; given in
memory of Ellen Setterfield by Roy Landstrom, who says: "During
the course of her life, she gave of herself to defend the dignity
and self-respect of those around her." Winner must be studying
social sciences at the graduate level.
     Criteria: All scholarships are awarded on the basis of
academic excellence, service to the community, and financial
need.
     Membership: The National Federation of the Blind is an
organization dedicated to creating opportunity for all blind
persons.  Recipients of Federation scholarships need not be
members of the National Federation of the Blind.
     Making Application: To apply for National Federation of the
Blind scholarships, complete and return the application on the
reverse side of this sheet.  Multiple applications are
unnecessary.  Each applicant will be considered for all
scholarships for which he or she qualifies.  Please provide all
the applicable information requested and attach to the
application all the additional documents requested on the
application.
     Reapplication: We have often awarded scholarships to persons
applying for the second or third time.  Even if previously
submitted, current applications must be submitted to be
considered for current scholarships.  Those who have previously
applied are encouraged to apply again.
     Winners: The Scholarship Committee reviews all applications
and selects the scholarship winners.  These winners, the same
number as there are scholarships to award, will be notified of
their selection by June 1 and will be brought to the National
Federation of the Blind convention in July at Federation expense. 
This is in addition to the scholarship grant.  The winners are
America's finest blind students.
     The National Federation of the Blind Convention is the
largest gathering of blind persons (more than 2,000) to occur
anywhere in the nation each year.  You will be able to meet other
blind students and exchange information and ideas.  You will also
be able to meet and talk with blind people who are successfully
functioning in your chosen profession or occupation.  Federal
officials, members of Congress, and the makers and distributors
of new technology attend Federation conventions.  Above all, a
broad cross section of the most active segment of the blind
population of the United States will be present to discuss common
problems and plan for concerted action.  It is an interesting and
exciting week.
     Awards: The day before the convention banquet the
Scholarship Committee will meet to determine which winners will
receive which scholarships.  The scholarship awards will be made
during the banquet.

                NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
                  SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION FORM
     Read reverse side of form for instructions and explanation. 
Form may be photocopied but only if reverse side is also
included.
     To apply for a scholarship, complete this application form
and mail completed application and attachments to: Miss Peggy
Pinder, Chairman, National Federation of the Blind Scholarship
Committee, 814 - 4th Avenue, Suite 200, Grinnell, Iowa 50112;
515-236-3366.  Form must be received by March 31, 1991.

Name (please include any maiden or other names by which you have
     been known):
Date of birth:
School address: 
School phone number:
Home address: 
Home phone number: 
Institution being attended in spring semester, 1991, with class
     standing (freshman, senior, etc.): 
Cumulative grade point at this institution: 
Institution to be attended in fall of 1991, with class standing.
     (Send by separate letter if admitted to school after
     submitting completed application): 
List all post-secondary institutions attended with highest class
     standing attained and cumulative grade point average: 
High school attended and cumulative grade point: 
Vocational goal: 
State your major: 
Awards and honors (attach list if necessary): 
Community service (attach list if necessary):

Attach the following documents to completed application:
     1. Send us a letter: What schools have you attended?  What
school do you plan to attend during the coming year?  What honors
have you achieved?  What have you done to deal with situations
involving your blindness?  What are you like as a person?  What
are your goals and aspirations?  How will the scholarship help
you?
     2. Send two letters of recommendation.
     3. Provide current transcript from institution now attending
and transcripts from all other post-secondary institutions
attended.  If you have not yet attended such an institution or
have not completed one year of study, send high school
transcript.
     4. Send a letter from a state officer of the National
Federation of the Blind evidencing the fact that you have
discussed your scholarship application with that officer.  We
prefer that you discuss your application with the Federation
state president, but a letter from any Federation state officer
will suffice.  President's address provided upon request.


                             RECIPES

     From the Associate Editor: October brings the crisp days of
autumn and, for many of us, the first promise (or threat) of
colder weather to come. This is casserole season, and here are
several that will nourish the body and comfort the soul.

                       ASPARAGUS CASSEROLE
                         by Betty Capps

     As Monitor readers know, Betty Capps is the indefatigable
wife of Don Capps, the President of the National Federation of
the Blind of South Carolina. She is also a frequent contributor
to this section of the magazine.

Ingredients:
1 can or package frozen cut asparagus
1 (10-3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
8 slices cheese
saltine crackers (with salt rubbed off)

     Method: Butter bottom of small casserole dish. Cover bottom
with half of crumbled saltines. Spread half of the asparagus over
cracker crumbs. Spread half of the soup over asparagus and top
with half of the cheese. Repeat with crackers, asparagus, soup,
and top with remaining cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for
20 minutes on a low rack. Serves four.

                       CHICKEN SPECTACULAR
                         by Betty Capps

Ingredients:
1 (6-ounce) box long grain & wild rice mix
3-4 cups chopped, cooked chicken
2 (16-ounce) cans French-cut green beans, drained
     or 2 (10-ounce) boxes frozen beans, thawed
1 (10-3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 (4-ounce) can diced pimento
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1/8 teaspoon pepper

     Method: Cook rice according to directions on box. Combine
rice with other ingredients, mix well. Spoon into a lightly
greased, 3-quart casserole dish, top with fresh bread crumbs and
several pats of butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Yields 6 to 8 servings. (Good hot or cold.)

                BAKED MUSHROOM AND RICE CASSEROLE
                        by Cynthia Handel

     Cindy Handel is the Treasurer of the National Federation of
the Blind of Pennsylvania. She is also a very good cook.

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked rice
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 (2-1/2 ounce) can mushrooms with liquid
1/4 cup pimentos, chopped
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

     Method: Sprinkle rice in buttered baking dish. Cook onions
in butter until soft. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a
boil. Pour over rice and stir. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for
25 to 30 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork before serving.

                     LAMB AND ARTICHOKE STEW
                       by Annette Anderson

     Annette Anderson is the President of the National Federation
of the Blind of Cleveland and a member of the NFB of Ohio Board
of Directors. Her two teenage boys recommend this recipe highly.

Ingredients:
2 pounds lamb stewing meat,
     cut in bite-size pieces & trimmed of fat
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 cups onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cans artichoke hearts, drained
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
salt and pepper to taste

     Method: In a heavy skillet brown lamb in butter and remove.
Saute the onions, garlic, and parsley. Then return the lamb to
the pan. Add the tomato paste and white wine. Cover and simmer
for one hour or until meat is tender. Add remaining ingredients
and simmer for 45 minutes. Serve over rice. Serves four to six.


                   * * MONITOR MINIATURES * *

**Active Chapter:
     The Sacramento Chapter of the National Federation of the
Blind of California is fortunate enough to have as one of its
members Mrs. Hazel tenBroek. Another of its members is Sharon
Gold, the energetic President of the National Federation of the
Blind of California. The chapter's President, capable and active,
is Linda Milliner. It also has other dedicated members and
leaders. The result is a chapter from which all of us can learn.
Consider, for instance, the chapter's monthly newsletter, which
contains (among other things) an NFB trivia quiz, the answers to
which will be given at the upcoming monthly chapter meetings,
thus heightening interest and stimulating attendance. Here is the
trivia quiz for September, 1990. Although this particular quiz
requires a knowledge of organizational activities in California,
the questions usually have a broad national slant and can be
answered by research in the Monitor:

     1. When and where was the first meeting of the organization
which became the California affiliate of the National Federation
of the Blind?
     2. Who was the first president of this organization?
     3. Who was the vice president?
     4. Who was the secretary?
     5. Who was the treasurer?

**Sell:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     For Sale--Visualtek Miniview MV-I. New condition. Contact:
Lynn Mattioli, 455 Cider Press Road, Easton, Pennsylvania 18042;
phone: (215) 253-8446.

**New Chapter:
     Ruth Swenson, President of our Arizona affiliate, writes as
follows:
     "The Yuma Chapter, National Federation of the Blind of
Arizona, came into being on Saturday, June 9, 1990. It takes a
hardy and dedicated group of Federationists to participate on an
organizing team in Yuma, Arizona, in June, but we were there!
When part of the team arrived on Monday, June 4, it was 117
degrees, and it didn't cool down much throughout the week. There
is a tremendous amount of work to be done in the Yuma area to
improve conditions for the blind. It almost seems as if State
Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired has forgotten that
this area of the state exists at all. However, we established a
great new chapter, which will help to change what it means to be
blind in Arizona. There were twenty-four members at the
organizing meeting, and there are many other individuals in the
area who will join and participate. The officers of the new
chapter are: David Montgomery, President; Susanne Canole, Vice
President; Catherine Courtney, Secretary-Treasurer; and Board
Members Alma Gonzalez and Michael Hamm. Welcome aboard, Yuma!"

**New Baby:
     Larry and Susan Povinelli are active Federationists in
Virginia. We recently received the following letter from them:
     "I am writing to inform you that Michelle Elise arrived at
9:35 a.m. on July 25, 1990. She weighed seven pounds and eight
ounces and was twenty inches long. Mother and Michelle are doing
fine. As for Stephanie, she is still trying to adjust to the idea
of a new sister. Otherwise, all is well with the Povinellis."

**Dies:
     Jean Harmon reports from Florida the death of Sam Sitt,
active Federationist for twenty or more years, on Saturday
morning, August 18, 1990, from complications of diabetes and
stroke. Sam was born in Syria and came to this country as a
child. He attained leadership in the Florida affiliate, holding
statewide office as well as the presidency of the Treasure Coast
Chapter. Federationists will also, of course, remember fondly his
late wife Gertrude and the contributions the two of them made to
our movement. Sam was active in his community, serving in the
Florida Silver-Haired Legislature, Lions Club, and other
community groups. He will truly be missed by his fellow
Federationists, family, and friends.

**Attention Dog Guide Users:
     Priscilla Ferris, Vice President of the National Association
of Dog Guide Users, writes as follows:

To: Interested Dog Guide Users and Friends
From: National Association of Dog Guide Users
Re: Membership and our Newsletter Harness Up
Date: August 5, 1990

     During our division meeting of the National Association of
Dog Guide Users (NADGU) in Dallas, Texas, it was voted that a
membership in our division would entitle a member to Harness Up
at no extra charge.
     We are mailing copies of our last issue to those who are
paid up to date with their membership. If you are receiving
Harness Up and are not a member in good standing, please do send
your check for $5 payable to: NADGU--Jim Moynihan, Treasurer, 56
North Main Street, Room 202, Fall River, Massachusetts 02720.
Your copy of the newsletter will be mailed to you promptly.
     Editor of our Harness Up newsletter is Bill Isaacs, Post
Office Box 332, Bourbonnais, Illinois 60914. If you have items of
interest, articles, or something you have to share with other dog
guide users, please send them along to him. Our next issue will
be ready for December.
     Also, if you are having problems or have questions
concerning dog guides, please do not hesitate to contact Robert
Eschbach (president of our division) at 4890 Sharon Avenue,
Columbus, Ohio 43214; or Priscilla Ferris (our division vice
president) at 56 North Main Street, Room 202, Fall River,
Massachusetts 02720.


**Tutor:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
"Will tutor and advise: Word processing, data base management,
and technical programs such as: Word Perfect, D-Base, Foxbase,
Lotus, etc. Contact: Jose P. Resendes, 2785 Westonridge Drive,
Cincinnati, Ohio 45239; phone: (513) 541-7374; FAX: (513) 541-
8710."

**New Baby:
     We recently received the following announcement from John
and Carol Smith of Centralia, Missouri: It's A Boy! Name: Nathan
Philip Smith; Born: August 23, 1990, at 1:05 p.m.; Weight: seven
pounds, ten ounces; Length: twenty inches. Loved by John, Carol,
and Melody Smith.

**Sprint:
     Tim Cranmer, Chairman of the NFB Committee on Research and
Development, writes as follows:
     US Sprint offers Braille phone cards along with Braille
instructions for their use. Using a phone charge card can place a
heavy demand on your memory. In addition to the area code and
phone number you are calling, you may have to dial as many as
twenty-five digits. With the US Sprint card, the numbers you need
to access the service are embossed in Braille right along with
the print information. Whether you use Sprint at home or not, you
can get the Braille phone card by requesting it. Dial 1 (800)
877-4646.

**Friends of Friends of the Library:
     Karen Mayry, President of the National Federation of the
Blind of South Dakota, writes as follows:
     Are you familiar with the organization "Friends of the
Library"? Most public libraries have a group which strives to aid
local public libraries in several ways. "Friends of the Library"
in Rapid City, South Dakota, assist by purchasing books for the
library that their budget might not include. As a result of our
contacting "Friends," our local library will have in its
collection our two recent publications, Walking Alone and
Marching Together and Handbook for Itinerant and Resource
Teachers of Blind and Visually Impaired Students. It is helpful,
of course, if a member has been personally involved with "Friends
of the Library." The individuals responsible for book selection
are more willing to purchase the books we recommend if they are
familiar with us and the work of the National Federation of the
Blind.
     The public library in Rapid City includes five NFB
publications: A Resource Guide for Parents and Educators of Blind
Children, Your School Includes a Blind Child, Handbook for Blind
College Students, Handbook for Itinerant and Resource Teachers of
Blind and Visually Impaired Students, and Walking Alone and
Marching Together. We are planning to encourage other libraries
across the state to purchase our last two as well. Most libraries
already have the first three in their collections. In addition,
we will contact the special education department of public
schools, universities, and colleges to join in the purchase of
them.
     Dan Boyd, Director of the South Dakota Library for the Blind
and Visually Handicapped, has agreed to include A Handbook for
Itinerant and Resource Teachers of Blind and Visually Impaired
Students and Walking Alone and Marching Together in our state
library collection.

**Buy:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     "Would like to purchase VersaBraille II+ in good condition
complete with manual and case. Willing to pay $4,300 or lowest
bid. Contact in Braille or print: Casey Cook, 1612 Dover Street,
Oxnard, California 93030; or phone (805) 647-4642."

**Sell:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     "For Sale--Artic D'Light/Toshiba 1000 laptop computer with
Artic Business Vision software and expanded memory. Also included
are a number of blank 3-1/2 inch diskettes, carrying case, and an
assortment of software packages, including Word Perfect 4.2,
Artic Encore, Procomm, Names 3.01, and a variety of Shareware
games and other programs. Asking $1,700. Please write in Braille,
on tape, or in print to: Stanley Greenberg, Westside Center for
Independent Living, 12901 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles,
California 90066; or call (213) 390-3611 between 9:00 and 5:00
Los Angeles time or (213) 390-6846 evenings and weekends."


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Portrait of Gus Gisser.]

**Dies:
     Rami Rabby, President of the New York City Chapter of the
National Federation of the Blind of New York, writes as follows:
     I am very sorry to have to tell you that Gus Gisser, a long-
time deaf-blind member of the NFB from our chapter, died on the
night of Thursday, August 2. Gus had attended our convention in
Dallas and, as usual, particularly enjoyed his contact with the
children at the convention. Gus had literally hundreds of pen
pals, both in and out of the Federation. We shall miss him
greatly.

**Bank Services:
     We have been asked to carry the following letter:

Dear Fellow Federationists:
     I work for a bank in Montana, and I am collecting
information about banking services which are accessible to the
blind. I am looking for information about which banks provide
services to blind people and what these services are. Please send
information about Braille bank statements, automatic teller
machines, names of companies that provide check blanks with a
section for Braille memos, or any other services about which you
have information. I invite any reader who can send me information
to contact me at the following address: Linda Z. Hurlock, 3116
8th Avenue, North, Billings, Montana, 59101.


**Pixelmaster:
     We recently received the following news release from the
American Thermoform Corporation:

                      For Immediate Release
        ATC Now Distributes Pixelmaster for Howtek, Inc.

     The American Thermoform Corporation (ATC) now offers an
innovative computer printer which not only produces Braille and
print, but can also produce graphic images raised sufficiently to
be read by blind persons. As a distributor for Howtek, developers
of the Pixelmaster, ATC sees this new printer as an ideal
communication tool for sighted and blind sharing the same work
environment, according to Gary S. Nunnelly, ATC president. The
Pixelmaster printer uses plastic-based ink, which melts in the
printer to a liquid but solidifies instantly when it hits the
page, leaving a slightly raised dot, line, or other form. By
jetting four images on top of each other, the form becomes
readable to a visually impaired person. Standard personal
computer graphics software can be used to create maps, graphs,
and drawings. 
     "Because it prints alphanumeric characters along with
Braille, the Pixelmaster is touted as a valuable communication
tool between blind and sighted users," declared Nunnelly.
     Additional information may be obtained by contacting ATC at
2311 Travers Avenue, City of Commerce, California 90040; phone
(213) 723-9021; FAX (213) 728-8877.

**Key Rings:
     Ted Young, President of the National Federation of the Blind
of Pennsylvania, writes as follows:
     The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania wishes
to announce that we still have fiftieth anniversary key rings for
sale. The ring contains a plastic heart on which is printed the
NFB logo with the words "NFB 50 years of progress." Inside the
heart is written "You're the heart of our success." The key ring
makes a great memento of our fiftieth anniversary, and some
chapters have decided to give them to each new member during this
year. Whether your chapter does this or sells them to members,
they are great to have. Please send orders of $1.50 for one or
two for $2.00 to: National Federation of the Blind of
Pennsylvania, 464 Sylvania Avenue, Glenside, Pennsylvania 19038;
or call (215) 572-7166 to discuss potential orders.

*Book of Poetry Available:
     Mary McGinnis, who is a member of the NFB Writers Division,
has asked us to carry the following announcement:
     "Private Stories on Demand is a book of poetry that many
women will identify with--poems about tenderness, anger, talking
to yourself, and being a woman writer and a poet who wants to
break free and take to the road. The book explores aspects of
relationships that were convoluted and painful, as well as
feelings about the attitudes of able-bodied people in our
society. Cassette copies are $5 each. Order from: Moving Woman
Press, 1000 Marquez Place, #A-2, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87051."

**Sell:
     Cathy Jackson writes as follows: For Sale--New Pocket
Braille in original factory carton. Full one-year warranty. Also
includes extra memory module. Original price $993, asking price
$500 or best offer (within thirty days). Call or write: Cathy
Jackson, 1107 Beecher Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40215; phone
(502) 366-2317.

**Jewish Heritage:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Tapes of Jewish Interest are Available to the Blind and
Handicapped--A Directory of organizations providing tapes of
Jewish interest is now available free of charge to the visually
impaired and handicapped. Many of these tapes are provided on
loan at no cost and others are available at discount rates. If
you are interested in Torah studies, Jewish history, Israel, the
Holocaust, etc. write for a free copy of the Directory. Contact:
The Jewish Heritage for the Blind, 1655 East 24th Street,
Brooklyn, New York 11229.

**Bartlett's Quotations:
     The following press release, which was issued jointly in
October of 1987 by the National Library Service for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped and the National Federation of the Blind,
first appeared as a Monitor Miniature in the October-November,
1987, Braille Monitor. With the addendum (which was not part of
the original release) it appeared again as a Monitor Miniature in
the May-June, 1988, Braille Monitor. As a reminder to some and as
new information to others, we reprint it again:

     The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped (NLS) and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB)
announce the availability of the first ever mass-produced Braille
edition of John Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.
     Blind writers, students, and other interested readers now
have access to this important reference tool, which lists more
than 22,500 quotations, sayings, and writings of English and
American authors. A detailed index serves as a key to locating
and identifying passages in the book.
     Braille production of Bartlett's is a joint effort of NLS
and NFB with the permission of Little, Brown, and Company, the
print edition publisher. Gift funds from the estate of Leonard R.
Stachura were used to purchase the metal plates needed to produce
the 105-volume set.
     NLS has distributed copies for reference use in forty-three
cooperating Braille lending libraries around the country. NFB is
offering the set at cost in soft-bound and hard-bound editions.
Individuals and schools or other organizations may purchase the
soft-bound edition for $230 and the hard-bound edition for $630
directly from NFB at: 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland
21230.
     Addendum: The soft-bound edition requires thirteen feet, two
inches (158 inches) of shelf space, and the hard-bound edition
requires seventeen feet, six inches (210 inches) of shelf space.

**Not Deaf:
     From the Editor: Sometimes when we make a mistake, I explain
it away or at least partially worm out of it. The present case is
not such an instance. In the July, 1990, Monitor we carried
recipes by Gintautus Burba--who, I alleged, was deaf-blind. Where
I got the idea, I don't know--but I have had it for a long time
and have, I am sure, spread it far and wide, not quite to the
utmost parts of the earth but maybe very nearly. At any rate I
received the following letter from Mr. Burba shortly after the
publication of the July issue:

Dear Dr. Jernigan:
     Thank you very much for publishing the recipes that I
submitted for the Recipes column. I read that I am deaf-blind.
This is not so! I'm not deaf at all! Please make a note of this
in the next edition of the Braille Monitor. I hope that the
readers of the magazine will enjoy the recipes.

     So says Gintautus Burba--and the Monitor Editor says: "Mr.
Burba, I extend my apologies."

**Sell:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     For Sale--An IBM PS2 computer model 8530-002. Included is a
Speaqualizer, a DOS disk, a monochrome monitor, and two 3-1/2
inch floppy disk drives. The computer has 640K of memory. Asking
price $1,800. Contact: Julia Cordova at (505) 275-1382.

**Dies:
     From the Associate Editor: We recently learned with sorrow
that Ann Parker of Norfolk, Virginia, wife of Bill Parker, died
July 17, 1990, of liver failure. Annie was a loyal and dedicated
Federationist, who worked hard at Bill's side to further the work
of the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia and the
Diabetics Division. All of us who knew Annie will miss her, and
we extend to Bill our sincere condolence.

**LaLeche:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Judy Jones, 8019 South Alaska, Tacoma, Washington 98408;
phone: (206) 535-4628, Brailles or tapes materials concerning
breast feeding and child care; loans material for up to two
months; gives priority to moms and dads.

**An Item of Interest:
     The following article appeared in the May 16, 1990, Newsday:

For Blind Boxer,
Protection Law is Anything But

     After holding the junior welterweight title for five years,
boxer Aaron Pryor, 34, lost it in 1985. Today he's three months
out of a drug rehabilitation program, all but blind in one eye--
and returning to the ring today.
     He needed surgery to repair a detached retina and now has
cataracts in the left eye. His license is suspended in New York,
and New Jersey rejected his application for one. But the state of
Wisconsin considers him fit to fight--not despite his handicap
but because of it.
     Wisconsin does not have a boxing commission, which would
have the power to set specific, stringent standards for
prizefighters. In their absence, Wisconsin's strong anti-
discrimination law was cited when Pryor applied for a boxing
license. Because of the eye, he's considered handicapped. Because
of the handicap, the state's Department of Licensing and
Regulation can't discriminate against him. So he qualifies for a
boxing license precisely because his vision's impaired.
Presumably, if he took a drubbing sufficiently fierce to destroy
the vision in the other eye, he'd have an even stronger claim to
a license.
     That logic is obviously flawed. Wisconsin needs a new boxing
commission. The original commission was abolished 10 years ago.
It wasn't needed. Promoters refused to do business in the state
because of a 10 percent tax on fight proceeds. But in 1988 that
tax was repealed and now fights are beginning again to find their
way to the cities of Wisconsin. The state needs a commission and
a set of licensing standards designed specifically for
prizefighting--and it needs those standards before the Department
of Licensing and Regulation is asked to rule on the use of seeing
eye dogs in the ring.

**Computer Baseball:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     "The updated World Series Baseball and Information System,
already being used by blind owners of PC computers and clones in
25 states and two foreign counties, can still be purchased for
only $15. It comes on two 5-1/4 inch discs containing two
baseball games, 68 of the best teams of all time, and two All-
Star teams. Also included: programs listing all members of the
Baseball Hall of Fame, a listing of record holders (top batting
averages, etc), a listing of the top 50 teams of all time, and a
history of the World Series. Send $15 to Harry H. Hollingsworth,
692 South Sheraton Drive, Akron, Ohio 44319; or call (216) 644-
2421."

**Books and Materials Needed:
     We have been asked by Joyce Stiff of Tennessee to carry the
following announcement: "Large print books, Christian novels,
other Christian books, and music on cassette tapes are needed for
a prison library and community bookmobile. We also need a
keyboard and a Braille writer for use in the ministry by a blind
missionary. Contact: Joyce Stiff, Green Pastures Fellowship,
Route 5, Box 215, Savannah, Tennessee 38372; or call (901) 925-
5108."

**International Pen Pals:
     Ronda Del Boccio of the National Association to Promote the
Use of Braille (NAPUB) sent the following notice:
     Would you like to have a pen pal from another country? Do
you read and write Braille? The National Association to Promote
the Use of Braille (NAPUB) is pleased to announce our newly
forming international pen pals club.
     Ronda Del Boccio from Minnesota is the project coordinator. 
She will match people from the United States with people from
other countries. She is compiling a mailing list, so tell your
friends about this opportunity to promote Braille literacy and
make friends around the world.
     The goals for this project are to promote Braille literacy,
to enhance international relations and understanding, and to have
fun and meet interesting people.
     If you would like to participate, please contact Ronda at
2321 Aldrich Ave. South, Apt. 318, Minneapolis, MN  55405, (612)
377-8052. If you use a form other than or in addition to American
Braille, please let her know. Since this is a new project, ideas
for helping the process run smoothly and possible sources of
names are welcome.

**Sell:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     For Sale--Optacon, Model D in excellent condition, complete.
Shipped in original box. $1,000 or best offer. Call or write:
Sandra Ryan, 5117 Schubert, Ames, Iowa 50010; (515) 292-2328.
Inquire before sending money.

**Watkins Catalogue Now Available on Tape:
     Larry Sebranek, an active member of the National Federation
of the Blind of Wisconsin, asks that we announce the following:
     "Watkins quality products catalogues are now available on
cassette for gifts or personal family and home care products.
Send $1 to: Larry Sebranek, 1612 Winnebago Street, LaCrosse,
Wisconsin 54601."

**Paper Available:
     Braille Blazer paper is available from the National
Federation of the Blind Materials Center for $25 for 1,100
sheets. This is standard 100-pound Braille paper that is 8-1/2 by
11 inches after tractor feed perforations are removed.

**From the Mouths of Babes:
     The following item was sent to us by the Toledo Federation
of the Blind, a chapter of the National Federation of the Blind
of Ohio.

     After school break, the teacher asked her small pupils how
they spent their holiday. One little boy's reply went like this:
     "We always spend Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa. They
used to live up here in a big brick house, but Grandpa got
retarded and they moved to Florida. Now they live in a park with
a lot of other retarded people. They live in tin huts.  They ride
tricycles that are too big for me. They all go to a building they
call the wrecked hall, but it is fixed now. They all do exercises
but not very well. They play a game with big checkers and push
them around on the floor with sticks. There is a swimming pool,
but I guess nobody teaches them; because they just stand there in
the water with their hats on. My Grandma used to bake cookies for
me, but nobody cooks there. They all go to restaurants that are
fast and have discounts. When you come into the part, there is a
doll house with a man sitting in it. He watches all day so they
can't get out without him seeing. I guess everybody forgets who
they are because they all wear badges with their names on them.
Grandma says that Grandpa worked hard all his life to his
retardment. I wish they would move back home, but I guess the man
in the doll house won't let them out."