
                            WISCONSIN CHRONICLE
                        VOLUME IX, SEPTEMBER, 1992
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    The Newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Wisconsin
 The National Federation of the Blind is not an organization speaking for
the blind
                 We are the blind speaking for ourselves.
        5331 South 8th Street, Milwaukee, WI  53221  (414) 483-3336

                        Bonnie Peterson, President
                            Jodi Cowle, Editor
                     David Schuh Cassette, Production

___________________________________________________________________________
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                          1992 STATE CONVENTION 

     The Seventeenth Annual Convention of the National Federation of the
Blind of Wisconsin will be held in the engaging surroundings of the Best
Western Hotel, 321 South Washington, in Green Bay Wisconsin.  The
Convention will begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday October 2, and conclude Sunday
October 4 at 12:00 a.m.
     This year's convention will feature many fascinating speakers who will
share their techniques for success relating to employment, job skills, and
education.  The program will be of great interest to all blind persons,
parents of blind children, and those working with the blind.  The highlight
of the convention will be a banquet address given by our National
representative.
     We are proud to have arranged quite reasonable room rates for this
year's convention.  The rates are single (one person in a room) $44.95,
double (two persons in a room) $53.95, triple (three persons in a room)
$57.95, or quad (four persons in a room) $61.95.  There will be no charge
for children occupying rooms with their parents.  Reservations are to be
made to the Best Western Downtowner, 123 South Washington, Green Bay, WI
54301, (414) 437-8771.  A guarantied reservation requires a major credit
card number or one night advance payment on or before September 28, 1992. 
In order to receive our convention rates you must inform the hotel that you
are reserving rooms for the National Federation of the Blind of Wisconsin
Convention.
     The Green Bay NFBW convention in 1992 is definitely the place to be -
hundreds of dollars of great door prizes, a terrific auction, excellent
hotel and meeting accommodations, stimulating program items, history making
convention business, as well as hospitality and fun.  Don't miss it, and
get your reservations in today, along with the pre-registeration form at
the end of this newsletter.
                              FRED SCHROEDER
                            by Bonnie Peterson

     Fred Schroeder will be the National representative at the 1992
Convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Wisconsin.  Fred
Schroeder was born in 1957 in Lima, Peru, and came to the United States
when he was two years old.  He is the youngest member of the Board of
Directors of the National Federation of the Blind.  
     Fred Schroeder received his bachelor's degree in psychology from San
Francisco State University in 1977 and was elected president of the NFB of
California student division that same year.  In 1978 he earned a master's
degree in elementary education and qualified for a California teaching cer-
tificate.  
     At the 1977 national convention Fred Schroeder was offered a job as
travel instructor at the Orientation and Adjustment Center in Lincoln
Nebraska.  While there he met Cathlene Nusser, a leader in the NFB of
Nebraska; the two were married in 1981.  
     In 1980 Fred Schroeder moved back to Albuquerque New Mexico to be an
itinerant teacher for blind children for the Albuquerque Public School
System, then being promoted one year later to the position of Coordinator
of Low Incidence Programs.  In 1986 he was appointed director of the New
Mexico Commission for the Blind.  In that position he has earned a
nationwide reputation as one of the most dynamic and innovative ad-
ministrators in the field of work with the blind.  He has also served as a
member of the Braille Authority of North America from 1982 to 1986 and
represented the Braille Authority and the National Federation of the Blind
at the International conference on Literary Braille in London England. 
Fred Schroeder served on the governing board of the Registry of
Interpreters for the Deaf in New Mexico beginning in 1984.  
     Fred Schroeder remembers, "In 1976 I was completing a masters degree
in education of blind children, a field in which there was a nationwide
shortage.  After thirty-five or forty interviews I didn't have a single job
offer.  I had to deal first hand with the very real fact of discrimination
against the blind.  The National Federation of the Blind makes the
difference.  It helps people who are coming alone to have advantages we
didn't, and in the very act of encouraging and supporting others, we
sustain and nurture our own morale and self belief."


                        Associates Committee Report
                              by David Schuh

     1991/1992 has been a great year for associate membership recruitment
for the National Federation of the Blind of Wisconsin.  The number has
risen from 24 the previous year to 87 this year.  Wisconsin placed 15th
among the state affiliates.  David Schuh was one of nineteen people in the
country to receive a red, white and blue ribbon at the National Convention. 
Following is a list of the recruiters with the number of associate members
recruited and dollar amount raised:

     David Schuh         53   $737
     Bonnie Peterson     19   $393
     Lois Nemeth         4    $ 55
     Cheryl Orgas   3    $ 77
     Bill Meeker         3    $ 46
     Larry Sebranek 2    $ 35
     John Fritz          2    $ 20
     Total               87   $1283


                           A GIFT IN GOOD TASTE
                               by John Fritz

     Imagine a food perfect for today's lifestyles.  It would be great
tasting, nutritious, all natural and ready to eat in an instant.  Wiscon-
sin's been making that food for more than a century.  It's cheese!  No
other food comes in so many tempting varieties.  It's a part of so many of
our favorite meals from breakfast to a late-night snack.  Cheese is a
natural for today's healthy and hectic lifestyles.  The goodness of milk is
concentrated when making cheese ten pounds of milk are needed to create one
pound of most varieties.  Cheese is a natural dairy product, rich in
calcium, protein and other essential nutrients.  
     The Wisconsin Gift Cheese Box contains NFB literature along with one
pound of delicious Wisconsin colby cheese and two pounds of America's
favorite Wisconsin cheddar cheese, two eight ounce boxes of no-salt Groft's
crackers one of wheat and the other of garlic.  These items are contained
in a box with Holstein cows on the outside.  A Wisconsin Cheese Box will
make a wonderful Christmas gift, definitely a gift in good taste for family
and friends.   
     Send your prepaid order of $19.95 within the continental United State
to Wisconsin Gift Cheese Box, 1612 Winnebago Street, LaCrosse, WI, 54601. 
For orders outside the continental United States add $20.00 per box. 
Payment can be made with check or money order with checks payable to the
National Federation of the Blind of Wisconsin.


                             The Verdict is In
                           by William D. Meeker

Editor's Note:  William Meaker is the President ot the Milwaukee chapter of
the NFB of Wisconsin.  
     Who me, who never wins anything except an occasional $1 scratch off
lottery prize or an opportunity to buy some choice property accessible only
to helicopters and mosquitoes, summoned to jury duty?  Impossible!  Someone
must be suing me instead, or else this is a newer and more cleverly
packaged real estate scam.  I'd better read that summons again more
closely.  But no, I am to be a reserve juror, that is, I must call the
Milwaukee County Courthouse Jury Management Office Monday morning, August
3, 1992 to see if I am needed to report.  What if I'm actually picked to
serve?  I feel excitement and fear simultaneously.
     Co-workers and friends rallied to support me.  "Don't worry, you don't
stand a chance.  You're a federal employee.  They don't pick federal
employees."  "They won't pick you.  They rejected me twice after I told
them I was a musician.  It was pretty boring but the hot chocolate was
great." 
     I am not a musician. Interestingly, no one mentioned my blindness as a
possible reason for rejection.  Nobody had considered two pivotal factors. 
First, people will go to almost any extremes of whining, crying,
preposterous excuses, and grovelings to avoid jury service.  Second, jury
selection was now underway in the trial of a Cedarburg man for the brutal
and highly publicized murder of his wife.
     So I was needed, and I did report to the auditorium-like jury assembly
room just in time, as it turned out, to catch the last half of the exciting
western movie "Hangman's Knot" on the wide screen TV.  From time to time
the overhead loudspeaker blared my name along with a number, usually above
twenty-five, which corresponded with a number painted on the floor on which
I was to stand.  So far, nothing to exceed my intellectual capabilities.
     Having found my numbered spot using my eight plus years of parochial
school training in "forming an orderly line", I visited a number of
courtrooms and listened to a variety of questions from lawyers and judges
and heard an amazing array of preposterous whining, groveling excuses for
why these potential jurors are unable to serve.  It was a humbling
experience, seeing otherwise ordinary people displaying a level of
creativity normally reserved for writers and fantasy.
     In a civil courtroom on my second day of call and wait and march in
line enough people ahead of me in the line had presented creative enough
excuses to be excused from jury service that it became my turn to sit in
the jury box and be questioned by the attorneys.  When I arose from the
general seating to approach the jury box, opposing counsels rocketed from
their seats to intercept and escort me around the video tape player
(present to play a recorded deposition) into the jury box.  To my surprise,
not a single question about my blindness was asked, and when the final jury
selection was made I was among those selected.
     The trial, a trumped-up defamation of character suit, lasted two days. 
Seeing me using my Braille'n Speak, the judge asked if I was taking notes
and answered "good" in a tone which made me think that he wished more of my
fellow jurors would do likewise when I said that I was.
     My fellow jurors exhibited a piece of noteworthy behavior.  When the
time came to be marched from the jury room into the courtroom each day, and
after breaks and lunch: they all hung back deferentially to allow me to
lead the procession into the jury box.  But when court recessed for breaks,
lunch, and the evening they stampeded off, not caring if I was first or
last.  Well, "when the going gets tough..."
     After rendering our verdict on the third day we were thanked for our
service and assured that we would not be called again for at least two
years.  Too bad, I enjoyed serving.  Also, I enjoyed the attention that was
"not" paid to my blindness.  Ladies and gentlemen: the jury has reached a
verdict, there is justice for blind people in the Milwaukee County court
system.


                                  NFB NET
                             by David Andrews

     With more and more Federationists using computers, speech
synthesizers, refreshable Braille displays, Braille'n Speaks and modems
there has been increased interest in the National Federation of the Blind's
offering a bulletin board service.  We are now doing so with the opening of
NFB NET.  
     At this point some of you are probably asking "What is nfb net?"  Well
it isn't a way to capture new members.  It is the official bulletin board
service of the National Federation of the Blind.  A bulletin board system
(BBS) is a computer system which contains files and messages on various
subjects.  A person using his or her computer and modem can access the
bulletin board from home or work.  (A modem is a device which enables two
computers to communicate with each other over a standard telephone line.)  
     The bulletin board is another way in which our members and friends can
keep in touch with the National Center for the Blind.    
     The files include past and current issues of the Braille Monitor,
other NFB literature, and state affiliate  newsletters.  The system also
has files of interest to blind computer users, such as demo copies of va-
rious speech and Braille translation programs.  Further, there is a selec-
tion of public domain and shareware.  Finally, there is a file area for
NFBTRANS related files.  (NFBTRANS is the Braille translation program
developed by the NFB).  Future plans call for the release of the source
code for NFBTRANS, so this area can serve as a collection point for altered
programs, etc.
     Messages on NFB NET are categorized by topic.  There is an area called
Blind Talk for the discussion of issues both computer related and
noncomputer-related of interest to blind persons.  Another area, NFB Talk,
is for the announcement of timely information and discussion of matters
concerning the NFB.  These two discussion areas will also be carried on the
BBS run by Federationist Tommy Craig in Austin, Texis, and we would be
interested in having other boards pick them up.  There is also a discussion
area for NFBTRANS, and Charlie Cook, its author has agreed to call in
periodically to answer questions and offer advice.  
     NFB NET is part of Fidonet, a worldwide network of bulletin board
systems that exchange electronic mail and discussion areas or conferences
called echoes.  NFB NET will carry a variety of Echo Conferences on job
hunting, employment listings, home based entrepreneurial opportunities,
Word Perfect questions and solutions and more.    For those members who use
bulletin boards in their local areas and wish to send NFB NET electronic
mail via fidonet, our address is 1:261/1125.  
     The parameters of NFB NET are 8 data bits, no parity, and one stop
bit.  The system has a U.S. Robotics 9600 HST dual standard modem and can
handle baud rates of 300, 1200, 2400 and 9600.  The modem can also handle
V.32 and V.42 and MNP level 1 - 5 protocols.  What all this means is that
NFB NET should be able to connect with almost anything around.  The telep-
hone number is (410) 752-5011.  We look forward to seeing you on-line.

                          LaCrosse Chapter Report
                             by Larry Sebranek

     On a stormy March 21, 1992 Federationists Larry and Kathleen Sebranek
and Doris Selke gathered more than fifteen persons to meet with NFBW State
President Bonnie Peterson, who led a stimulating discussion about the
Federation.  The newly formed LaCrosse chapter of the NFB of Wisconsin
elected officers:  President, Larry Sebranek; Vice-President, Doris Selke;
Secretary, Steve Johnson; Treasurer, Kathleen Sebranek; Board Members Lucy
Ruege and Juanita Phillips
     Five chapter members, including national scholarship winner Chad
Newcomb, attended the National Convention in Charlotte.
     Members have contacted and met with Congressman Steve Gunderson and
informed him that we strongly oppose the creation of a million dollar study
commission on blindness encouraging the congressman to "listen to his
constituents".
     Chapter meetings are held the second tuesday evening of each month at
7:00 p.m. at Sauber Manor, 1025 Liberty Street, LaCrosse.
     Enthusiasm is high for the braille lessons held weekly in the Sebranek
home.
     The chapter is planning its first chickencue fund-raiser to be held 
September 18.   



                        Northcentral Chapter Report
                              by David Schuh

     September 15 is the 2nd anniversary of the seventeen member Northcen-
tral chapter of the NFB of Wisconsin.  Four members attended the National
Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina (David Schuh, Connie Miller,
Sanford Guelzow and Lorrie Doucette).  
     Members have been calling and writing letters to our legislators
regarding social security entitlements, unnecessary government spending and
fighting for more consumer input for blind people.  
     On Saturday, July 11 the chapter hosted a potluck picnic at Marathon
Park in Wausau.  Besides our chapter members, NFB members attended from
Green Bay, Madison and Janesville.  There was enough food to feed the
entire state contingency.  There were door prizes for the adults and for
the children.  The picnic was a great success and there are plans to make
this an annual event.  Next year the picnic will be held early in June.  
     We received money for a Romeo RB 40 Braille embosser for the chapter. 
Our chapter will be renting a 15 seat van to transport members to the State
Convention in Green Bay.  We have three new members.  
     Randy is an occupational therapist.  He and his wife Tayna and their
children, Amanda and Zacharyhave been residents of Wisconsin for eight
months.  He was an member of the NFB in the Metro and Rochester chapters.
     Lorrie Daucette is a parent of a blind child.  She has three daugh-
ters, Julee, Alexandra and Jessica.  Jessica has congenital glaucoma. 
Lorrie is a member of our Parents of Blind Children Division. 
     Dawn is a police science student from Buttes Des Morts.  She has one
daughter, Valine.  


                            Scholarship Report
                              by Cheryl Orgas

     Sheila Koenig, a freshman at Cardinal Stritch College in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, was chosen as the 1992 National Federation of the Blind
scholarship winner.  This bright and active young woman has already
received part of her scholarship award in the form of an expense paid trip
to the most important Federation event of the year, the National Convention
of the National Federation of the Blind, held this year in Charlotte, North
Carolina.  Her expenses at the state convention in Green Bay, October 2
through 4, 1992, will be paid in full and she will receive a check for
$1000 the night of the banquet on October 3, 1992.  Sheila is very
deserving of this scholarship award.
     Sheila will major in education with a concentration in psychology and
will minor in Spanish.  She hopes someday to become a teacher.  This woman
has a very promising future ahead of her.
Scholarship Committee Chair:
Cheryl Orgas, Committee Members:  Deb Jacobson, Kathleen Sebranek, John
Fritz


                            No Longer Hindered
                            by Sheila M. Koenig

     I have always been afraid to admit that my blindness exists.  I kept
telling myself that I wasn't really blind because I could still see out of
my left eye.  I was so afraid of being different from everyone else I knew. 
I figured that people would reject me once they found out that I had a
"visual impairment". I excluded myself from many activities because I was
so self-conscious.  I didn't want to try new things, I could fail or
somehow make a fool of myself.  In reality I was a blind person trying to
live my life as a sighted person.
     I attended the 1992 National Federation of the Blind convention as a
Wisconsin scholarship winner. I had no idea what to expect. I was a little
nervous and very curious.  I don't think there is any way for me to express
the degree to which the convention affected me.  I was surrounded by people
like myself who had very successful careers and families.  I discovered
that it is not bad to be blind.  Blind people can do anything that sighted
people can, we only use alternative techniques. The people I met are as
dear to me as my own family.  I know that I have made many life long
friends who can answer questions that my sighted friends cannot.
     Above all the convention has enabled me to admit to my blindness.  It
really doesn't matter.  Why should I keep pretending that I am a fully
sighted person when I am not?  I can't describe the feeling of confidence
and independence that I have gained.  I no longer feel hindered by
stereotypes and others' reactions.  I can be myself. Thank you, National 
Federation of the Blind.


                       Learning, One Goof at a Time
                            by Jennifer Lehman

Editor's Note:  Jenny Lehman, 1991 NFB of Wisconsin scholarship winner, is
an editor of the newsletter of BLIND Inc.'s student council, and president
of the NFB student division of Minnesota.  This article is reprinted from
"Blind Inc. Eagle".
     When I first became a student at Blind Incorporated, I was overwh-
elmed.  There were so many people to meet, skills to learn, and things to
do.  For the first few days I didn't know what to focus on.  I soon
discovered one piece of knowledge which has helped to put things into
perspective and has made the entire learning process much easier.
     I discovered that it's OK to make a mistake.  I can't expect 



myself to know everything or to do everything right.  I have always felt
that instructors, especially travel instructors and people who tried to
teach me home management skills, expected me to know what I was doing.  If
I made a mistake, I felt that they thought I was incompetent.  Maybe most
of this attitude came from myself.  I have to keep reminding myself that I
shouldn't expect myself to be perfect.
     I have learned a great deal from every mistake I've made since I've
been here.  For example, when I used my hand instead of my cane to find the
revolving door at the hotel in Charlotte, I quickly and painfully learned
the correct cane technique.  Getting your hand stuck is a great incentive
for finding an alternative method.  The important thing is that I have
learned from most of my mistakes and, had I not made them, I might not have
learned as effectively.
     I know that when I graduate I will take many things away from this
program with me.  Besides the skills and friendships I will have, I will
also know that mistakes are a necessary part of learning.  I will always be
grateful to this program for teaching me this important lesson and giving
me the chance to put it into practice so often.




                         AWARDS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Linda Mentink, secretary of the NFB of Wisconsin, was elected secretary of
the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB) at the 1992
Convention of the National Federation of the Blind.  Linda has also been
secretary of the NFB Music Division since 1986.  

Bonnie Peterson was awarded a Master Of Art Degree from Marquette Univer-
sity's College of Communication and Rhetorical Studies on May 17, 1992. 
 
Larry Sebranek was appointed to
the State of Wisconsin's Vendor's Committee, an advisory committee to the
Randolph Shephard Vending Program.  

Dennis Schuh, treasurer of the Northcentral chapter of the NFB of
Wisconsin, placed second in the World Powerlifting Championships for the
Blind in Perth, Australia and earned a silver medal.  He plans to compete
in a powerlifting competition this fall at Wisconsin Dells.

Western Union will send braille Telegrams (braillegrams).  The cost is
$2.00 for the first twenty-five words and $1.00 for each additional twenty-
five words.  If you are interested in sending braillegrams call 1-800-325-
6000 extension 16.  braillegrams may be charged to your credit card or
telephone bill.

              NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF WISCONSIN
                     1992 CONVENTION REGISTRATION FORM
                                     
The Convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Wisconsin will be
held October 2 - 4, 1992 at the Best Western Downtowner, Green Bay,
Wisconsin.  Cost is $4 for each person preregistering and $6 for those
registering after September 27.  Registration will be available at the
Convention but preregistering will help us provide you with better service.

This form may not be used to register with the hotel.  Hotel registration
should be made by calling the Best Western Downtowner, 321 South
Washington, Green Bay, WI 54301 (414) 437-8771.  In order to get convention
rates be sure to say you are registering for the National Federation of the
Blind of Wisconsin Convention.

Costs for the Convention are as follows:
Room Rates:  $44.95 for singles; $53.95 doubles; $57.95 Triples; $61.95
quads.  A deposit of one nights lodging is required if you will arrive
after 6 p.m.
Convention Registration:  $ 4.00 in advance or $6.00 after September 27
Banquet Ticket            $10.00


Names of Persons Registering:  ____________________________________

                            ___________________________________

Mailing Address:  ________________________________________________

                  _____________________________________________


Telephone Number (including area code):  _________________________

Number of Persons Registering on this Form:  ____________________

Amount enclosed for Registration:  _____________________________

I require ___ banquet tickets and am enclosing $_____ to cover this cost.

Total Amount Enclosed:  ________________________________________

Please make all checks payable to the National Federation of the Blind of
Wisconsin and send them, along with this form, to 
               Linda Mentink 
               1737 Tamarack Lane 
               Janesville, WI  53545