The Braille Forum Vol. XII May-June 1974 No. 6 Published Bi-Monthly by the American Council of the Blind Oklahoma City, Oklahoma * President: Floyd Qualls 106 N.E. 2nd Street Oklahoma City, OK 73104 * National Representative: Durward K. McDaniel 818 18th Street, N.W. Suite 700 Washington, DC 20006 * Editor: Mary T. Ballard 190 Lattimore Road Rochester, NY 14620 (716) 244-8364 The Braille Forum seeks to promote the independence and dignity of all blind people; to stress responsibility of citizenship; to alert the public to the abilities and accomplishments of the blind. The Braille Forum carries official news of the American Council of the Blind and its programs. It is available for expression of views and concerns common to all blind persons. ***** ** Contents Notice to Subscribers The Problems and Rewards of an Organizer, by George Card ACB Convention Preview, 1974 ACB Committee Announcements Notice from ACB Treasurer, J. Edward Miller Special-Interest Activities: American Blind Lawyers Association National Association of Blind Teachers, by Robert McCann RSVA to Meet in Chicago, by Ione Miller VISTA Conference, 1974 World Council of Blind Lions, by Fred Lilley ACB Service Net Editors Workshop, by M. Helen Vargo Why a Credit Union? Leadership Seminar, by Billie Elder Rehabilitation Teachers to Hold Breakfast Meeting Improving the Image of Blindness, by Iva Menning Georgia Drive Clears Path for Dog-Guide Users "Please Touch!" -- A New Concept in Art Letter from RCA Special Sales Division ACB Leader Receives Federal Employee Award The Blind Broker Action in Kentucky! Big Hotels Request Information from the Handicapped, by Oral O. Miller Index to Blind Mail-Order Business Persons Image-Breakers, by Louis J. Cantoni and Lucille Cantoni Hope for the Blind with Retinitis Pigmentosa, by Joseph Wiedenmayer In Memoriam: Richard Stansfield, by Otis Stephens Legislative Roundup, by Durward K. McDaniel State Convention Highlights Here and There ACB Officers and Directors ***** ** Notice to Subscribers The Braille Forum is available in braille, large type, open-reel tape (7-inch reel, dual track, ips 3 3/4) and cassette (ips 1 7/8). Subscriptions and address changes for all four editions should be sent to Floyd Qualls, 106 N.E. 2nd Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104. Those much needed and appreciated cash contributions may be sent to ACB Treasurer J. Edward Miller, 2621 Chesterfield Avenue, Charlotte, North Carolina 28205. Anyone who wishes to remember the American Council of the Blind in his or her Last Will and Testament may use the following language in a special paragraph for that purpose: "I give and bequeath unto the American Council of the Blind, a District of Columbia not-for-profit corporation, the sum of $ _____ "; or: " _____ %of my net estate"; or: "the following described property: ... ". "Said bequest is made and devised to be used for the Council's corporate purposes, in the interest of blind and visually impaired persons." If your wishes are more complex, have your attorney communicate with the Council's national office. ***** ** The Problems and Rewards of an Organizer By George Card During the years that Darlene and I spent on the field, recruiting for the organized blind movement, forming new chapters for existing state affiliates and, in four cases, building brand new state affiliates, we encountered some strange, interesting and sometimes baffling attitudes. 1. "What is there in it for me?" This is not usually expressed quite so crudely but this particular attitude is unmistakable. Even when these people can be convinced that there may very well be something in it for them, they seldom make the best members. 2. "I've got it made and I did it on my own. I do not feel that I owe other blind people anything. Let them do as I did." It often turns out that these smugly self-satisfied individuals had actually received very substantial help from governmental rehab agencies which had come into existence in large part through pressure and persuasion from the organized blind movement. Very few converts in this category. 3. "My friends are all sighted and they have accepted me. I try to live as a sighted person. It would hurt my image with these sighted friends if I were to associate with blind people." We always felt sorry for this type. 4. "I pray every day that my sight will be restored, and I have complete faith that my prayers will be answered. There would be no point in my getting mixed up with people who are going to stay blind." We had answers for all the others, but this was a real stopper. 5. There were the newly blinded who were still in shock, who felt like giving up, who were timid about going out to a meeting. These were the ones who needed us most and these were the ones on whom we worked hardest. The results were often enormously heartwarming, thrilling and rewarding. 6. Finally there were the rare cases where the person was positively enjoying his helplessness. He loved being waited upon, pampered and over-protected. If an attitude of this sort had lasted long enough to become hardened into a way of life, it was a pretty hopeless case. But all of the above were exceptional and altogether typical. During those years we were warmly welcomed into the homes of many hundred blind people, in every state except Alaska. As soon as it became known that one of the callers was himself totally blind, the welcome almost always became cordial. Integration is a fine thing, no doubt, but the truth remains that there is a certain subtle, but very definite, sympathy between two blind people which no one else can really quite understand. Organizing is hard, exhausting work but it is richly rewarding. There is the satisfaction and fulfillment of knowing that one is doing something meaningful. Above all there are the infinitely precious friendships which are formed. We look back on our years of organizing with gratitude that the opportunity came our way. ***** ** ACB Convention Preview, 1974 The LaSalle Hotel in Chicago is the place; Sunday, July 28, through Saturday, August 3, the dates. The occasion: the thirteenth annual convention of the American Council of the Blind. "Something for everyone" is what the Convention Planning Committee has promised, and all indications are that this challenge is being met head on. The general convention will convene at 1:30 P.M. on Wednesday, July 31, and will adjourn at 5:00 P.M. on Saturday, August 3. Numerous special-interest organizations will hold conferences and business meetings beginning Sunday noon, July 28. Thursday afternoon has been designated "play time," with no activities being scheduled. There will be an Officers Reception on Wednesday evening, a party and dance on Thursday evening, and of course the annual banquet on Friday evening. Following the opening ceremonies and an address by Governor Dan Walker of Illinois on Wednesday afternoon, the balance of the first general session will be devoted to a panel on "Making Life Meaningful Through Recreation." This is to be chaired by Oral Miller, past president of the American Blind Bowlers Association. It will cover such topics as guided tours, skiing, chess, fencing, boating and camping, and park trails for the blind. For Thursday morning, Dr. S. Bradley Burson, ACB Legislative Chairman, is developing a program around the theme "The Solution Is in Legislation." This will include an update on the Supplemental Security Income program and recent Social Security amendments. Durward K. McDaniel, ACB National Representative, will review recent legislation affecting blind people and will moderate a discussion on civil rights legislation. The balance of the morning will be devoted to the topic "Medical Research Offers Hope," led by Floyd Cargill of Illinois, this year's general convention program chairman. Presentations will cover such areas as low-vision optical aids, facts about retinitis pigmentosa, modern treatment of diabetic retinopathy, and possible methods of creating artificial vision. "The Name of the Game Is Employment" is the theme of the Friday morning session. Chaired by Louis Vieceli of Southern Illinois University, the program will deal with placement and its role as part of the overall rehabilitation program, examples of unusual placements, and the Occupational Library for the Blind. To round out the informative part of this year's program, Don O. Nold, Editor-Publisher of Dialogue, is arranging a panel entitled "Mobility Is More Than Orientation." This will address itself to the varied problems of the blind as they relate to public transportation. Since this is an election year, the remainder of the convention time will be devoted to internal business-committee reports, a report of the National Representative, resolutions, constitution and by-law amendments -- and, of course, the all-important business of electing a full slate of officers and directors. Your commitment to the American Council carries with it a responsibility to participate in its programs; to give careful thought to the selection of its leaders; to play an active part in establishing its policies, in evaluating its performance and goals, and in presenting your new ideas to the general membership for their consideration and determination through the Resolutions Committee. Among special-interest organizations and seminars which will meet during Convention Week are the American Blind Lawyers Association, Guide Dog Users, Inc., National Alliance of Blind Students, National Association of Blind Teachers, Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America, Visually Handicapped Data Processors International, Visually Impaired Secretarial Transcribers Association, World Council of Blind Lions, and the Editors Workshop. There will be seminars on Citizen Consumer Participation, Leadership Training, and Credit Unions. The ACB Service Net will operate its amateur radio station throughout the week. Details on many of these special-interest activities will be found elsewhere in this issue of the Braille Forum. Many organizations plan their own pre-convention mailing. For further information on any of the special-interest programs, contact the ACB National Office. No activities have been scheduled for Thursday afternoon, August 1. Conventioners will have an opportunity to visit some of the endless recreational and cultural resources of Chicago, a city said to have "224 square miles of things to do" -- the Planetarium, the Aquarium, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Board of Trade, and others too numerous to mention. Baseball fans may be interested to know that the Chicago Cubs will be in town July 25-31, and the White Sox will be playing at home August 1-8. Theater? Listed below are the names and addresses of some of the legitimate theaters within easy walking distance or a short cab trip from the hotel. The Convention Committee suggests that those interested should write in advance directly to the theaters for schedules and ticket information: Auditorium Theater, 70 E. Congress, Chicago, IL 60605; Bismarck Theater, 159 W. Randolph, Chicago, 60601; Civic Theater, 20 N. Wacker, Chicago, 60606; Goodman Theater, 200 S. Columbus Drive, Chicago, 60603; Ivanho (this is a theater-in-the-round, which also includes restaurant facilities), 3000 N. Clark, Chicago, 60657; Schubert Theater, 22 W. Monroe, Chicago, 60605; First Chicago Center Theater, 1 First National Plaza, Chicago, 60670. By now you should have received your pre-registration announcement and hotel reservation card. If you have not,contact the ACB National Office, 818 18th Street, N. W. Suite 700, Washington, DC 20006, or Dr. S. Bradley Burson, General Convention Chairman, 917 Kenyon Street, Downers Grove, IL 60515. Room reservations should be made directly with the LaSalle Hotel, 10 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago, IL 60602. Special ACB convention rates are as follows: singles, $12; doubles and twins, $15; triples (three adults), $21; quads (four single beds), $20; one-room suite, $25; two-room suite (double bedroom plus separate parlor), $35; three-room suite, $50. No charge will be made for children sharing a room with adults, provided they use the existing furniture in the rooms occupied by the adults accompanying them. Roll-away cots are available at $2 per additional person in any room. Be sure to request the special ACB convention rates, even though you may be coming only to attend one of the special-interest meetings or seminars. To be assured of accommodations, reservations must reach the LaSalle Hotel before July 16. Pre-registration forms and fees (send check or money order; do not send cash) should be sent to Mr. W. Staley, ACB Registration, c/o VHMI, Room 1025, 53 W. Jackson, Chicago, IL 60604. Make checks payable to 1974 ACB Convention Fund. ***** ** ACB Committee Announcements Following is a list of ACB committee chairmen for 1974: Awards (Ambassador and George Card): Dr. Otis Stephens, 2021 Kemper Lane, Knoxville, TN 37920 Commission on Consumer Participation: Reese H. Robrahn, 329 Woodbury Lane, Topeka, KS 66606 Constitution and By-Laws: Delbert K. Aman, 104 S. Lincoln, Aberdeen, SD 57401 Convention Guidelines: Oral O. Miller, 3701 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Apartment 220, Washington, DC 20008 Credentials: Roseann Adihl, 4301 Columbia Pike, No. 728, Arlington, VA 22204 Credit Union: John Vanlandingham, 5800 N. 19th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85015 Deaf-Blind Adults: Joseph Wiedenmayer, 5604 Montgomery Street, Chevy Chase, MD 20015 Educational Radio: Travis Harris, 3840 N.W. 31 Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73112 Electronic Aids: William Pickman, 414 E. 77 Street, New York, NY 10021 Finance: Fred C. Lilley, 7629 Dale Avenue, Richmond Heights, MO 63117 Legislation: Dr. S. Bradley Burson, 917 Kenyon Street, Downers Grove, IL 60515 Libraries: Crawford Pike, 605 North Street, Talladega, AL 35160 Resolutions: Ronald W. Workman, 1611 W. Pike Street, Goshen, IN 46526 Seminars: Billie Elder, 5317 W. 29 Street, Little Rock, AR 72204 Sheltered Workshops: Len Hoskins, 348 George Town Drive, Daytona Beach, FL 32018 Special Education: Dr. John M. Crandell, 1811 W. 1700 N., Provo, UT 84601 Standards and Accreditation: Reese H. Robrahn, 329 Woodbury Lane, Topeka, KS 66606 Delbert Aman, chairman of the Constitution and By-Laws Committee, asks that proposed amendments be sent to him at the above address, either in ink or in braille. Although the ACB Constitution provides that proposed amendments shall be presented in writing to the Constitution and By-Laws Committee on or before the first day of the convention, the committee would appreciate receiving them beforehand, and if possible, no later than July 1. The committee will meet at a time to be announced just prior to the convention. Persons proposing amendments will be given an opportunity to discuss their proposals and to answer any questions the committee might have. The work of the Resolutions Committee, too, will be greatly facilitated by having as many as possible of your draft resolutions in advance. Ronald W. Workman is chairman of this committee, and all communications and resolutions should be directed to him at the above address. One of ACB's newest committees, the Electronic Aids Committee, also plans to meet in Chicago. Anyone with suggestions or ideas for projects which will make the work of this committee more responsive to the needs of the blind is urged to contact Chairman Bill Pickman. Bill also plans to make available for publication in future issues of the Braille Forum papers presented at a recent exhibit of electronic aids sponsored by the Howe Society, New York City chapter of ACB of New York. ***** ** Notice from ACB Treasurer, J. Edward Miller Officers of ACB affiliates should take special notice of the following: Affiliate dues must be received by J. Edward Miller, Treasurer of ACB at 2621 Chesterfield Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28205 no later than June 30, 1974, which is thirty days prior to the opening of the Chicago convention. The dues are $50 for each of your voting members, except that no organization pays more than $250.00. Per capita dues are to be paid for all voting members whose names and addresses have been previously certified to ACB by your organization and for any new members who may have joined since January 1, 1974. As you know, your voting members are also voting members of ACB at its annual convention, and when they are in attendance, they have full individual voting rights. Each affiliate also has voting rights at national conventions. The organizational vote (as distinguished from the individual vote) is based on a formula of one convention vote for each 25 (or major fraction thereof) of the affiliate's voting membership, with a maximum organization vote of 25 (not counting the votes of individual members). It is important that you certify the names and addresses of voting members on your rolls as of December 31, 1973, who were not included in earlier certifications. Members who have joined since January 1 should be certified in a supplemental list, with names and addresses. It is our sincere desire to maintain an accurate and honest membership roll and to protect the rights of members. Your prompt attention to the payment of dues and to the certification of names and addresses will be greatly appreciated. Incidentally, names and addresses of those who have left your affiliate membership should be certified as deletions, and, of course, per capita dues are not required for them. ***** ** Special-Interest Activities * American Blind Lawyers Association The American Blind Lawyers Association will hold its sixth annual conference at the LaSalle Hotel in Chicago, July 28-30. The theme of this year's program is "Practice of Law by the American Blind Lawyers Association." A stimulating, informative, and varied program is being arranged, with ample time for socializing and informal discussion of mutual problems encountered in the practice of law. There will be a report by the ABLA Library Committee; also a report by the Board of Editors, which for some time now has been distributing periodic newsletters to promote the exchange of ideas and information on employment and practice, aids and techniques, and news of special interest to blind lawyers and law students. All interested lawyers and law students are urged to attend this year's seminar. Membership is not required for attendance. Detailed program information will be mailed to the membership (which now numbers nearly 100) prior to the convention. Those not on the mailing list may obtain details concerning the 1974 meeting and/or ABLA membership information by writing the ACB National Office or ABLA President Vernon Williams, P.O. Box 826, Aberdeen, SD 57401. * National Association of Blind Teachers By Robert McCann The National Association of Blind Teachers will hold its third annual meeting of Tuesday, July 30, 1974, at the LaSalle Hotel in downtown Chicago 1 Illinois. The meeting will convene at 9:00 A.M. and reconvene at 1:30 P.M., after a break for lunch. Dr. Carlton Eldridge, Choral Music Director at Springfield College, Springfield, Illinois, will be this year's keynote speaker. Dr. Eldridge will be one of several speakers who will address the teachers group during the all-day meeting. Mrs. Linda B. Carlson will describe the program for the visually impaired set up in Endicott, New York, which permits visually impaired boys and girls from kindergarten through twelfth grade to continue in the regular public school system while receiving special education as a part of their daily schedule. The regular order of business will include further discussion of a teacher director, a monthly or quarterly publication of professional information, the problems of the blind teacher getting a job, and the need of greater public understanding of the potential of the blind teacher. The Illinois Association of Blind Teachers will present a review of their pilot program of teacher orientation that will be in progress at Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois. At the afternoon session, Bionic Instruments, Inc. will present a demonstration of the laser cane. Jim Rhodes will tell how he created a position at a school in Chicago and provided the musical instruments as well. Hopefully a placement counselor will also be available to describe how the newly certified teacher should go about applying for a job. All teachers and friends of education are cordially invited to attend this meeting on the 30th of July at the Hotel LaSalle. * RSVA to Meet in Chicago By Ione B. Miller The 1974 convention of the Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America will convene in Chicago at noon on Sunday, July 28, and adjourn at noon on Wednesday, July 31. The theme for the 1974 convention will be centered around modern merchandising. There will be a wholesalers marketing seminar, a food show, and tours to some of the Illinois locations, and election of a new slate of RSVA officers will take place during business sessions. Side trips are being planned for Sunday and Monday evenings. Among highlights of the convention will be an RSVA luncheon held on Tuesday, where the RSVA Award of the Year will be presented to some person who has performed an outstanding job in assisting the vending stand operators. Barry Feazell of 1760 N. Fairmont Drive, Springfield, IL 62702, is chairman of the 1974 RSVA convention. A complete agenda will be published in the Vendorscope prior to the convention. * VISTA Conference, 1974 The Visually Impaired Secretarial Transcribers Association (VISTA) will hold its 1974 convention at the LaSalle Hotel in Chicago from Sunday afternoon, July 28, through Wednesday noon, July 31. Taking as this year's theme "Horizons for Advancement," a varied and stimulating program is being arranged. A highlight of this year's meeting will be selection of the "Secretary of the Year" (see the March-April Braille Forum for details). VISTA is an organizationˇ dedicated to stimulating public awareness of the capabilities and potential of the blind secretary and transcriber, and to actively promoting public acceptance of the visually impaired in office work. It seeks to provide a source for answers to questions which may arise in day-to-day employment and to make available the most up to date information in the field of office work. The annual convention provides an opportunity for discussion of work methods, adjustment to various job situations, solutions to on-the-job problems, and the exchange of ideas which could lead to advancement. Those interested in further information are invited to contact Miss Betty Ann Jones, 907 Harper Street, Utica, NY 13502. * World Council of Blind Lions By Fred Lilley Although the entire convention program for the ACB convention has not yet been completed, it is hoped that the business meeting for the World Council of Blind Lions will be held on Wednesday morning, July 31. The usual luncheon has been changed to a dinner which will be on Tuesday evening, July 30. I have contacted Lions First Vice President Johnny Balbo, asking that he be the dinner speaker. Of course, the commitment must come from Lions International, and it is still too early. However, Lion Johnny replied, "Although I cannot give a firm answer at this time, you know that I will do everything possible to accommodate a good friend." That is good enough for me. I have names and addresses of blind Lions from all over the United States who have paid their $3.00 annual dues. Unfortunately, however, although there are a number of blind Lions in the Chicago area, none of them are paying members. I hope this article will change that, and I hope that one of them will act to volunteer his services to coordinate arrangements for our meeting and dinner with the Convention Chairman. Anyone wishing to assume this task, or anyone throughout the country who is a Lion in good standing with his local club and who is interested in WCBL, please send your dues to me at 7629 Dale Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63117. * ACB Service Net The ACB Service Net plans to be on the job again this year in Chicago at the annual convention of the American Council of the Blind. For the past four years, the Service Net has manned a "ham shack" and last year ran phone patches and handled messages for almost 100 persons. With ACB membership and convention attendance growing fast, this year the Service Net expects to be busier than ever. Come and visit the ham shack. See ham radio in action -- and perhaps send a message back home. It's truly an exciting hobby. The annual business meeting will be held on Tuesday evening, preceding the opening of the general convention. Included will be a demonstration of the Laser cane, as well as a discussion of electronics. The Service Net has met every day since July, 1969, and well over 200 blind amateurs have checked in since its inception. The net handles phone patches and messages, provides information on such subjects as library service and devices available to the blind, and gives technical assistance to blind persons interested in ham radio. Why not check in? The Net meets every day, seven days a week, on 14,305 mhz., 1700 to 1800 G.M.T. * Editors Workshop By M. Helen Vargo Chairman, Board of Publications The fourth ACB Editors Workshop has been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, July 30, at 1:30, at the LaSalle Hotel, Chicago. Our distinguished leader this year is Mrs. Annette Victorin. She is a noted teacher of writing and has to her credit a long list of published stories, articles, and poetry. If you are a Dialogue reader, you will know her as its literary editor. Her infectious enthusiasm for writing and her successful teaching experience are bound to have stimulating impact on the efforts and ambitions of chapter editor participants. Don't miss this treat. If you plan to attend, please indicate so at the ACB pre-convention registration desk. More details will be available in a direct communication from me if I hear from you before July 1 regarding your plans to attend this year's workshop. Write M. Helen Vargo, 833 Oakley Street, Topeka, KS 66606. * Why a Credit Union? "A credit union for me? Why?" To answer this question, you should know what a credit union is, what it does, and why it particularly is of benefit to organizations of the blind. For this reason, your American Council of the Blind Credit Union Committee has scheduled a special credit union program on Wednesday morning, July 31, 1974, immediately preceding commencement of the ACB national convention at the LaSalle Hotel in Chicago. The time will be 9:30 A.M. to 12:00 P. M., and there will be no registration or reservations required. The program will be presented by top-brass personnel of the National Credit Union offices in Madison, Wisconsin. "We are indeed fortunate to have this kind of participation," says ACB Credit Committee Chairman, John Vanlandingham. "Let's show our appreciation." * Leadership Seminar: Invest in Your Future; Prepare Yourself to Serve By Billie Elder Coordinator of Leaderships Seminars A Leadership Seminar has been scheduled for Wednesday morning, July 31, 1974, in Chicago. Your future in terms of personal satisfaction, community involvement, and the effectiveness of this organization depends upon the investment you make now in yourself. A national bank advertises its savings department with a commercial which begins: "Pay yourself first." The commercial then goes on to emphasize that everyone should pay himself before paying other obligations: pay himself by regularly setting aside a portion of his earnings in a savings account. You have other important obligations to yourself and to the future. Your sense of accomplishment, self-esteem and contribution through involvement in the total life of the community will be assured by developing your leadership abilities. You will be sought out and asked to assume positions of responsibility at the level where policies are made if you are willing to learn leadership skills. Invest in yourself. Attend the Leadership Seminar. You and this organization to which you are committed will reap the rewards for the rest of your life. * Rehabilitation Teachers to Hold Breakfast Meeting at National Convention All rehabilitation teachers, home teachers, and others who perform the functions of rehabilitation teaching in any setting are invited to a breakfast meeting Thursday morning, August 1, 1974. Please indicate your desire to attend the breakfast when you register at the convention. Time, place, and other details will be available at time of registration. Contact Billie Elder upon your arrival at the LaSalle Hotel. ***** ** Improving the Image of Blindness By Iva Menning (Editor's Note: Iva Menning is a communications skills teacher at the Oregon Rehabilitation Center for the Blind in Salem. She is the wife of ACB Board member and RSVA president Wally Menning. For the essay printed here, she won first prize of $100 in the "Image of Blind People" contest sponsored last summer by Hearsight.) A mirror reflects exactly what is focused upon it, no more, no less. So it is with the image of blindness as it is cast upon the public view. Some of it is attractive and appealing, while at other times the reflection is degrading or sad. It is the responsibility of the blind population to see to it that blindness is represented exactly like it is -- a fact of life, accepted and dealt with accordingly. Familiarity with the condition of blindness is essential to the improvement of the image which it creates. All of us give attention to the unusual, the unexpected, and the out-of-ordinary. Thanks to the improvement in mobility training and other "adjustment to blindness" programs, the general public is becoming accustomed to seeing more blind citizens traveling about the community and the country at large. If these visually impaired travelers will remember to maintain a neat appearance and a cordial attitude, the image they cast will be a pleasurable and memorable one, not colored by pity or fear of the unknown. We cannot rely entirely on those ambassadors who traverse the nation with white canes and dog-guides, demonstrating undeniably their abilities to go places in the truest sense of that much used expression. The full scope of the communication media must be utilized. Newspapers and magazines must be encouraged to print series of articles depicting the blind in normal living situations. A good many of these articles should be written, or at least edited, by blind people themselves to assure authenticity and the avoidance of maudlin presentations by well-meaning, but inadequately prepared reporters. Such articles should cover not only the blind persons or extraordinary accomplishment, but also those of more moderate ambition who have learned to live pretty much like the guy next door. Radio and TV interviews should likewise cover the gamut of personalities and the range of abilities possessed by those who are blind. Public relations techniques are invaluable to the improvement of the image which we seek. Community involvement is another consideration. Participation in neighborhood activities, community projects, service and business organizations is to be encouraged and regarded as an inalienable right and duty of every citizen, sighted or blind. Volunteer programs are worthy of attention also, and there is no question as to whether a blind person can perform a needed service. Time and energy devoted to finding a particularly worthwhile niche is well worth the expenditure. Organizations OF the blind can help to mold the image of blindness and with more impact than an individual is generally able to wield. An organization of this nature should be vitally concerned with becoming an asset to the community. This should consume as much or more energy than seeking community volunteers to aid in its own projects. Sometimes, reciprocal arrangements can be made with another organization, whereby both the sighted and blind benefit. A representative of the blind group can, on occasion, appear before another group to acquaint the community with its particular goals. One such goal of every organization OF the blind should be the improvement of the image under discussion. The improvement for which we strive can best be brought about as we individually and collectively stand before our public with these thoughts in mind. "This is how we want to be seen and remembered. We are as like you and as different from you as you are alike and different from your sighted neighbors. See us in this light, and we will live beautifully together in this great world of ours!" ***** ** Georgia Drive Clears Path for Dog-Guide Users Dog-guide users in Georgia will suffer none of the indignities imposed by uninformed restaurant owners, as the result of a concentrated public-relations drive by members of the Georgia Federation of the Blind, an ACB affiliate. Spearheaded by Jack Lewis, GFB past president and editor of the GFB Digest, the drive consisted of radio, television, and direct-mail appeals explaining Georgia Law Noi 79601, which imposes possible fines and imprisonment on those who deny persons with dog guides the right of services in places or transportation facilities serving the public. Spurred by the unhappy experience of a student at Wesleyan College who was denied acceptance as a student, and two other girls turned away from restaurants with Leader dogs, Jack put on a statewide campaign to rectify the problem. Radio and television interview shows featured Jack and three victims of the injustices, Judy Herndon, Betty Kelly, and Georgia Wolf, strongly emphasizing provisions of the law. "It was not that these eating places were prejudiced against the blind," Jack said, "but that they were not aware of the exception in the law providing for those dogs especially trained to guide the blind. Owners feared they would get in trouble with the Health Department, which enforces regulations against animals and birds being brought into restaurants or anywhere food is served. Once they learned that dog guides were accepted, they were cooperative." Jack and GFB President Johnny Wilson added impetus to the drive by sending out letters to hundreds of restaurants in Georgia, informing owners of the law, including reprints of regulations. A telephone call to the Macon, Georgia mayor, who sent a memo to the chief of police, resulted in all officers being instructed on how to handle complaints. Restaurant owners, Jack advised the Forum Editor, were quick to comply, once they understood that they would not get in trouble with the Health Department. Concerning the incident at Wesleyan College, Jack Lewis said a student's rejection for admittance with her dog guide was not based on the fact that the college had regulations against dogs, but that they had no policy at all. "I was called to President Earl Strickland's office when he heard I had raised a complaint about his rejecting the student, and he informed me that she was rejected because she was considered too immature to assume responsibility for the dog's behavior," Jack added. "I wanted to ask him if he rejected girls who were too immature to handle cars on campus, but didn't." Since then, two girls with dog guides have been admitted, but they do not live on campus. Dog-guide schools issue cards informing objectors about the acceptability of dogs in public places, but because laws vary from state to state, these cards are not always as effective as a message issued by the state in which the dog guide user resides. Jack Lewis feels that a nationwide public-relations program should be launched, in a cooperative effort by all dog-guide schools. Turnover is so great in restaurants that this message must be repeated frequently if dog-guide users are to be saved this embarrassment. ***** ** "Please Touch!" -- A New Concept in Art (Excerpted from House Beautiful, October, 1973) Art lovers can thank the sightless for a new kind of museum exhibit, one in which "Don't Touch!" signs are missing. Visitors are invited to run their hands over the sculpture, adding a new sensory perception to sight and offering an awareness of the pains taken by artists in shaping the finished work. Only a handful of museums have begun what they call "tactile" art programs, but a beginning has been made and the idea appears to be spreading. The concept began as a means for teaching art history to the blind. However, now such programs are often for everyone. This change in museum policies reflects coincidentally the changes in the artist's approach to art. Today artists want to communicate more closely with the viewer (and touchers, sniffers and listeners). We are invited to walk into sculptures, push buttons, swing levers, explore and listen. We seem to be getting closer to the original meaning of esthetics -- the study of sensory experience. The "Please Touch!" exhibits are a logical extension of this approach. The North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh opened one of the first tactile galleries in 1966. Charles W. Stanford, Jr., of the Museum conceived the idea and soon after was invited to speak at the International Council of Museums in Russia, and then in Europe. Subsequently, a tactile gallery opened in Holland and South America. In this country a traveling tactile exhibit was sponsored by the California State Arts Commission. At the moment, it appears as though no large city has a permanent "Please Touch" display, although short-run exhibits have been sponsored by the Lighthouse and the Jewish Guild for the Blind in New York. A most exciting exhibit opened in Hartford, Connecticut recently at the Wadsworth Atheneum. Indeed, something important happens when you are permitted to touch as well as view. Your perception is made more alert. What you see is greatly influenced by your personality and past experience. Touching, especially with your eyes closed, to produce the atmosphere in which a blind person approaches art, brings to you a new set of responses. More than that, touching heightens your appreciation of the work and imprints its impression on your memory far longer than sight alone, and your ability to observe grows keener. ***** ** Letter from RCA Special Sales Division -- The Audio Center (Editor's Note: There seems to be continued interest in the RCA Audio Center, Model RZC375. The following letter from Robert F. Kage, Manager of Special Sales for RCA, to ACB President Floyd Qualls will inform Forum readers of RCA's statement on this item.) April 17, 1974 Dear Mr. Qualls: This will refer to your letter of April 10 regarding availability of Model RZC375, the Audio Center. We regret to advise that our stock of these units is depleted and there is nothing in our current line with comparable features. It may be possible that there are a few of these units located at various distributors throughout the country, but we do not have this information in our office. When this unit was in stock, we did have a program with the various Lions Clubs throughout the United States. Also the American Foundation for the Blind was enthusiastic about our product and published information concerning same in their publication. It was by such means that word of the unit was disseminated throughout the country. We appreciate your interest in RCA and regret we cannot be of assistance in this matter. ***** ** ACB Leader Receives Federal Employee Award Oral O. Miller, an attorney with the United States Small Business Administration, Washington, D.C., was named one of the ten winners of the "Outstanding Handicapped Federal Employees of the Year" award by the U.S. Civil Service Commission in a special ceremony at the Commerce Department on April 4. Oral lost his sight at the age of eight as the result of an accident. He attended the Kentucky School for the Blind, where he graduated first in his class and received a scholarship which made it possible for him to attend Princeton University. There, among his many extracurricular activities, he was a member of the varsity crew squad and was honored as the Princeton Oarsman who, in the opinion of his associates, contributed most to the sport. Upon graduation as a history major, he was awarded the Kendall Law School Scholarship and the Princeton National Law Scholarship and attended Chicago University Law School. He received his law degree in 1958, finishing in the upper one-third of his class. Since joining the Small Business Administration in 1960, Oral has received four promotions. His assignments have dealt primarily with the SBA lending and procurement programs. His major areas of professional expertise include procurement law, secured transactions, administrative law, and criminal law. Notwithstanding a heavy work load, Oral finds time for many after-hours activities. Seeking to advance the quality of public law he has served as a member of the Legal Welfare Committee of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia. He is president of the D.C. Association of Workers for the Blind, an affiliate of the American Council of the Blind, recently he was named ACB Convention Coordinator; he is a member of the American Blind Lawyers Association, a member of the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, president of the SBA Recreation and Welfare Association, vice president of Music City Soundtrack Association (country-western music), and past president of the American Blind Bowlers Association. This award was first conceived by the Interagency Advisory Group Committee on Selective Placement Programs. The Group envisioned an annual award program which would focus attention on the job capabilities of those handicapped persons already employed by the Federal Government and publicize Federal career opportunities available to other handicapped persons. The award was formally established by the Civil Service Commission as a nationwide recognition program in October, 1968, making the criterion "exceptional job performance in spite of severely limiting physical factors." During the early years of the award program, ten finalists were selected each year from among Federal agencies, with the winner being named at a special ceremony honoring the ten finalists. This year, and in subsequent years, the emphasis will be on the achievements of ten outstanding handicapped employees, without selection of a single winner. Oral Miller's philosophy is reflected in his response to a question on Form 171, Application for Federal Employment. Asked whether he had a physical handicap, his answer was, "Although I am almost totally blind, I have devised, and can devise additional methods and procedures to perform the duties of the position sought." ***** ** The Blind Broker Reprinted from Time Magazine, 2-25-74 Being young and a woman are disadvantages enough on Wall Street, but Laura Sloate has a third handicap: she has been blind since she was six years old! Even so, after a mere five years in the securities business, she grossed more than $100,000 in 1973 as a research analyst with Drexel Burnham, a major securities house. Last week she opened her own securities firm with two associates and a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. Encouraged by her mother, who, she says, never let her be treated as a blind person, Sloate originally set out to be a lawyer. After graduating from Barnard College in 1966 with a major in medieval history, she enrolled Columbia University Law School but dropped out because she concluded that prospects for a blind lawyer were almost impossible. She got into the securities business by answering an ad from a go-go mutual fund that wanted analyst trainees without experience. As a girl, she had played basketball by positioning her feet on a crack in the court and shooting from memory. Now, she still operates from memory. Four hours each day and nine hours on Saturday she listens to readers recite the volumes of technical detail about companies and the economy that she must evaluate to make recommendations for clients. Some colleagues say that Sloate sometimes uses her blindness to win sympathy and describe her as a highly aggressive person. She concedes: "I've been known to annoy people." But she has demonstrated an ability to help her clients make money, and in the stock market that talent will overcome any handicap. ***** ** Action in Kentucky! The Associated Blind of Kentucky began the new year with renewed vitality. At its January 26 meeting, it made new project assignments: opposing discrimination in insurance coverage, charging for telephone Directory Assistance, and the transfer of the Library for the Blind from the Department of Libraries to the Services for the Blind; favoring a non-drivers license for identification and the establishment of a sub-carrier broadcast system. In recent weeks, ABK has also worked on a local transportation plan, has given renewed support to S. 2581, the Randolph-Sheppard Amendments, and is inquiring into other projects of importance to blind persons. It has two representatives on the Advisory Council for the Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and is supporting the establishment of a sub-regional library in Louisville. ABK has two representatives on the Mayor's Community Council in Louisville. It will soon publish the second issue of its new bulletin. The issue over the transfer of the Library for the Blind to another state agency has been resolved, and it will remain in the State Department of Libraries. The officers of this busy organization, which now has over 150 members, are: Mrs. Anna Rose Cain, President; Larry Crowe, Vice President; Jim Shaw, Recording Secretary, Mrs. Carla S. Franklin, Corresponding Secretary; and Russell Maple, Treasurer. There were two ACB representatives at the January 26 meeting, Oral Miller of Washington, D.C., a native of Kentucky, and Durward McDaniel, National Representative. ***** ** Big Hotels Request Information from the Handicapped By Oral Miller ACB Convention Coordinator Recently the Hilton Hotel Corporation indicated that it is interested in making permanent, if not overly expensive, modifications in its hotels in order to better accommodate the physically handicapped. The Hilton representative immediately mentioned simple modifications such as the installation of ramps to accommodate wheelchairs. With reference to the blind, he mentioned several of the special arrangements which are usually made nowadays for large conventions of the blind -- braille markings on elevator controls, braille markings on each floor, braille numbers (when necessary) on room doors, braille menus, etc. Although I immediately thought of several other minor modifications that would be of significant assistance to blind guests, I requested and was given time to publish. a short article on the subject in order to ask for suggestions from other blind travelers. Accordingly, if you have any suggestions as to procedural or physical modifications which would be of significant assistance to the blind, please send them to me at your early convenience. It is not likely that the Hilton Corporation will be interested in making major architectural changes in existing hotels, but it is quite possible that suggestions concerning even major changes will be considered as new hotels are designed and built. This is a good opportunity for you to complain about the hotel features, procedures, policies, and the like which bother you most, so let me hear from you in ink-print or braille or on tape. If your suggestion calls for the installation of tangible items, please let me know, if possible, where the items can be obtained and approximately how much they cost. These suggestions will not be passed on in their raw form, so do not worry about exact wording or terminology. Write Oral O. Miller, ACB Convention Coordinator, 3701 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Apartment 220, Washington, D.C. 20008. ***** ** Index to Blind Mail-Order Business Persons ATTENTION: Blind Mail-Order Business Persons: If you are operating a business (either from your home or a store) which sells merchandise or services by mail order, and if you are welcoming orders from your fellow blind, your name and product information deserve to be more widely known among the blind of the U.S. The first steps in preparing a national registry of blind mail-order business persons are now being taken as a special project by one of the regional libraries for the blind. Mr. Warren Sladky, Special Projects Editor, Braille and Talking Book Department, Cleveland Public Library, 325 Superior Avenue, N.E., Cleveland, OH 44114, is organizing the "Index to Blind Mail Order Business Persons," and he requests your help. If you are, or if you know of someone else who is in the category being sought, please write Mr. Sladky at the above address now and give him the following information: Name of blind owner; name of business (if different); complete address including ZIP code; and short description of merchandise or services offered for sale. Such listings would include, but are definitely not restricted to individuals selling greeting cards, gummed labels, taping supplies and phonograph records; repairing braille writers; custom knitting and crocheting to order; and -- whatever you regularly offer for sale by mail. The time assigned for the initial collection of data will be through October 31, 1974. The resulting listings will then be prepared in both braille and print. Copies of the Index will be filed with the Library of Congress and any interested Regional Library and will be updated periodically. As this Index is designed to aid in answering requests for information on sources of specific merchandise and/or services, it would be a mutually valuable reference tool for potential customers and business persons. Listings data for the Index may be sent to Mr. Sladky in braille, print, or on tape. ***** ** Image Breakers By Louis J. Cantoni, Ph.D., and Lucille Cantoni, M.S.W. (Editor's Note: Dr. Cantoni is Director, Rehabilitation Counseling Program, Wayne State University, Detroit, and Mrs. Cantoni is Casework Supervisor, Family Service of Metropolitan Detroit.) We live in an era concerned with image-making. Individuals, organizations, and professional groups worry about the image they convey to others. Such concern for conveying a good image can, and often does, become all-engrossing. Many individuals do not care for what they really are; they concern their efforts in showing forth a certain pose. Thus, in effect, they become tin gods. More so than in many fields of endeavor, professionals in rehabilitation have the opportunity to stand for what they really are. At case conferences and case staffings, they realize that there must be honest cooperation among various professionals if patients and clients are to be well served. Today a patient or client in need of rehabilitation may receive services from disability examiners, nurses, occupational therapists, psychiatrists, physical therapists, placement specialists, pre-vocational evaluators, prosthetists, psychologists, rehabilitation counselors, social workers, special educators, speech therapists, vocational instructors, and other specialists. But it is precisely in trying to stand for what they think they really are that professionals in rehabilitation get into trouble. Each profession has its image, and the members of various professions are at fault when they cling too hard to their traditional accepted image. Why are we professionals? Why do we undergo long and careful training? Sanity lives in the task before us. It is in serving our patients and clients that we define our role, both to ourselves and to others. It is through service that we come to know our true selves, and it is through service that others truly know us. We must never forget that in rehabilitation, our patients and clients are our allies. As individuals and as members of organizations for the handicapped, people with disabilities have been image-breakers during the whole modern era of rehabilitation. Though restricted in certain ways by illness or injury, they want others to know them for their true abilities, not their disabilities. They know that a wheelchair belies the stature of a person sitting in it. It is good to have a clear-cut set of skills; it is good to be a professional specialist. But, as professionals, it is not good for us to forget our many-sided education, our many-sided experiences. It is not good to forget that we have learned to think, to read, to speak, to write. We should use our general communication skills to good purpose in our relationship with patients and clients and in our relationship with other professionals. We should be less concerned about images; more concerned about problem-solving. Let's be image breakers. ***** ** Hope for the Blind with Retinitis Pigmentosa By Joseph Wiedenmayer Lengthy newspaper and magazine articles appeared all over the country last month about new developments which could provide hope and help in the future for persons blinded by retinitis pigmentosa (referred to as "RP"). This progressive and incurable eye disease suffered by some 100,000 people in the United States, is described as "the most baffling of inherited diseases, which is produced in most cases when both parents are carriers" of the defective gene, although the parents may not have retinitis pigmentosa themselves. In a long article in Newsweek Magazine of March 4, 1974, it is stated in part that: (1) Now with a technique called electroretinography, RP can be easily diagnosed in infants, children, and adults before reaching an advanced stage. (2) Dr. Eliot Berson, at the new laboratory of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, states that he has fitted eight young RP patients with large opaque lenses for one eye, to minimize or prevent exposure to daylight and hopefully retard progress of RP in that eye, while the sight in the uncovered eye deteriorates gradually. Eventually the opaque lens is re­moved and the previously covered eye takes over. "In this way, Berson explains, it may be possible to extend the patient's sight by as long as thirty years. But he cautions that because the disease progresses gradually, it will be at least five years before the usefulness of this treatment can be evaluated." (3) Another boon for the RP victim, the article states, "is a visual aid now in the early stages of development by the International Telephone and Telegraph Corp. The battery-powered device, one version of which resembles a half pair of opera glasses, transforms light energy into electrical energy, amplifies it, and beams it on to a screen at one end of the scope, producing an image resembling a tiny TV picture." Dr. Berson also indicates he tested fifty RP patients and concluded that it allowed persons with poor night vision to see in dim light with the equivalent of their best daylight vision. When the device is perfected, it should cost about $1,000, it is said. People with RP, including those of us with both RP blindness and congenital deafness, can see a faint glimmer; of hope within this decade. We can also be grateful to the Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation, which is finding this laboratory, reportedly, the first of its kind. ***** ** In Memoriam: Richard Stansfield By Otis Stephens Richard Stansfield suffered a fatal heart attack at his home in Knoxville on March 11. His many friends both within and outside ACB were shocked and saddened by his sudden and untimely death. He was an outstanding leader of the organized blind in Tennessee, serving at the time of his death as president of the Tennessee Council of the Blind and as treasurer of one of its local affiliates, the Greater East Tennessee Council of the Blind. To hundreds of ACB members throughout the country, he is best remembered for his outstanding work as last year's national convention chairman. The great success of our week-long gathering in Knoxville last July was due in very large part to Dick Stansfield's tireless and unselfish efforts. He took great pride in the selection of Knoxville as the 1973 convention site and worked long and hard to make certain that ACB members and guests would enjoy Tennessee hospitality at its best. For 25 years, Richard Stansfield operated a snack bar on the University of Tennessee campus. He had literally thousands of friends among the students, faculty and administration. He was one of the best known, best liked, and most widely admired members of the University community, and over the years he received a great deal of recognition from his wide circle of friends. Since his death, they have shown their recognition of his contribution to the University by establishing a scholarship fund in his memory. Richard Stansfield was an active community leader, serving, among other things, as president of his Lions Club and as a deacon in his church. He was an ardent ham radio enthusiast, who built most of his own equipment and talked with people in virtually every part of the world. As many ACB members will recall, he was responsible for arranging the excellent ham radio facilities at Knoxville's Hyatt-Regency Hotel last summer. I will always remember Dick Stansfield as a warm person of irrepressible enthusiasm who had a great zest for life and, above all, a boundless faith in the capacity of blind men and women to lead active, full, and useful lives. His own life was an outstanding testimony to the reality of this faith. ***** ** Legislative Roundup By Durward K. McDaniel ACB has advocated amendments to the "Job Security Assistance Act of 1974," pending before the House Committee on Ways and Means, which extend unemployment compensation protection to 97,000 handicapped workers in sheltered shops. Such handicapped workers are denied that protection under the present law, except where the employer has waived its exemption, as a few have. ACB has advocated amendments to H.R. 11143, affecting the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, which would, among other things, require the payment of regular employee benefits to handicapped workers in sheltered workshops and which would authorize a system of representation of production employees in workshops for the blind. This legislation originated in 1938. It authorizes the procuring of commodities and services by the Federal Government from qualified workshops without competitive bidding. Congress and the Administration have shown little interest in the wages and benefits provided in sheltered workshops, and it appears that the pending legislation will include only minor amendments, with no improvements for handicapped workers. The Fair Labor Standards Act has been amended to increase the minimum wage. The new law did not change Section 14, which permits the payment of sub-minimum wages to handicapped workers upon the issuance of special certificates to employers by the U.S. Department of Labor. However, the legislated increase in the minimum wage will cause a proportional increase in sub­minimum wages paid to handicapped workers pursuant to such certificates. As we went to press, the House Committee on Ways and Means was holding hearings on national health insurance legislation. A major compromise bill was introduced in April jointly by Senator Kennedy and Congressman Wilbur Mills. Congressman James C. Corman and Congresswoman Martha W. Griffiths issued a statement in part as follows: "The Kennedy-Mills Plan has been promoted as a compromise between H.R. 22 and the Administration's bill, and as the national health insurance proposal having greatest chance of enactment. However, it would not provide an adequate and acceptable health program unless major improvements are made which move it substantially closer to H.R. 22. "Specifically, provisions must be added which would eliminate the gaps in coverage and assure that everyone would receive needed medical care. "More stringent and realistic cost and quality controls like the long-range budgeting features of H.R. 22 must be incorporated. "The insurance companies should be dropped. Whether as carriers or "fiscal intermediaries," there is overwhelming evidence that they would not contribute to effectiveness or efficiency of a national health program. Public funds should be administered by public officials. "Modifications in the financing features that would promise a reduction in current out-of-pocket medical expenses for families, such as reducing or eliminating deductibles, co­insurance and Medicare premiums, and greater use of general revenues, are necessary. "Medicare should be combined with the national health program so we would have one program, one administrative mechanism, one payroll deduction, one set of benefits for everyone, and provisions must be added that would protect current Medicare and Medicaid recipients in all states from a reduction in benefits when these programs are replaced. "The benefits should be expended, with greater emphasis on preventive services; and measures should be added that provide greater incentives for the development and use of health-maintenance organizations and more explicit directives to re-distribute the availability of physicians and other health resources." ***** ** State Convention Highlights * Associated Blind of California By Harriet Fielding "Do you really get anything worthwhile out of attending those blind conventions?" This is a question asked repeatedly by friends of ours who seem to think nothing can be gained by leaving one's particular haunts to participate in rather hectic conventions in various parts of California. The members and friends of Associated Blind of California who attended the March convention in Hollywood will tell anyone who wants to know that there certainly was much to be gained at that one. For example, there was the information to be gained from an exceptionally varied program arranged by Program Chairman John Millen. Food for thought was provided by two speakers on provocative subjects, titles of which were "Are the Blind an Under-Privileged Minority?" and "Psycho-Dynamics of the Blind." General information on rehabilitation, Supplemental Security Income, and architectural barriers was liberally discussed. Highlight of the Saturday evening banquet was an address by Durward K. McDaniel, Washington Representative for the American Council of the Blind, entitled "Collective Action and the Individual." There was much to be gained, also, from the social contacts made, the renewal of old friendships, the pleasure of establishing new friendships, and the special-interest luncheon and banquet. Lastly, inspiration was gained through the awards ceremony, beautifully handled by Mrs. Juliet Esterly. Lifetime membership were presented to charter members Dr. and Mrs. Harry G. Earle, to Mrs. Ellen Sutton, and posthumously to her beloved husband, Clarence Sutton. Another inspirational lift came to those present at the banquet when charters were handed to the presidents of two new Los Angeles chapters recently organized. Now who says conventions are not worthwhile? Not members of Associated Blind of California. They are all for them! In fact, the general chairman for the next convention, Wesley Daley, is already making plans for the next one to be held in October in Oakland. ***** ** Here and There From the OFB NEWSLETTER (Okla.): Plans are under way to hold a national seminar-workshop for the Radio Talking Book system from all over the country, bringing together those who presently are or plan in the near future to be broadcasting such a network for the blind. Participants are expected to attend from Washington State, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Florida, and New York. Plans are to cover such topics as standardization of tapes, a national clearinghouse for volunteer recording of books to avoid duplication of effort, engineering problems of FM sub­carriers, the possibility of a national network, programming, and recruitment of volunteers. This seminar will be held in conjunction with the grand opening of the Oklahoma Radio Talking Book Network, which has been on the air since July 1, 1973. Over 300 sub-carrier receivers are in service in the Oklahoma City area, under a program originally funded with financial aid from the Oklahoma Federation of the Blind, the Oklahoma League for the Blind, and various service clubs. -- On March 17, 1974, the 20th annual meeting of the LASS Federal Credit Union was held in Oklahoma City, with over 100 persons attending. Total balance of shares held by members at the end of 1973 was $276,123.87, up about $6,000.00 over 1972. Total assets are $310,309.00. Over its 20-year history, the Credit Union has loaned out over $3 million. The total membership is 561. Income for 1973 was $33,605.12, up more than $2,000.00 from 1972. According to the Guiness Book of World Records, the fastest time for running 100 yards by a blind person was 11 seconds by George Bull, 19, of Chippenham, Wilshire, England, in a race at Worcester College for the Blind on October 16, 1954. DOGMA: Rule 46 of the Oxford Union Society in London reads: "Any member introducing a dog into the Society's premises shall be liable to a fine of 1 lb. Any animal leading a blind person shall be deemed to be a cat. " Dr. John G. Cady, despite severe loss of vision, has taught courses on soil and related subjects at John Hopkins University since 1969. Internationally recognized for his work as a soil scientist, Dr. Cady was recently honored at the Fourth International Working Meeting on Soil Micromorphology at Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, where he was presented with a medal struck in honor of his work in soil microscopy. Dr. Cady (who, incidentally, is a member of ACB of Maryland) has been engaged in work in soil genesis and related subjects since 1946. He has worked with the U.S. Geological Survey, Military Geology Unit 1 and spent two years with the Soil Survey in the Belgian Congo. He received wide recognition as a soil scientist before losing his sight. Presently he is active in writing in his field, teaches four courses in the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at John Hopkins, and works with a number of graduate students, primarily in the areas of geomorphology, mineralogy, and plant geography. Merrill Maynard, of Taunton, Massachusetts, is the author­artist of a new book of poetry and sketches published on World Poetry Day in 1973. A graduate of the Perkins School for the Blind, Mr. Maynard has been active in poetry circles ever since. Past president of the Associated Blind of Massachusetts, and a director of the Braille Poets Guild, Mr. Maynard reaches a new dimension in his book of personal philosophy in poetic form, My Cup Runneth Over. From Recording for the Blind NEWSLETTER: RFB, now in its 22nd year, has in the past five years increased its output and the number of students it serves by 150 percent. "We are now serving virtually all of the blind college population and half of the nation's blind high-school students, " according to RFB President John W. Castles, III. "Last year volunteers taped 3,788 new titles (70,089 hours of recorded reading time), which would have cost RFB well over $2 million had we been obliged to pay for it." As of June 30, 1973, 22,351 titles were available in RFB's master tape library. Not content with this record, RFB has announced the following long-term goals: establishment of a computer clearinghouse and ordering center of taped educational materials; a job placement service for graduating and graduate students; offering RFB's know-how in educational recording to the blind in other parts of the world. For further information, write Recording for the Blind, Inc., 215 E. 58th Street, New York, NY 10022. Do you have ten hours to devote to improving the listening skills you depend upon daily? A new ten-lesson course, offered free of charge in braille or on cassette, is now available from the Hadley School for the Blind. Designed to develop listening skills for every situation imaginable, and then some, lessons include how to go about listening and why one should bother; listening to learn, including note-taking techniques; improving inter-personal communications; listening for enjoyment; noise pollution and how you can help. Write Registrar, Hadley School for the Blind, 700 Elm Street, Winnetka, IL 60093. A soundsheet listing of all Hadley courses is also available upon request. Enthusiasm with a moderate degree of wisdom will carry a man farther than any amount of intellect without it. The men who have most powerfully influenced the world have not been so much men of genius as men of strong convictions and enduring capacity for work, impelled by irresistible enthusiasm as well as invincible determination." -- Sidney N. Bremer in How to Get What You Want. From KAB NEWS (Kan.): Red Cross chapters in Kansas are sponsoring Project SSI Alert, to inform Kansans about this new program, and are using volunteers to spread the message. Paul Heiderbrecht, Administrative Assistant, Services for the Blind and Visually Handicapped, is helping the Topeka Red Cross chapter train volunteers for this project. Dampening Drinking (AP): If you had to buy water by the ton, you would be getting a pretty good bargain, according to Rockwell International Corp., largest producers of domestic water meters in the United States. Municipal water sells for about $.20 a ton. If you bought soda pop the same way, it would cost you $210 per ton. Beer by the ton sells for $405, while 100-proof whiskey sells for the equivalent of $6,144 a ton. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Australia has conveyed its appreciation to Joseph Wiedenmayer of ACB for authorizing the Royal Institute for the Blind in Melbourn to reproduce his publication, "Look or Listen," for the blind and hard-of-hearing. Mr. Wiedenmayer was U.S. consul there from 1954 to 1957. The pamphlet will be reproduced in braille, ink-print, and on tape for distribution to the blind of Australia and New Zealand. Greeting cards for every occasion, printed in both braille and ink, as well as various sizes of envelopes, with or without return address and "Free Reading Matter," are available from Harry A. Fribush, deaf-blind braille embosser. Write him for a free brochure. Mr. Fribush welcomes new customers, but wishes particularly to call to the attention of former customers his new address: Parkview, Apartment 104, 400 Hudson Avenue, Albany, NY 12203. From the NEW OUTLOOK: Dr. I. Inou and his staff at the Visual Prosthetics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, have developed a prototype model of a braille verifier for blind typists. Not yet commercially available, the verifier attaches to a standard manual or electric typewriter and produces braille cells of the type line on a special belt so that typist can check the work tactually. From NEWS-LINE (National Center for Law and the Handicapped): NCLH hosted a workshop last October in Chicago for attorneys from around the country involved in "right to education" litigation. The two-day meeting covered such topics as trial problems, implementation, and new theories in the area of education. Also it provided an opportunity for the exchange of ideas of experts in such fields as education and sociology and with representatives of the Council for Exceptional Children and the National Association of Retarded Citizens. -- To bring about maximum effectiveness of its program, the NCLH Advisory Committee has suggested two approaches to priority-setting: (1) to support lawyers actually or potentially involved in legal action on behalf of the handicapped, working with and through national and state organizations representing the handicapped, in an attempt to match lawyer recourses with handicapped citizens on a state-by-state basis; and (2) to concentrate on activities which promise to have the greatest impact on changing legal rules, in the context of litigation, legislation, and administrative regulations. It was recognized that national organizations representing the handicapped would be called upon to play a major role in translating legal action to further public education and citizen advocacy. -- In the process of rewriting the state's 97-year-old constitution, Texas legislators are considering a constitutional provision which would forbid discriminatory treatment of physically or mentally handicapped persons on account of their handicap. NCLH assisted in drafting such an amendment. Illinois presently has a similar, but somewhat more limited provision in its state constitution. The proposed amendment in Texas is seen as a significant and laudable step, indicating that the state's policy toward equality for handicapped individuals will be reflected in the most basic and fundamental document, the state constitution. Magnetic labels for food cans and other household commodities have been developed and are being distributed by Moonlight Press of San Diego, California. Labels measure 1 in. by 1/2 in., bear any three braille characters, and are said to be practically indestructible. By means of abbreviations to be worked out by the customer, these may be made to satisfy most requirements. Cost: $.10 per label; each order is delivered with a 5-by-8-inch rectangle sheet of metal which can be mounted on a wall or cabinet for storage of labels when not in use. For further information, write Moonlight Press, 4111 16th Street, San Diego, CA 92115. "Show me a thoroughly satisfied man, and I'll show you a failure." --Thomas Edison. From AAWB NEWS AND VIEWS: "Home Mechanics for the Visually Impaired" by Robert G. Utrup, is a recent (Jan., 1974) publication of the Graduate College of Western Michigan University. Mr. Utrup is a rehabilitation teacher. His treatise covers such important subjects as repairing drains, faucets, flush tanks, fuse boxes, etc. Those interested should contact the Graduate College, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49001. Living with the Metric System: A miss is as good as 1.6 kilometers. -- Give him 2.5 centimeters and he'll take 1.6 kilometers. -- I wouldn't touch him with a three-meter pole. -- Don't hide your light under a 38-liter basket. -- 28.4 grams of prevention are worth 453.6 grams of cure. --There was a crooked man and he went a crooked 1.6 kilometers. A recent letter from Carol Derouin, president of the Oregon Council of the Blind, reports a number of newsworthy activities. On March 9, a conference of agencies and newsworthy organizations giving service to the blind of Oregon was sponsored by OCB and held on the campus of the Oregon School for the Blind in Salem. Of the 160 participants, many were high-school-age blind persons who may now avail themselves of the services described, without having to search about to fill their needs. A list of 25 names and addresses of agencies and organizations serving the blind of the state was distributed, and a post-convention questionnaire supported the thought that there are organizations and services totally unknown to many of the blind consumers of the state who could use such services. -- OCB's first fund-raising project for 1974 was to sponsor a one-night performance of the play, "Butterflies Are Free." -- Beginning last February, the OCB president was given a bi-weekly 15-minute news and interview show on Station KBPF, Portland. This program is now being aired in Salem as well, so that a much larger number of visually impaired persons is kept current on news and information of interest to the blind. William T. Snyder, a blind businessman and distinguished civic leader in his native Baltimore, Maryland, was recently presented with Dialogue's eighth annual Public Service Award. Dialogue is the only independently published recorded magazine of general interest, written and edited by and for the blind. The award is given for distinguished community service by a blind person. Mr. Snyder, owner of his own public-relations agency, contributes volunteer work through the Maryland Society for the Prevention of Blindness and the National Association for the Visually Handicapped. In 1973 he served as chairman of the Baltimore Symposium on Social and Recreational Integration of Blind Youth. "To Cook Without Sugar," a recipe book especially designed for diabetics by the Oregon Department of Health, has been transcribed into braille. Thermoform copies at a cost of $1.50 may be ordered from Mr. Claude Garvin, Director, Volunteer Braille Service, 1931 N. W. Flanders, Portland, OR 97209. -- Two publications of possible interest to homemakers are available in large-print or braille from the Catholic Guild for the Visually Impaired, 67 West Division Street, Chicago, IL 60610. "A Leaf from Our Table" (cost, $5.00) is a cookbook. "So What About Sewing" (cost, $8. 00) has been edited by the Guild and is described as "an excellent tool for those persons who are visually impaired." The text can be used as a teaching aid, as an instructional manual, or as a handy reference. The U.S. Postal Service has recently inaugurated a "Stamps by Mail" program. By using an order form supplied by the Postal Service, individuals can purchase most postal needs by mail -- stamps in sheet, roll or book form (regular or commemorative), as well as stamped envelopes. Normally, orders are delivered within three days. A fee of $.40 is charged for postage and handling. ***** ** ACB Officers and Directors President: Floyd Qualls, 106 N.E. 2nd Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104 First Vice President: Dr. S. Bradley Burson, 917 Kenyon Street, Downers Grove, Illinois 60515 Second Vice President: Mrs. Billie Elder, 5317 W. 29th Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72204 Secretary: Mrs. Catherine Skivers, 836 Resota Street, Hayward, California 94545 Treasurer: J. Edward Miller, 2621 Chesterfield Avenue, Charlotte, North Carolina 28205 ***** George Card, 605 S. Few Street, Madison, WI 53703 Paul Kirton, Rt. 1, Box 56-C, Woodford, VA 22580 Lester McGlaughn, 2403 Monroe Avenue, Gadsden, AL 35901 Wallace Menning, 2750 Ellis Avenue, N. E., Salem, OR 97301 Norman Robinson, 7107 S. King Drive, Chicago, IL 60619 Reese Robrahn, 329 Woodbury Lane, Topeka, KS 66606 Earl Scharry, 1102-1/2 Race Street, Dubuque, IA 52001 John Vanlandingham, 5800 N. 19th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85015 Vernon Williams, PO. Box 826, Aberdeen, SD 57401 ***** Items intended for publication in the Braille Forum should be sent to the editor, Mary T. Ballard, 190 Lattimore Road, Rochester, NY 14620, or to one of the associate editors: George Card, 605 South Few Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53703 Ione B. Miller, 9291 Fermi Avenue, San Diego, California 92123 Margaret Freer, 11816 West Blue Mound Road, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin 53226 Joseph Wiedenmayer, 5604 Montgomery Street, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20015 ###