By William Reuschel and Aaron Preece
Image: Aaron Preece stands with his guide dog Joel and a Pidgey Pokémon.
Image: Left to right, Helen Keller standing with Polly Thomson at the door to their home in Easton, Connecticut, circa 1955.
We are delighted that our next post in this series of posts devoted to the Helen Keller Digitization project is contributed by Susan Pearce, a volunteer transcriber, and a very valued member of our "Captains of Transcription" team.
From Susan Pearce, transcriber:
The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of actress and advocate Patty Duke. Ms. Duke immortalized the intelligent and rebellious spirit of the 6-year-old deaf and blind Helen Keller in her performance of William Gibson's play, The Miracle Worker. She starred in both the original Broadway production and went on to win an Academy Award in the 1962 film version with Anne Bancroft playing her teacher Anne Sullivan.
As holidays and spring time approach it is a good time to reflect on Helen Keller’s love of nature and its possibilities for transformation and renewal. In September 1940 — a year after she and her companion Polly Thomson moved into their new home in Westport, CT — Keller wrote to her close friend "Uncle Walter." Here is an excerpt from that letter:
Below is an excerpt from Helen Keller’s essay Three Days to See. Enjoy her beautiful and wise words.
...Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die to-morrow. Such an attitude would emphasize sharply the values of life. We should live each day with gentleness, a vigor, and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when times stretches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come…
Welcome to this, the seventh day of our 8-day #BeAMiracleworker campaign. We have now raised $22,819, which is fantastic! But we have only one day left to reach our goal of $25,000. Please donate now and be a miracle worker. And don’t forget to follow the campaign’s progress on Facebook.
Welcome to this, our fifth day of our 8-day #BeAMiracleworker campaign. Every dollar we raise will be matched by the National Endowment for the Humanities. For a short time only, your gift of $10 will be worth $20, $25 will bring in $50 – you get the idea! We need to raise the money by this coming Wednesday, September 30th. Donate now and be a miracle worker. And don’t forget to follow the campaign’s progress on Facebook.
Welcome to the fourth day of our 8-day #BeAMiracleworker campaign. Every dollar we raise will be matched by the National Endowment for the Humanities. For a short time only, your gift of $10 will be worth $20, $25 will bring in $50 – you get the idea! But we need to raise this money by next Wednesday, September 30th. Donate now and be a miracle worker. And don’t forget to follow the campaign’s progress on Facebook.