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:
Enjoy the only known recording of Anne Sullivan Macy’s voice. Here Annie explains how she taught Helen to speak. This is one of a handful of clips recently re-mastered and digitized, and is part of the American Foundation for the Blind’s (AFB) big push to digitize Helen Keller’s entire archival collection and make it fully accessible to both blind and hearing impaired audiences:
Happy Holidays from AFB!
The American Foundation for the Blind is delighted to share this movie clip of Helen Keller in her home in Westport, Connecticut. Filmed in the 1950s, it beautifully captures Helen’s instinctive appreciation of the world around her and her wholehearted joy of living. This is one of 10 clips that will be uploaded to the newly digitized Helen Keller Archival Collection.
"What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes a part of us."
-Helen Keller
In The Approach of Christmas Helen Keller vividly describes an early childhood memory of Christmas. It was December 1887, a momentous year for Helen Keller. In March of that year Anne Sullivan came to Tuscumbia, Alabama to teach Helen. Just a few weeks later, Anne successfully taught her young pupil to communicate using the manual sign language. Helen was just six years old.
It's that time of year again, when we're all searching for gift-giving ideas. If you have close friends or family members who are blind, visually impaired, or losing their sight, here are some gift-giving guides you might want to check out. From young children to working-age adults to seniors who are gradually losing their vision, the American Foundation for the Blind has you covered.
