[bksvol-discuss] Fwd: Fw: re passing of C. Warren Bledsoe( long cane)
- From: Cindy <popularplace@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 18:05:53 -0800 (PST)
I found this article very interesting. I never thought
to wonder whose idea the long white cane was or how it
came to be.
I also found it interesting that the man died three
weeks after his wife of 53 years. Obviously there was
a very close tie there (smile).
Cindy
> The Maryland School for the Blind
>
>
> THE MARYLAND SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND TO HOST
> MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR C. WARREN BLEDSOE
> Longtime board member, pioneer in field had powerful
> international impact on services for the visually
> impaired
>
>
> BALTIMORE, MD - A memorial service for C. Warren
> Bledsoe, who helped
> develop the long cane technique for blind people to
> use in getting
> around independently, will be held Friday, April 8,
> 2005, at 11 a.m. in
> the Jen. C. Russo Arts Center at The Maryland School
> for the Blind, 3501
> Taylor Ave., Baltimore. Mr. Bledsoe died February
> 27, 2005 after a
> lengthy illness and three weeks after the death of
> Anne, his loving wife
> for 53 years. The Columbia resident was 92.
>
> Born July 15, 1912 on the campus of The Maryland
> School for the Blind
> (MSB) where his father was the superintendent,
> Bledsoe dedicated his
> life to the education and rehabilitation of the
> blind and visually
> impaired. After graduating from Gilman Country
> School and Princeton
> University, he taught English and drama at MSB.
>
> While serving in the Army Air Force during World War
> II, he was
> transferred to a special unit at Valley Forge Army
> Hospital in
> Pennsylvania to assist with the rehabilitation of
> service men and women
> who lost their vision in the conflict. There, in
> association with Dr.
> Richard E. Hoover, also a former MSB teacher,
> Bledsoe helped develop the
> long cane technique that continues to be used by
> blind people throughout
> the country and around the world.
>
> As the war ended, Bledsoe was charged by Gen. Omar
> Bradley with
> transitioning the rehabilitation techniques
> developed in the Army
> program to the Veterans Administration. He helped
> develop the blind
> rehabilitation center at the Veterans Administration
> Hospital in Hines,
> Ill., where he also helped establish the model for
> current
> rehabilitation methods for blind people and was
> appointed Chief of Blind
> Rehabilitation Services of the V.A. In 1958, he
> transferred to the U.S.
> Department of Health, Education and Welfare, where
> he influenced the
> commitment of federal funding to establish and
> promote training programs
> for orientation and mobility specialists.
>
> Before his retirement from HEW in 1976, Bledsoe
> returned to MSB as a
> member of its Board of Directors. He served many
> years as the Secretary
> of the Board and as chairman of several committees
> before becoming an
> emeritus member in 1993.
>
> Through his powerful impact on the field of services
> to the visually
> impaired, Bledsoe received numerous awards including
> the Alfred Allen
> Award presented by the American Association of
> Workers for the Blind
> (AAWB) in 1977, the Association for Education and
> Rehabilitation of the
> Blind and Visually Impaired's (AER) Lawrence E.
> Blaha Award in 1986
> and the Ambrose M. Shotwell Award, AER's highest
> award, in 1990. In
> addition, the American Printing House for the Blind
> (APH) honored
> Bledsoe in 1995 with its Wings of Freedom Award, and
> in 2002 he was
> inducted into the Hall of Fame for Leaders and
> Legends in the blindness
> field which is housed at APH in Louisville, Ky.
>
> Throughout his career, Bledsoe encouraged the
> development and
> preservation of literature in the blindness field.
> While contributing
> many articles and book chapters to this effort
> himself, he worked to
> preserve complete sets of the field's leading
> journals in schools and
> agencies around the country, resulting in the AAWB
> establishing the C.
> Warren Bledsoe Publications Award in 1977 for
> outstanding authors in the
> blindness field. More recently, MSB established the
> C. Warren Bledsoe
> Significant Achievement Award for outstanding
> contributions to the
> school.
>
> Mr. Bledsoe is survived by his daughter Hester Anne
> Butterfield and her
> husband, Charles and their daughters Emily and
> Elizabeth and by his
> daughter Virginia Bledsoe, her husband Greg Staley
> and their son
> Steven.
>
> Memorial contributions may be made in his name to
> The Maryland School
> for the Blind, 3501 Taylor Ave., Baltimore, MD
> 21236.
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
> Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
> Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.8.7 - Release
> Date: 2/10/2005
>
>
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site!
http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/
Other related posts:
- » [bksvol-discuss] Fwd: Fw: re passing of C. Warren Bledsoe( long cane)
