[NAGDU] [seeing-eye] article from the 1930's

Mon Jan 3 21:31:54 UTC 2022

Yep, Its called “Helen Keller Syndrome”, AKA known as “Poverty Pimping”. Who did she help, and who benefitted. 

Tina and The Little Man   

From: seeing-eye at googlegroups.com <seeing-eye at googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Becky Frankeberger
Sent: Monday, January 3, 2022 10:16 AM
To: Seeing-eye at googlegroups. com <Seeing-eye at googlegroups.com>
Subject: [seeing-eye] article from the 1930's

I want to bring to your attention another blind person who shamelessly used his blindness and his Seeing Eye dog to make a living. Was he right or wrong to do so? We all are given a set of talents to benefit us in life. Meet Reginald White, “Reg” who had talent, but few would give him a chance to contribute until he had a gimmick.

Reg was a WWI veteran who came home to California, physically whole from the Great War. He married and got a great job as an inspector of farm machinery. But in 1925, he lost his sight from an unknown accident or injury. He lost his job and in a few short years, his wife and child. 

After the family split up, Reg went to live at the Veterans home in Napa, choosing not to enter the Industrial Home for the Blind. Reg got to know the home’s Dictaphone operator, most likely, the first blind person he ever met.  Matilda Allison was a member of the all-blind, Eastbay Women’s Club. Her club worked to bring the first Seeing Eye class to Berkley through fundraisers and through the support of other chapters of the Women’s Clubs around the Bay area. The club raised more than enough for the club members eager to obtain a Seeing Eye dog and offered funding for others. Matilda encouraged Reg to participate. Eight members participated in the first California class, five women, mostly members of the East Bay Women’s Club and three men.  

On April 1, 1930, Reginald received his first dog guide, Wickee. He was the first veteran according to newspapers to receive a dog in the United States. It is interesting to note that in Europe, the dog guides for the blind were given first to veterans. After the class, the first thing he did was to go to San Francisco to “see the sights.” Newspapers liked that phrase and covered Wickee and her owner’s trip. 

With the freedom in Wickee, Reg found several small jobs. He had a short cooking show a couple times a week on a local radio station. Reg was his special guest. The novelty of the radio show host having a dog in the studio got him and Wickee a strong following. From his own home, he catered meals for friends, cooking them by himself. Some learned of Reg’s catering through the radio show and hired him for their small and medium sized gatherings.

One day, Wickee had enough of all the walking. The temperature in San Francisco soared to more than 100 degrees. Her paws became blistered. She stopped and refused to move. When Reginald bent down to find out what was wrong, she placed a paw into his hand. It was all blistered! Right away, Reg got her four doggie boots. When her paws were healing, he put the boots on her and off the two of them went through the streets, “Wickee in boots.” Reg contacted the press, and this story became national news with the play on “Puss in Boots.” 

Reg told the press, before traveling with a dog, he stayed home and became the “housewife’ until his divorce. He described how he adapted to his blindness by removing all the gas appliances and purchasing new electric small and large appliances such as an iron so he could cook for friends, making a few extra dollars for the family. 

In the early 1930’s, Reg tried his hand at writing. He learned braille and typing. He found there was no money in it. He needed to eat. 

General Electric read the news stories about Wickee and how Reg cooked and kept house. Reg was offered a position as GE’s traveling demonstrator, highlighting the new electric flat-plate ironer. Wickee may have been the gimmick General Electric was looking for to draw attention to the new appliance during the slow sales of the depression era. Reg and Wickee were also the gimmick Seeing Eye looked for to promote their school and appeal to the public for funding. Reg was looking for and found a steady paycheck.

Many demonstrations of the electric flat iron were held in the windows of the local appliance stores. Reg began with one appliance, ironing several articles of clothes and then switch to the next. Shoppers passing by stopped to watch. The Seeing Eye dog surprised so many who just had to go into the store after the demonstration just to see if that guy was really blind. 

During the demonstration, Reg asked Wickee to get him the shirt. Wickee picked out the shirt and brought it to Reg. Next he asked for a dress and Reg brought a dress. Reg repeated the commands over an over again with different articles of clothing, drapes, and tablecloths. When leaving the appliance store, he often walked with reporters to his hotel or a restaurant. He demonstrated how to work with a guide dog and how smart they were. 

“Find the Hotel.” Reg would command and sure enough, Wickee went to the door of the hotel. 

Ads ran in the local papers before his arrival that promoted Reginald and his guide dog, Wickee. Dog Guides were a novelty at the time with only a few in California, bringing two novelties to his demonstrations. Reg traveled via train and auto, across the Pacific Coast and into the Midwest. Announcements such as the following from a Colorado newspaper in 1935, were typical of General Electric’s promotion.

“Reginald D. White, blind World War veteran, and Wickee, his beautiful German shepherd dog, will see you Thursday, October 10, as guests of the Eagle River Electric Company in Eagle. Mr. White, who with Wickee, is connected with the General Electric supply Corporation In the sales promotion department, is on a tour of Colorado. Wickee, his nationally famous Seeing Eye dog, is assisting her master on the tour by acting, as eyes for him. She is seven years of age and has been guiding him since April 1, 1930. She is one of the 138 German shepherd dogs in the United States which have been educated by Seeing Eye.”

Sometimes he spent three months crisscrossing a state. Each stop was an opportunity to speak at the local schools or service clubs. If he spent several days in a community, he often met with local blind leaders. He was fortunate to have a job as many sighted men did not during the depression. 

After five years of traveling Reg left GE and got married again. The next ventures included Wickee’s Pet Shot and a restaurant named, Reg White's Home Kitchen in Paso Robles, that prospered through the 1950’s. 

Reg may have used his blindness and Wickee to get him through the door, but it was Reg’s talent that boosted his success.

To schedule The Blind History Lady for your church or community group, email; theblindhistorylady at gmail.com <mailto:theblindhistorylady at gmail.com> 

-- 
The Seeing Eye
Independence with Dignity since 1929

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