[Nebraska-Senior-Blind] Do you get the Blind History Lady monthly emails/stories?

Mon Jan 3 18:39:28 UTC 2022

Below is this Months historical blind person:

What Sighted People Are Saying 

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Hello to All;

A new year and a new story.

Surrounding Helen Keller’s birthday, some voiced an opinion that Helen
Keller exploited her blindness and deafness, working for the American
Foundation for the Blind. Some today wish to debate the issue without
Helen’s input. Was she right or wrong to do so? I will just say that, during
that time, what other options did a deaf/blind woman have?

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.

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