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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Wow, Jill, thank you for sharing Linda\u2019s story.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>Dixie </span><span style='font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>🏖\ufe0f 🐚</span><span style='mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> NFB-Blind-Crafters <nfb-blind-crafters-bounces@nfbnet.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Jill Rossiter via NFB-Blind-Crafters<br><b>Sent:</b> Saturday, August 29, 2026 1:02 PM<br><b>To:</b> NFB-Blind-Crafters@nfbnet.org<br><b>Cc:</b> Jill Rossiter <jillbilly4@comcast.net><br><b>Subject:</b> [NFB-Blind-Crafters] Linda blessing game former member<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Hi, not sure if you all will remember Linda, but she was a vital part of Krafters for many years. Her daughter posted this story on Facebook and I thought I would share it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div id=ms-outlook-mobile-body-separator-line><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div id=ms-outlook-mobile-signature><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>After hearing all these stories about Dolly, about how she became incredibly famous but never forgot where she came from and continued to give back, I have an Appalachian story I would love to tell as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>I did not even hear this story until 2011. Some of the details are vague now, and many of the people who could fill in the missing pieces are no longer here.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>But the meat of the story is still there.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>And I think now is the right time to share it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Back in the 1950s, there was a young girl growing up in the southern part of the Appalachian region, in Walker County, Georgia.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>She was the third of four children and had three brothers. Her father was a carpenter. Her mother was a housewife. The family lived in a little two bedroom house on York Road in LaFayette, Georgia.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>They did not have much money.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Then, when this little girl was about eight years old, she was playing softball and suffered a terrible accident that cost her her vision.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Her parents were suddenly faced with an incredibly difficult decision.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Their little girl needed a specialized education. She needed to learn not only academics, but how to navigate a world she could no longer see, how to become independent, and eventually how to build a life for herself.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>That meant sending their eight year old daughter away from home to the Georgia Academy for the Blind in Macon.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>And somewhere along the way, a man named Charlie Elzer Loudermilk became involved.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Now, Charlie Elzer Loudermilk is about as country and Appalachian sounding a name as you can get. </span><span style='font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif;color:black'>😂</span><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Charlie came from very humble beginnings himself.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>He grew up poor in northeast Alabama around Henagar and Sand Mountain. His family farmed, and he knew firsthand what it meant to come from a family that did not have much.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>But Charlie and his brother Ira could sing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>And I mean they could really sing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>The brothers started performing together when they were young, rooted heavily in gospel and country music.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Eventually, Charlie Elzer Loudermilk became better known by another name.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Charlie Louvin.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>And Charlie and Ira became the Louvin Brothers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>That name may be much more familiar.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>The Louvin Brothers became members of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1950s and went on to become one of the most influential country and gospel harmony acts of their generation. Their music influenced artists who came long after them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Charlie had gone from poverty in the southern Appalachian region to a level of success and stability that probably seemed unimaginable when he was a boy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>But apparently, he never completely forgot where he came from.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Somehow, Charlie became connected to this little girl and her family.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>I wish I could tell you exactly how.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>I do not remember what the connection was, who knew whom, or exactly how Charlie learned about her situation. That part of the story has been lost with time.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>What was passed down in my family was that Charlie Loudermilk helped with the cost of sending this little Appalachian girl away to receive the specialized education she needed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>He did not have to do that.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>There was no Facebook fundraiser.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>There was no GoFundMe.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>There was no viral post asking strangers for help.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>There was simply a little girl whose entire life had changed, a family without much money trying to give their daughter a future, and somebody who had begun finding success who apparently remembered what it was like to come from very little.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>And that little girl went to Macon.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>She learned how to navigate life without her sight.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>She received an education.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>She grew up.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>She went to college.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>She eventually went to work for the State of Tennessee, where she worked with people who were blind or visually impaired.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>She went into their homes and showed them how to navigate their new reality.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>How to remain independent.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>How to adapt their homes and routines.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>How to do everyday things again.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>How to live again after losing something that had changed almost everything.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>And she eventually retired from the State of Tennessee in 2020.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>If you have not figured it out by now, that little Appalachian girl was my mother, Linda Green Blasingim.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>And I never knew the story about Charlie Louvin helping her until Charlie died in 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>That is what makes me think about this differently now.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Charlie did not simply help one little girl.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>That act of kindness kept moving.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Because the little girl somebody helped in the 1950s grew up and spent part of her own life helping other people facing the very same disability.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>She did not simply give back.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>She paid it forward.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Every person she helped regain some independence was another place where an act of generosity shown decades earlier continued to travel.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>And maybe that is why hearing all these stories about Dolly has brought this one back to my mind.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>There is something very Appalachian about remembering where you came from.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>I am not romanticizing poverty. There is nothing romantic about struggling to feed your family or wondering how you are going to provide what your child needs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>But there is something about them there mountains.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Sometimes people have very little, but they still find something to give.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>And sometimes somebody makes it out, becomes successful, maybe even becomes famous, and reaches back toward the people who are still struggling.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Charlie Louvin became a country music legend.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>That little blind girl from the two bedroom house on York Road never became famous.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>But somebody saw that she needed a chance.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>He helped give her one.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>And she grew up and gave that chance to other people over and over again.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Maybe that is one of the most beautiful things about charity.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>You may never know how far one act of kindness will travel.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Sometimes it does not end with the person you helped.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Sometimes it keeps going for generations.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Jill<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Get <a href="https://aka.ms/o0ukef">Outlook for iOS</a><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></body></html>