[Nfb-history] {Disarmed} FW: Tommy Stringer

Thu Jun 11 15:38:44 UTC 2015

Hello Colleagues:

     This list has been too quiet. I saw this posting from Perkins and
thought I would pass it on. See you at convention.

Regards,

Robert

From: Perkins History & Happenings [mailto:SupportPerkins at Perkins.org] 
Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2015 8:00 AM
To: rjaquiss at earthlink.net
Subject: Tommy Stringer

Fun Fact: Perkins student, Laura Bridgman, was the first person with
deafblindness to learn to read and write.
 <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=TvPcQ8OXA4544-7Mba2xAA> View this
email as a webpage.

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June 2015

History & Happenings

Tommy Stringer

As a child  <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=eJ-p9jdiGLDu3fLXnoHV7A>
Helen Keller (1880-1968) entered the public imagination as a champion for
those who were blind or deafblind through her efforts to aid a poor,
deafblind boy from Pennsylvania.
<http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=aOwymiMVLRMTq_-t3CBSYA> Thomas (Tommy)
Stringer was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania on July 3, 1886. A bout
with spinal meningitis as an infant left him deafblind. With his mother dead
and his father unable to care for him, it seemed that Tommy was destined for
one of Pennsylvania's many almshouses where, according to
<http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=Fxn6InzRnGVFk_RP7svYEQ> Perkins' 1895
Annual Report, "he would no doubt have dragged out a miserable existence to
the end of his days."

When she was ten years old, Keller learned of Tommy's situation and became
intent on helping him. She solicited the help of donors to establish a fund
for Tommy, which paid for his education and supported him after he graduated
from Perkins School for the Blind, then known as the Perkins Institution for
the Blind. Tommy's fellow deafblind classmates at Perkins included
<http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=4nFxYfZmWvGzcwq7OKfKbA> Edith Thomas,
<http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=vHp2kVoFSsS319yS2Jg2Dg> Willie
Elizabeth Robin and Keller herself. 

 <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=9MXP-bf_MIZmSunmBHCqRg> 

Having spent his early years confined to a bed, Tommy was extremely feeble
when he arrived at Perkins School for the Blind in 1891. With support from
teachers, staff and his fellow Perkins students, Tommy grew into an
extremely active child interested in mathematics, construction and
engineering. Here he demonstrates his sawing technique in an undated studio
portrait.

Though his academic achievements were considered modest, Tommy had an active
and inquisitive mind. He was especially skilled at woodworking, learned to
communicate with the manual alphabet and achieved limited speech while at
Perkins. In 1900, at age 13, Tommy began attending a public grammar school
in Roxbury, Massachusetts where he learned alongside other sixth grade
students. He also spent many summers on a farm in Wrentham, Massachusetts
where, among other activities, he built railings and plucked chickens. After
leaving Perkins in 1913, Tommy went to live with his guardian, Mr. Lee
Edgarton, in Fulton, New York where he earned money making vegetable crates
for local farmers. Tommy Stringer died on October 11, 1945 at the age of 59.

The legacies of Helen Keller and Tommy Stringer live on in
<http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=2txPj_BvmJEVRvUrpGQNyw> Perkins'
Deafblind Program, which serves students age 3 to 22 who are deafblind or
deaf with additional disabilities by taking a developmental approach to
language, communication and curriculum. This program continues to be one of
the few worldwide dedicated specifically to working with students with
deafblindness.

 <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=a9RTPjmtbQZ49QokLEn4Ng> View Tommy
Stringer Photographs on FlickrView Tommy Stringer Photos 

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happenings-jun-sec2-then.jpg> 

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happenings-jun-sec2-now.jpg> 

Artistic Vision

Then & Now

On the left,In the top image, a needlework page from a
<http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=dXRRQnApBGi3F_TF11G2qg> bound volume of
letters, writings, origami and sewing crafts completed by Tommy Stringer
between 1896 and 1897. In addition to origami and sewing, Tommy was also an
exceptional woodworker-skills he learned as part of the sloyd curriculum
then taught at Perkins.

On the right,In the bottom image, Perkins alumna,
<http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=SOmlHHAo0tVrW2Q-oAoLsQ> Amy Caliri,
works in a studio creating a needlepoint artwork. Caliri, who is deaf with
impaired vision, first came to Perkins School for the Blind as a
preschooler, and then returned as a residential high school student. Today
Caliri, 38, works in
<http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=hN-YpQkSxPrVK5itZXMyzA> Gateway Arts
studio five days a week. A successful artist, Caliri is known and respected
by collectors who buy her paintings and needlework for as much as $900.

Support our work

Since 1829, Perkins has been committed to helping children and adults who
are blind, deafblind, or visually impaired. Your donation today will fund
the teachers, training and technology that help people with a visual
impairment prepare for all of life's opportunities.

 <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=ihEVqRyhmL7cG-TGqoSojQ> Donate now 

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The Perkins Archives include collections related to the history of the
education of the blind and deafblind, institutional archives, and
correspondence of significant figures in the school's history, such as Helen
Keller, Annie Sullivan and Samuel Gridley Howe.

To learn more about the Perkins Archives and sign up for their newsletter,
visit  <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=GKJJ8LfIdiiFMvaeHP43lg>
PerkinsArchives.org. 

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