[NFBNJ] Women's History Month

[joe ruffalo]

Greetings to all!
Received from Pam Gaston, NJ CBVI.
I have received many times throughout my years as a member of the NFBNJ 
however, each time I read, my love for Ms. hayes grows.
Lydia Young hayes was a Federationist before the Federation was established.
She raised her expectations and expectations in others to live the life we 
want by transforming dreams into reality.
She has paved the road to first class citizenship for the blind community.
She was a doer by thinking outside of the box.

We need to read and share the following with others.
Warmly,
Joe


We care. We share. We grow. We make a difference
Joe Ruffalo, President
National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey
973 743 0075
nfbnj1 at verizon.net
www.nfbnj.org
Raising Expectations To Live The Life You Want!
Your old car keys can be keys to literacy for the blind.
Donate your unwanted vehicle to us by clicking
www.carshelpingtheblind.org
or call 855 659 9314

**
Lydia Young Hayes - CBVI's First CEO



Lydia Young Hayes, the first Director of the NJ Commission for the Blind, 
was born on September 11, 1871, in Hutchinson, Minnesota. When Lydia was 
eight years old, while playing in a field on her parent's farm, she was 
thrown by a bull.  This serious accident resulted in several injuries, 
including the loss of her eyesight.

Her parents were determined that Lydia should continue to learn and grow, 
despite her blindness.  After a chance meeting with Anne Sullivan, Helen 
Keller's teacher, her parents sent her to live with her uncle to enable her 
to attend the Massachusetts School for the Blind, better known as the 
Perkins Institute, where Sullivan received her education.

After graduating from the Perkins Institute, Lydia studied at the 
Kindergarten Normal School of Boston University.  She opened a private 
nursery for sighted children but she spent much of her time volunteering as 
a home teacher for blind adults.

Around that time, a wave of social consciousness was sweeping across the 
nation, due to the vigorous human rights advocacy efforts of Helen Keller 
and the subsequent media attention she received. As a result, significant 
strides were made toward equalizing opportunities for people who were blind.

In 1904 Massachusetts officially recognized the importance of providing 
"home education" for blind adults.  Lydia Hayes was the first person asked 
to be one of the program's two official teachers, by Helen Keller and the 
other members of the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind.

In 1908, Helen Keller, then 27 years old and her teacher Anne Sullivan 
visited the home of Montclair resident, Sarah Churchill,  a philanthropist 
and music teacher who was also blind. Mrs. Churchill invited several 
community leaders and elected officials to her home, including Governor 
Franklin Fort to talk about the need for NJ's "Commission for the Blind" to 
become a state government funded entity. Following that casual meeting, she 
was invited to give testimony before the state legislature. In 1909, 
Governor Franklin Fort, followed up on Keller's recommendation to invite 
Lydia Hayes to accept the responsibility to lead New Jersey's state agency 
for the blind.

It was unusual for someone female, blind, and as young to be selected for 
such an important job. As the Commission's first Director, her initial task 
was to develop and organize a program of services for NJ residents found to 
be blind. In April 1910, with New Jersey ranking third in the nation for 
population density, the Commission for the Blind began providing education 
and training for NJ's blind residents. During that first year, 750 people 
were registered for services.

Throughout her career, Lydia Hayes fought vigorously for people who are 
blind and remained firm in her assertion that their right to a productive 
and fulfilling life was  not something she would ever consider negotiable.

Unfortunately, during that time, not everyone agreed with Lydia's 
philosophy. As a matter of fact, blind children were often considered a 
source of a family's shame. Subsequently they were often shut away and 
segregated from daily interaction with others. Those who were lucky enough 
to be able to attend school were sent to separate educational institutions, 
such as the New Jersey Institution for the Feeble-Minded, in Vineland, 
where blind students were shut away from their peers and referred to as 
"inmates".

Mostly due to Lydia's determination, New Jersey, unlike other states, began 
providing state support and supervision of Braille classes in public 
schools. Along with her colleague, Janet Gilchrist Patterson, she 
established the first classes where both blind and sighted children could 
learn together, side by side at a school located on Washington St. in 
Newark. The program was nationally recognized as innovative, and people from 
around the country came to see how Lydia ran her program for blind and 
sighted children.

After retiring in 1942, Lydia moved back to Minnesota to live with her 
nephew and his wife, Helen Schultz, a deaf-blind woman who was also her 
adopted daughter.  She died at the age of 72, on February 8, 1943.

"Education concerning the blind should be two-fold: the education of the 
individual regarding his responsibility to the community and the education 
of the community to promote understanding of the capabilities of the 
individual."
                                                      Lydia Young Hayes,
                                      First Director of the NJ Commission 
for the Blind


Image: Lydia Hayes College Graduation Photo            Image: Lydia Hayes 
Board Room Portrait

[cid:image002.jpg at 01D4D435.282007D0] 
[cid:image004.jpg at 01D4D435.282007D0]
References:

Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women; First Syracuse University 
Press, 1997; Joan Burstyn, Editor

The Unseen Minority; American Foundation for the Blind Inc.., 1976; Frances 
A. Koestler

Manuscript Group 1635, Mary and Louise Curcio Collection, The New Jersey 
Historical Society

Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, 
Meckler Books; 1978; Robert Sobel and John Raimo




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