[NFBWV-Talk] FWD:When did the White Cane become White

Mon Oct 3 20:23:16 UTC 2022

I had not read that before so it was an interesting article. Thanks for
sharing it Karen

On Mon, Oct 3, 2022 at 12:33 PM Karen Swauger via NFBWV-Talk <
nfbwv-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

>
>
> When did the White Cane become White  Hello to All; October 15 is White
> Cane Safety Day. Looking back, I wondered when the white cane became white
> and the symbol for the blind. We all heard the story that white canes are
> white because of George A. Bonham. In 1930, Bonham, president of the Peoria
> Lions Club (Illinois), watched a man who was blind attempting to cross a
> street. The man's cane was black, and motorists couldn't see it, so Bonham
> proposed painting the cane white with a red stripe to make it more
> noticeable. But was he the first to think on this?   Robert C. Haven,
> manager of the National Safety Council, lived at 2641 Hennepin Ave
> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/2641+Hennepin+Ave?entry=gmail&source=g>.,
> blocks from the Minneapolis Society for the Blind. He moved to the
> Minneapolis area for the Safety manager position in late 1920. He is
> credited for starting the first driver’s education classes for women in the
> country while living in Minneapolis.   His family claims he is the first to
> think of painting the canes of the blind white for identification and
> safety in 1921. That year, he had occasion to speak with the director of
> the Minneapolis Society for the Blind. She wanted to know what the safety
> council could do to protect the blind from the new, fast cars on the
> Minneapolis city streets. Haven called her back with the suggestion that a
> meeting be scheduled with his team, staff of the society and blind people
> to discuss the matter. At that meeting a suggestion by Haven was proposed
> the canes of the blind be painted white. Along with the painting of the
> canes, that drivers be educated to stop when they encounter a blind
> pedestrian with a white cane.   Most of the blind at that meeting, were not
> in favor of painting the canes white for identification purposes. Some felt
> being obviously identified would make them targets on the streets for
> robbers, especially the door-to-door salesmen and piano tuners. Many
> already used the walking cane as a travel tool, reaching ahead to locate a
> curb, steps, open coal shoots, and other obstacles encountered daily on the
> streets. Good blind travelers taught each other their individual techniques
> that worked on the city streets and country lanes. Already, those using
> canes, tapped the ground to listen for echoes or to determine through
> sound, textures of the surface under their feet, benches, or the exterior
> of a building. Some canes were white, most were not. One blind man at the
> meeting, David Rau, a weaver at the Society, said he would give the white
> cane idea a try and carry a white cane on the streets for publicity. Haven
> went to work to get the press to come to their demonstration at the busy
> intersection of Lake and Hennepin near his home. Rau (1878-1956) a blind,
> Russian immigrant, had a “special” graduation certificate from the school
> for the blind in Faribault in 1905. After leaving the school, he was placed
> in the Home for the Feeble Minded in Faribault, working as a rug weaver. In
> 1917, Rau moved to Minneapolis and got a job in the rug weaving department
> of the Society where he stayed for the next thirty-five years. Havens had a
> cane painted white for Rau. He called the newspapers and asked them to
> bring a photographer. Several from the Safety council, the Society for the
> Blind and David Rau went to the corner of Hennepin and Lake Streets. Rau,
> having confidence in Haven, held the white cane as he was told, vertically,
> high in front of him and started across the street. The cars stopped.
> Everyone applauded. The group moved to several other intersections,
> replaying the same drama. The cars stopped. Newspaper articles carried the
> story of how a white cane, carried by a blind person would make the blind,
> safe. The articles encouraged motorists to stop when they saw a white cane
> aloft at an intersection. Blind persons were told to change their travel
> technique and hold the cane up and out straight in front of them where a
> driver could see it from a distance. The blind pedestrian was told to step
> off the curb and walk across the intersection without the cane on the
> ground. The Society began painting the canes of the blind white as a
> courtesy. Several years later, the Society began classes in how to travel
> with the white cane. For decades, staff at the Minnesota agencies for the
> blind saw the cane as an identification symbol, not a travel tool. Days
> after the demonstration with Mr. Rau, a blind workshop worker from the
> Society told the staff that he was at a corner and held up his cane at the
> intersection. A truck stopped, the driver got out of the truck and helped
> him across the street. The Director of the Society called Haven and relayed
> the story. Haven was excited and continued a white cane awareness program
> until Haven left the job and the state in 1923. The Minneapolis City
> Council passed its White Cane ordinance in 1933, (eleven years later)
> calling on drivers to give the right of way to blind pedestrians. Agency
> and blind alike worked to secure and promote the ordinance. I wish to
> remark here that the technique taught the blind back then to cross the
> streets safely was to benefit the sighted. When the blind traveler came to
> the other side of the street, he had to locate the curb with his foot, or
> fall. Having the cane aloft made it harder to hear or feel curbs or
> obstacles such as another car stopped too far into the intersection. So,
> now the blind traveler hit the car. Well, that usually has a better outcome
> than the other way around. And what about David Rau? He died of natural
> causes in 1956. In 1951, he was severely injured when hit by a car while
> carrying his white cane. To Schedule a presentation with the Blind History
> Lady, please write her at theblindhistorylady at gmail.com or call
> 303-745-0473. Please check out my other works at
> https://www.smashwords.com/books/byseries/24325 and at Don Mahoney:
> Television Star: Chong, Peggy: 9781098082956: Books (amazon.com)
> www.theblindhistorylady.com . ‌ The Blind History Lady | 14152 E Linvale
> Pl
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Sheri
(304) 993-5103