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Re: Helen Keller archives, status after 9/11/01?



We, too, have one original Helen Keller document:

        Typed letter, signed in pencil, from Helen Keller to Edith Guerrier,
24 November 1936

When I first discovered this letter in our collections, I was at a loss to
understand why a collection devoted to Thoreau had a letter from Helen
Keller. As it turned out, one of Thoreau's closest friends in Concord, and
an early Thoreau biographer, Frank Sanborn, was the Head of the Board of
Charities, the investigating committee visiting Tewksbury to inspect the
institution in which Anne Sullivan and her brother had been placed. Anne
followed them, throwing herself at the mercy of Sanborn. She pleaded to be
sent to a school for the blind. Soon thereafter, Anne learned she was to be
sent to Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston.


Jeffrey S. Cramer, Curator of Collections
The Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods
44 Baker Farm, Lincoln, MA  01773-3004
Telephone/Fax: (781) 259-4730
E-mail: Jeff.Cramer@walden.org
Website: www.walden.org

         The Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods
                  is a collaboration of
    The Walden Woods Project and The Thoreau Society




-----Original Message-----
From: Bridgette Kelly [mailto:BKelly@STANHYWET.ORG]
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2001 9:12 AM
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Subject: Re: Helen Keller archives, status after 9/11/01?


What a relevant topic. With all the traveling Helen Keller did, I would
imagine that many places have small collections of her materials. It's odd
that this question comes up now - I just received a request from a local 6th
grade teacher who wanted a copy of the photograph Helen Keller autographed
to the Seiberling family in thanks of her visit here in 1924. The teacher
wanted to demonstrate to her students that blind people can do the much of
the same things sighted people can, including writing(printing). I think
this is all we have in regards to original documentation of Helen Keller.

In cases like the total loss of Helen Keller International, what can other
archives do to help? Do they plan on rebuilding? How would they go about
collecting? Would it make 'archival' sense to have a centralized location of
materials again? (such as other institutions w/ related collections
providing copies of their material with documentation on it?)

Just some more 'stream of conscious' mostly rhetorical questions....

Bridgette

Bridgette A. Kelly, Special Collections Manager
Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens
714 N. Portage Path
Akron, OH  44303
ph: 330-315-3232   fax: 330-836-2680
BKelly@stanhywet.org   www.stanhywet.org

Mark your calendars! We are preparing for one of the country's best arts and
crafts festivals--The Wonderful World of Ohio Mart, October 4-7, 2001!

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