back in the 40's, 50's and much of the 60's Ballard was the home to many blind folks. Probably because they could hop the #15 bus. It was a straight shot to the old Lighthouse on Elliot Avenue.
With few exceptions they had their own group activities staying separate from the Scandinavians. They had schooled together at the Vancouver School for the Blind long before there was any attempt at mainstreaming. They worked together in the broom shop and they partied and reccreated together. Most of these folks married from among their blind acquaintances. In many ways you might regard those days as the Golden Age for the blind of
Seattle. But the Lighthouse moved to the South end and younger blind people became trained for a wider variety of jobs, and they scattered around the city and beyond. Whether today's world is better for us blind people is hard to know. There was great value in the closer knit community back when only a few tried to make it in the sighted world.
Today's world is a much better place for us to live and work in. But still...
Curious Carl
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