Celebrating 100 Years!

Rehabilitation and Social Services (1960s–present)

The Lighthouse became a formal blindness rehabilitation center by the end of the 1970s, and today, it is expanding beyond that role to offer a variety of additional programs and services.

Government contracts through National Industries for the Blind (NIB) in the 1950s gave the Lighthouse more income to pay for services it had previously been unable to offer. The Minnesota Department for the Blind, now State Services for the Blind (SSB), had provided many services for people with vision loss, but those responsibilities were later shared with organizations like the Lighthouse. 

In the 1960s, the Lighthouse hired more staff and introduced more individualized services. Some other new activities included counseling, presentations to community groups, outdoor recreation, and Techniques of Daily Living classes. The Lighthouse hired an ophthalmological consultant in 1965 to evaluate and work to prevent clients’ vision loss. In 1974, a grant from SSB helped fund the Lighthouse’s first itinerant (traveling) rehabilitation teacher, who could visit clients in their homes throughout northeast Minnesota.

PHOTO: Former Executive Director Robert Pistel (left) and another man hold a sign that says “Glaucoma Screening Clinic.”

PHOTOS: A blind boy putts a golf ball in the 1960s and members of a Lighthouse-sponsored tour examine a train car at the Duluth Depot in the 1970s. 

The Lighthouse offered many recreation opportunities, especially for children. These included camping at Island Lake, swimming classes, and a sport called beep-ball, in which bases and the ball make noise so players do not have to see them. Lighthouse trips to the Shrine Circus and the Ice Capades were narrated by special speakers so they could know what other audience members were seeing.

PHOTO: Lighthouse students play beep baseball in the 1980s. 

In fall 1975, the Lighthouse moved to 2701 West Superior Street, where it had more room to expand both its workshop and its rehabilitation services. The 1976 Annual Report stated that the Lighthouse hired new instructors for a variety of classes, including Financial Management, Techniques of Daily Living, Orientation and Mobility, Typing, Adjustment To Vision Loss Counseling, and Adapted Leisure Activities.

PHOTO: A student practices cane travel in the late 1970s.

PHOTO: Congressman Jim Oberstar holds a pair of scissors at the ribbon-cutting for a new rehabilitation addition in 1978.

The Lighthouse had doubled the size of its building and employed 16 staff outside of production by 1980. Over time, the rehabilitation program added training to help clients find jobs outside the Lighthouse, as well as instruction in using adaptive devices. The center even had a model apartment to help clients learn about independent living.

PHOTOS: These photos show the Lighthouse’s former building in the 1980s, as well as an Orientation and Mobility instructor with a student.

Rehabilitation and training services continued to grow when the Lighthouse moved to its current location (4505 West Superior Street) in September 1990. The move accommodated the growing paper products division, but rehab also gained space, including a full kitchen. New support groups helped people talk about vision loss with other people experiencing the same problems. The Hearing and Vision Loss Outreach Program was developed in 1992 and lasted until the State withdrew funding in 2011. Another program added at this time was Low Vision Outreach to Seniors, which helped older clients remain in their homes despite vision loss.

In March 1994, Executive Director Michael Conlan reported that although the Lighthouse’s number of clients kept increasing, funding had decreased by 40% over the previous five years. Most state funding was for vocational rehabilitation, which was not the Lighthouse’s focus at that time. Volatile markets for paper products meant that rehab funding was uncertain. 

PHOTO: A student and an instructor in the Lighthouse kitchen in the 1990s.

PHOTO: Duluth Mayor Gary Doty and instructor Mary-Kay McMeir cross the street using an audible crosswalk near the Lighthouse in 1992.

Despite these difficulties, the Lighthouse continued glaucoma screenings and recreational outings, and it increased training in adaptive devices through a new technology center. Twin Ports Newspaper of the Air launched in September 1994. Today, 70 volunteers take turns reading local newspapers on the air every day for people who are blind or have low vision.

PHOTO: People gathered for Lighthouse support groups in the 1990s.

PHOTO:Volunteers reading at the first broadcast of Twin Ports Newspaper of the Air, September 1994

In its 1998 strategic plan, the board of directors outlines its intentions to gradually shift from being a place of permanent employment to a center that offered career counseling and training. Executive Director Paul Almirall said, “Although we will continue to provide employment for blind and severely impaired workers, our future focus will be on preparing them for carers in the commercial world of work. New computer technologies are making this realistic.” 

After a decade of gains and losses, production finally ended in December 1999, meaning the Lighthouse lost a major source of income. The board launched a fundraising campaign to save rehab programs, and some administrative positions were cut to make sure services to clients were not impacted. Grants and donations helped replace some income lost from production. Revenue also came from leasing 48,000 square feet to A&L Partnership and St. Mary’s-Duluth Clinic, now part of Essentia Health. 

PHOTO: The Lighthouse’s new entrance following a $400,000 renovation that added a new entrance, reception area, offices, and braille room signs.

The Lighthouse helped former workers find new employment and taught technology skills to help clients remain competitive in the job market. The Lighthouse also added a store in 2002, offering a way for community members to test out and purchase a variety of adaptive devices. The Lighthouse’s first website launched that year with help from a former student. 

Built by the Blind

“Built by the Blind” was a slogan used to promote workshop products in the 1920s and ‘30s, but it also describes how the Lighthouse was shaped by several important people. Since the 1930s, the Lighthouse has required at least one of its board members to be blind, and two of its top administrators have also been blind. Bertha Hanford, the Lighthouse’s first executive secretary, and Robert Pistel, executive director from 1962 to 1979, were both blind and led the Lighthouse during two significant periods of growth. Blind Duluth businessman Clinton Russell and his parents supported the Lighthouse through financial contributions and by serving on the board. 

Bertha Hanford (1886–1969) “A woman of far-sighted faith”

PHOTO:Lighthouse president Paul McKnight (left) and Congressman John Blatnik (right) present Bertha Hanford with an award honoring her decades of service at a 1959 luncheon dedicating the Lighthouse’s new building.

Bertha Hanford was blinded by glaucoma at age 17 but was still able to attend the Duluth Normal School, the predecessor to UMD. Her father and friends helped read lessons to her. The Minnesota Legislature created a State Agency for the Blind in 1913 and sought a field agent for northeast Minnesota. The State offered Hanford the position of State and County Agent for the Blind while she was still in college and delayed opening the regional office until she graduated in 1914. Her dual state-county position was the first of its kind in Minnesota. Her job was solely through St. Louis County from 1937 until the position was eliminated in 1948.

Establishing the Lighthouse for the Blind seemed like a natural extension of Hanford’s other duties. Before the Lighthouse opened in 1919, Hanford had taught typing at the public library and basket weaving at the YWCA. Hanford was the Lighthouse’s executive secretary from 1919 to 1923, by which time the Lighthouse had become more financially stable. Hanford left the Lighthouse that same year when the Minnesota Department for the Blind (later renamed State Services for the Blind) was established.

PHOTO: A page from Bertha Hanford’s personal log book shows records of Lighthouse sales, including who made each product, from June 30 to July 3, 1919.

Her office established sight-saving classes in local schools, helped send students to the State School for the Blind in Faribault, and helped encourage blindness prevention. She also helped blind people find work raising rabbits, operating candy machines, and shining shoes. Office staff included a home teacher and an office secretary. Some of the work the State and County Agent did was later taken over by the Lighthouse.

PHOTO: Workers pose with brooms they made at the Range Broom Factory in the 1930s. Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Museum of Mining. Copyright Aubin Photography Studios and the Hibbing Historical Society.

She also established a broom factory in Chisholm, which operated from 1920 to 1943. The factory employed men who had been blinded in mining accidents. When the factory closed, Hanford was offered the remaining assets, but she insisted that the money be used to help blind people on the Iron Range purchase things like radios, typewriters, and guide dogs. 

PHOTOS: Original equipment from the Range Broom Factory on display at the Minnesota Museum of Mining in Chisholm.

Bertha Hanford participated in conferences and classes across the state and around the world. At one point in her travels, she met blindness crusader Helen Keller, who said she had learned about Hanford’s accomplishments. She was the first president of the Duluth Association of Social Workers and started the Duluth Society of the Prevention of Blindness with help from Duluth banker Richard Griggs. She was an active member of Glen Avon Presbyterian Church, Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. She was once described as “the bravest, cheeriest, and most unselfish woman in all Duluth.”

PHOTO: Bertha Hanford answers the phone at her office. From the November 7, 1943, Duluth News-Tribune.

In her free time, Hanford enjoyed symphony concerts, plays, and spending time with friends. One account said, “I don’t think any other person is blessed with as many wonderful and understanding friends as I have.” A 1943 newspaper article said despite her lack of vision, she liked decorating her home and “occasionally [settling] down to a cozy, woman-to-woman chat about new fashions.” 

She credited her tenacity to her strong faith, and she loved reading her braille Bible. One Duluth businessman described her by saying, “She has been a missionary more than a social worker. She is the personification of her belief that vision is not a function of the eyes alone.”

“I feel the only thing we can do is do the things we can. We have to emphasize the positive side of life and live a rich, full life—despite our limitations.” —Bertha Hanford

Robert Pistel (1921–1982)

PHOTO:Robert Pistel (right) receives an award on behalf of the Lighthouse from naval officer Captain Calvin Anweiler in 1971.

Robert Pistel was the Lighthouse’s executive director from 1962 to 1979, the second blind person to hold that position. Under Pistel’s leadership, the Lighthouse began seriously directing its attention toward rehabilitation and social services, enabling it to serve in clients in new ways. He helped the Lighthouse move to a much larger building in 1975 and oversaw a building addition in 1978, at which time the center was recognized as a regional rehabilitation center. 

He was born in Baltimore and worked in a shipyard before joining the Army. He had been overseas for just three weeks when a mortar fragment pierced the back of his head at the Battle of the Bulge in January 1945. This injury caused Pistel to lose almost all of his vision. Undeterred despite several months of rehabilitation, he studied life science and industrial engineering at Johns Hopkins University after his honorable discharge.

Pistel had built an impressive resume before coming to the Lighthouse. In 1950, he graduated with honors from Johns Hopkins and became a placement specialist with Services for the Blind at the Minnesota Department of Welfare (now called State Services for the Blind). He joined the St. Paul Society for the Blind in 1959 as a work and training supervisor. He also served as president of the St. Paul Optimist Club and as chairman of the St. Paul Mayor’s Committee for Employment of the Physically Handicapped.

PHOTO:Robert Pistel (right) teaches braille to a student in the late 1970s.

In the Duluth community, Pistel belonged to the Lions Club, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd. He was also a member of the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Services for the Blind, the American Association of Workers for the Blind, and the National and Minnesota Rehabilitation Associations. Pistel and his wife had three children.

Pistel helped promote the organization’s rapid expansion and oversaw a major shift in the Lighthouse’s focus. A 1979 National Industries for the Blind newsletter said, “Today, as a result of Mr. Pistel’s direction, there are 12 staff members and 30 people in the production department, all full time. Sales reached $302,000 in 1977.” 

“Many people feel that when a person loses his vision, he’s lost everything. But through learning and proper rehabilitation the blind person can appreciate the fact that he can do many things just as well or even better than other persons.” —Robert Pistel

Past Executive Directors (called Executive Secretary until 1969)

1919: Bertha Hanford 

1923: Lillian Rogers 

1936: Myrtle Hibbs 

1942: Celia Slyfield 

1948: Florence Durham 

1951: George Pearson 

1958: John Dexter 

1962: Robert Pistel

1979: Harry Dack

1982: Michael Conlan

1994: Scott Thul

1995: Paul Almirall

2000: Scott Welles

2000: Georgia Guite

2011: Mary Junnila

Clinton Russell (1895–1961)

PHOTO: Clinton Russell hits a golf ball at Ridgeview Country Club in 1938. Photo courtesy of Jean Schwengler.

Clinton Russell is best known as an excellent golf player—who happened to be blind. His father was co-owner of the Bridgeman-Russell Company, once one of the largest dairies in the Midwest.  Clinton’s greatest contributions were in 1938 and 1941 when he won two highly-publicized golf matches and donated the proceeds to the Lighthouse. Members of the Bridgeman and Russell families helped support the Lighthouse after Clinton lost his sight.

Clinton Russell was born in Duluth and attended Syracuse University after graduating from Central High School. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War I, then married Ruth Jones and moved back to Duluth, where he worked at his father’s dairy. Tragically, Russell was blinded in 1924 when a tire blew up in his face.

In spite of the accident, Russell eventually became president of the Bridgeman-Russell Company and also regained his interest in golf. A caddy described the green and helped Russell line up his shot, a system that made him the first blind golfer in America. This caught the attention of Robert Ripley, who featured Russell in the famous Believe it or Not cartoon in 1932.

PHOTO: Clinton Russell hits his ball out of a sand trap at Ridgeview Country Club on August 20, 1938.

On August 20, 1938, Ripley sponsored a golf match between Clinton Russell and Englishman Dr. William Oxenham, another blind golfer who appeared in a 1936 edition of Believe it or Not. Oxenham lost his sight in World War I and was a fair match for Russell. That event at the Ridgeview Country Club was called “the golf match of the century,” and spectators came from as far away as the Twin Cities and Thunder Bay.

Out of thirteen holes, Russell lost one, tied five, and won eight. Each man received trophies donated by Ripley and presented by Miss Minnesota Avis Darrow. The Lighthouse for the Blind received the proceeds from the match, and although the exact amount isn’t known, the crowd was estimated to be as large as 10,000. 

PHOTO: Miss Minnesota presents Clinton Russell with the championship trophy. Left to right: Ruth and Clinton Russell, Avis Darrow, Dr. and Mrs. William Oxenham. Photo courtesy of Jean Schwengler.

In a match at the Northland Country Club three years later, Russell defeated another blind golfer, Marvin Shannon of Fort Worth. Forty of the nation’s top sports writers and broadcasters were invited, and Steve Owens and Tim Mara, coach and owner, respectively, of the New York Giants attended. The Lighthouse was the recipient of these proceeds, as well. 

Clinton Russell won several other blind golf championships, including a rematch against William Oxenham in 1948. He helped form the United States Blind Golf Association in 1953 and was enshrined in the Duluth Arena Sports Hall of Fame (now the DECC Athletic Hall of Fame) in 1975. He said the biggest thrill of his life was receiving the Ben Hogan Award from the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association, given annually to a golfer who has come back from a serious injury or setback. 

PHOTO: Clinton Russell receives the Ben Hogan Award in 1957. Left to right: Sammy Sneed, Clinton Russell, Totten Hefflefinger. Photo courtesy of Jean Schwengler.

The Bridgeman-Russell connections to the Lighthouse extended beyond the golf course. The Henry F. Bridgeman fund started with $500 in the mid-1920s and gave loans to those unable to pay for sight-saving services. The Clinton Russell Revolving Fund assisted the Lighthouse in its day-to-day expenses during the 1930s and ‘40s. Clinton, his father Newell, and his mother Isabella all periodically served on the board of directors throughout the 1920s, ‘30s, and ‘40s. The Russells also hosted Lighthouse outings at their cabin on Pike Lake. Coincidentally (so it seems), the Lighthouse’s third location at 16 West 1st Street was originally the Bridgeman-Russell headquarters. 

The Russells were not the only prominent Duluthians who served on the Lighthouse board. Others included Elizabeth Congdon, Oliver Iron Mining Company Assistant General Manager John Hearding, and District Court Judge William Archer.

The Role of Technology: Past and Present

The Lighthouse has always sought to help individuals make the most of the adaptive devices available to them, especially with the advent of computers and smartphones. Braille typewriters were the first devices used at the Lighthouse, and as they added rehabilitation services, instructors taught clients how to use other adaptive devices to help them achieve independence. Many of these devices often had just one function and seem primitive today, but they were innovative for their time.

Photo: An instructor (right) shows students how to use a Perkins brailler, which is similar to a manual typewriter. Smaller versions are used for notetaking. People can also write braille on paper using tools called a slate and stylus. The Lighthouse offered free braille instruction as early as 1927, and possibly earlier. It also subscribed to five different braille magazines, including one published in Minneapolis.

Photo: A woman listens to a record on a special Talking Book machine in this Duluth News-Tribune clipping from 1935. The machines had adjustable speeds and could play the Bible in 25 records. The Lighthouse purchased 16 Talking Book machines in 1936. The board also bought radios for homebound people.

Photo: Many modern tools, games, timepieces, and visual aids look very similar to these ones from the 1960s.

“Aids and devices which enable the blind person to function more independently are available from the Lighthouse together with instruction in their use.” —1966 Lighthouse Annual Report

Photo: Executive Director Robert Pistel holds a talking calculator in this undated clipping from the Duluth News-Tribune.

Photo: Instructor Sharon Hudberg listens to the Radio Talking Book in this Duluth Herald clipping from July 7, 1975. The Minnesota Radio Talking Book program turns 50 years old in 2019. Listeners can hear current newspapers, magazines, and books free of charge.

A 1977 Lighthouse newsletter reported that many Duluth phone booths had touch-tone phones, which were easier than rotary dials to use by touch alone, once users got used to the new design. Another newsletter contained an article about the Mowat Sensor, a handheld device that would vibrate or emit sound based on how close the user was to objects in front of them. The sensor would be used in addition to a cane or a guide dog.

Photos: Sharon Hudburg Waldriff uses an Optacon, circa 1979. Optacons were devices that scanned print through a handheld sensor, then replicated the words on another device through a series of raised pins. These required special training to use.

Photo: Steven Dahlberg uses a Thermo Voice Talking Thermometer in 1981. At that time, Lighthouse clients had access to a microwave oven, a digital clock, a calculator, and glucose readers, which all used a voice synthesizer.

In 1982, the Lighthouse developed C.H.I.R.P.: Children’s Itinerant Rehabilitation Program, which “[assisted] educational systems in introducing blind and visually impaired children to numerous technological advances and teaching strategies.” Later in the 1980s, the Lighthouse used an Apple IIe computer, which had an early speech synthesizer.

Photo: A Minnesota Radio Talking Book, a Talking Book record player, and a Talking Book cassette player from 1988. The record and cassette players were available through the Library of Congress, and digital versions are used today.

Adaptive Technology in the Computer Era

Adaptive technology is a constantly evolving field with both challenges and innovations. Lighthouse workers in 1919 would be amazed at how accessible technology has become. Lighthouse instructors show people how to take advantage of accessible devices, which helps clients gain independence and learn valuable skills for college and employment.

Photo: This photo shows a braille computer program in 1998. People who are visually impaired can use a screen reader to access and create text, which is printed with an embosser. Today, JAWS (Job Access With Speech) is the most popular screen reading software. SMART braillers, small electronic versions of the Perkins brailler, also have voice-to-text software.

Photo: Lydia Miller uses a closed circuit television (CCTV), 1993.

Photo: These closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs) were part of the Lighthouse’s new Technology Center in the 1990s. Similar devices are still used today.

In 1994, the Lighthouse received a $50,000 grant from the Lions Club International Foundation for a new technology center. The center featured telephone amplifiers, computers with voice synthesizers and braille printing, braille keyboards, closed-circuit televisions, and other adaptive devices. The equipment cost around $300,000, equivalent to about $520,000 in 2019.

Photo: Ed Hebert uses a video magnifier to zoom in on his recipe, making the text larger and easier to see.

Photo: Items available for sale at the Lighthouse Store, which opened in 2002. The store sells magnifiers, CCTVs, kitchen and writing aids, games, and other tools.

Photo: Lighthouse board member Nancy Deever uses ZoomText in the Lighthouse’s technology classroom.

The Lighthouse uses the Dragon voice command program and the JAWS screen reader on its computers. Students in the Transition Program for teenagers learn text-based programming, which is an accessible and in-demand skill regardless of vision.

Photo: Transition Program students learn how to write computer code.

Touch Screen Troubles

Photos: Screenshots of an iPhone screen showing available accessibilities for people with vision loss.

Touch screens can be an obstacle for people with vision loss, but speech technology helps eliminate the barrier of touch. For iPhones, Siri and VoiceOver are the main accessibility features that can be used for dictation, reading text, and navigating the screen. Users with low vision can also magnify the screen and change display settings.

Photo: The Amazon Echo accepts voice commands to read the weather, order groceries, call an Uber, or play music. One can even connect an Echo to Bluetooth-compatible appliances.

Wearable Technology

OrCam is device that attaches to eyeglasses and can be used for facial recognition, reading, and even identifying currency. Aira glasses can connect to a smartphone and use a live agent who assists the wearer with navigation and other tasks. Both devices are expensive and are not typically covered by insurance, but prices are declining, making them more affordable for more people.

Technology and Me

In 2018, the Lighthouse developed Technology and Me, a program that helps adults age 55 and older, including those without vision loss, learn how to use technology that meets their needs. Services include group presentations, one-on-one training, a Technology Help Hotline, device loans and demonstrations, and drop-in hours.

Serving Technology and Me clients without vision loss reaches beyond the Lighthouse’s traditional focus because the staff’s expertise in technology can improve safety and quality of life for all older adults. Moreover, the Lighthouse hopes this broader appeal will enable it to serve even more individuals with vision loss.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to the following for their contributions to this exhibit:

Duluth Depot

Duluth News Tribune

Duluth Public Library

Georgia Guite

Jean Schwengler and the family of Clinton Russell

Lighthouse Center for Vision Loss staff and board of directors

Minnesota Museum of Mining

Paul Almirall

University of Minnesota Duluth Archives and Special Collections

University of Minnesota Duluth Museum Studies program

Researched and written by Julia Schaefer and Tucker Nelson

Designed and manufactured by Arrowhead Printing

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