It was the first day of school after winter break at the Braille Institute, but classes were trimmed down for a special occasion: Helen Frederickson’s birthday. It wasn’t just any birthday, though. Frederickson was turning 99.
At just shy of 100, though, she hasn’t let her age slow her down one bit. She attends the Braille Institute classes every Monday, and sings in the Silvertones every Tuesday. However, due to her blindness from macular eye degeneration, she hasn’t been able to play piano, an instrument on which she’s performed since she was 7. But for her birthday, she planned on making music anyway.
“I’m going to be getting a harmonica,” she said about one of her birthday presents. “No one plays harmonica. When I was younger, everyone used to play harmonica.”
And her memory is still sharp, said a volunteer at the Braille Institute. In fact, Frederickson still remembers some of her favorite dances from her younger days.
“My favorite dance was the Charleston,” she said. “I also liked the Lambeth Walk.”
Her birthday party was a “wonderful surprise,” she said, and she added that it was one of the nicest parties she’s had.
Frederickson has been with the institute for three years now, and she’s interested in advances in the market for people with macular degeneration. She hopes a cure is found soon.
In addition to Frederickson’s birthday party, the group had lunch, which is always a part of the program’s agenda, along with 20-minute classes.
For the Jan. 10 class, topics were going to involve a session to teach the students how to get up if they’ve fallen down; a lesson on improving sensory skills with Play-Doh, which also improves fine motor skills; and a discussion about the book the class listened to about the Roosevelt years, which was conducted by educator Joe Meler, Ph.D.
Members of the program range in age from 68 all the way to Frederickson’s 99. According to volunteer Edie Kuhr, none of the members of the Blind Institute were born blind; they’ve all succumbed to blindness due to various reasons including diabetes, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and also rarer vision problems. The program is meant to lift the spirits of people who’ve lost their sight. It also aims to allow the recently blinded to continue living independently.
“We have living skill agencies that help teach how to label their food,” Kuhr said.
The program also instructs attendees on how to organize their closets.
The Braille Institute is an open school for anyone who’s become blind due to a disease and would like to adapt to the resulting vision loss. The group meets every Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, contact Kitty Crockett at 462-1225.
This week’s School Scene was compiled by Intern Henry Houston. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, e-mail, or mail.
This article appears in Jan 13-20, 2011.