Lillian Gish and Helen Keller at the 9th Annual Spirit of Helen Keller Gala.

,

 

 

Alabamians Honor Helen Keller Longtime Washington diplomat James Patterson, Fairfax and Auburn, Alabama, and Ruth Mauldin, Florence, Alabama, honored legendary Alabamian Helen Keller on May 20 at the Helen Keller International (HKI) 9th annual Spirit of Helen Keller Gala in New York.

 

Mauldin, an Ole Miss graduate, works for auction house Christie's and auctioned gifts at the Gala. Patterson, Auburn University graduate,  recently completed a project with HKI and the Library of Congress in Washington. In 1928, Helen Keller wrote "My Religion," based on her faith in theologian August Swedenburg. In 1974 the Swedenburg Foundation financed a recording of the book with Lillian Gish as the voice of Helen Keller, who died in 1968.

 

HKI offices in Manhattan were destroyed on September 11, 2001, and their files on the recording were lost. Swedenberg also lost Miss Gish's recording and it has only recently been found and offered for sale on DC.

 

Patterson worked with Dr. Kathy Spahn, Executive Director of HKI, and other sources to document the recording from various state offices of American Federation for the Blind. The documentation resulted in a letter to Dr. James Billington, Librarian of Congress, nominating the historically important recording of "My Religion" to the National Recording Registry. An announcement will be made in April 2015 near the date of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Patterson is presently at work on an article based this project.

 

Irish economist and humanitarian Tom Arnold and Academy Award nominee, as Olive in "Little Miss Sunshine," Abigail Breslin were honoree and special guest, respectively, at the Gala. Breslin played Keller in a 2010 Broadway production of "The Miracle Worker." Photos with Arnold and Breslin have not yet been released by HKI. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was recipient of the Spirit of Helen Keller Award in 2013.

 

Founded in 1915, HKI works globally to prevent blindness and reduce malnutrition. HKI also provides glasses to low income families in the U.S. June 27, Keller's birthday, is Helen Keller Day by proclamation of President Jimmy Carter in 1980. 

 

For more information on Helen Keller International, see HKI.org or call 212.532.0544.(Photo courtesy Event Space 583 Park Avenue)

 

James Patterson