Volume 76, Number 3 
Quarterly Publication of the
National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota, Inc.
100 East 22nd Street
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404
Voice:  (612) 872-9363
Website:  www.nfbmn.org
Tom Scanlan, Editor
E-mail tom.scanlan@earthlink.net
WE ARE CHANGING
WHAT IT MEANS
TO BE BLIND

Exciting times are coming in NFB conventions. Keep these in mind as you plan your activities throughout the coming year.

The Semiannual NFB of Minnesota Convention will be held in Mankato in April. Members will receive a letter with details in early March. The Metro Chapter will charter a bus from Minneapolis.

 Resolution A-95-01

WHEREAS, practical experience has shown that rehabilitation services to blind people are best provided through a distinct, identifiable agency for the blind which is separate from the general rehabilitation agency; and

WHEREAS, ever since Services for the Blind (SSB) was transferred from the Minnesota Department of Human Services to the then Department of Jobs and Training (DJT), government officials have made repeated assurances to the effect that SSB would never be combined with the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS); and

by Jan Bailey

By Chris Cuppett

I have been receiving the Minnesota Bulletin since I joined the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota in 1978. Until some point in the mid-eighties, each chapter secretary was responsible for creating and submitting a quarterly summary of the chapter meetings and fundraisers. The report I always read first was "Riverbend News" by Jim Tracy. He always took the time to make his quarterly summaries very clever and entertaining.

 By Peggy Chong

When we hear the word "technology" today, most of us think of high tech computers, Braille printers, talking note takers, and many devices that talk to us and do everything but empty the dishwasher. The founders of our organization were concerned with new and beneficial technology as well. But today, we would probably consider it "low tech".

 By Jonathan Ice

(Editor's Note: Jonathan wrote this article last October. Joe DeBeer suffered a stroke the day after Christmas and died on January 3, 1996. This article remains a tribute to Joe, his devotion to the National Federation of the Blind, and the work he did over the years.)

Over the past year I have had the distinct pleasure of taping two interviews with Joe DeBeer, our longtime Federationist from Rochester. Among other things, I found that Joe was in the thick of actions that led to the formation of the NFB in 1940.

 By Raeann Sarita Barrett

(Editor's Note: Raeann is the nine-year-old daughter of Pat and Trudy Barrett. This is her entry in the Metro Chapter essay contest.)

When I was born, I was adopted by two blind people. Their names are Pat and Trudy Barrett. They used to take me to NFB meetings, and still do. When I was young, I did not understand them. When I was older, I did understand what the NFB was about.

 By Patrick A. Barrett

(Editor's Note: Our Metro Chapter held an essay contest on how the National Federation of the Blind has changed lives. This is the winner of that contest).

 By Tom Scanlan

Minnesota has always been a leader in helping blind people keep up with the daily news through newspapers. The first generation of newspaper access was the Radio Talking Book (RTB) run by State Services for the Blind (SSB). The RTB was the first radio reading service in the country, and provides four hours per day of newspaper reading on a set schedule.