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With An Eye to the Future

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Historical Photographs

Photo Album: 1970s

TRIBUNE, Mar. 26, 1971

Photo of an adult woman and a female child at an indoor swimming pool, both wearing swimming caps
Children with Disabilities Swim – Mrs. Donald Tolve, an instructor in the learn-to-swim program sponsored by the Minneapolis area chapter of the American Red Cross and the Minnesota Society for Crippled Children and Adults (MiSCCA), presented a certificate of completion to Sheila Mitchell, 7, a second-grader who is blind and has arthritis. Certificates were awarded to 27 youngsters with disabilities who finished the 10-week program at the Fairview Hospital pool.
Photo: Pete Hohn
A group photo is taken from atop a firetruck, and shows children with disabilities as they are greeted by firemen. The young people use various mobility devices or wheelchairs and appear to be enjoying themselves.
Firemen at Fire Station #11 showed a group of children a portable fire extinguisher. The children, all with cerebral palsy and developmental disabilities, toured the fire station with the staff from United Cerebral Palsy. The children were aged 4 to 14.

TRIBUNE, Jul. 7, 1972

Photo of a man in a uniform holding the hands of seven children as they walk in a horizontal line through the park on a sunny day
Enjoying a Summer Stroll – Park officer Bob Larson took a stroll Thursday in Loring Park with a group of children with disabilities. The children, aged 5 to 18 years, are brought to the park every morning for recreation.
Photo: Donald Black

TRIBUNE, Sept. 29 1972

"Working: 110 Outreach Clients. Five clients participate in a Panel Discussion."

Photo of a young man with dark hair and glasses
Cliff Poetz, 23, is not ashamed to say he is "MR," although he detests the word. And he is not too modest to say he is doing all right for himself. He is working at a "pretty good job," earning money (30 cents an hour), living in his own apartment, cooking his meals and serving on the board of directors of a state organization concerned with people who have disabilities.
Photo: Pete Hohn
Photo of a young woman with long hair and a bright smile
Barb Schauer, 24, works at Univac in St. Paul, "doing stuff with wires." "They hired me because I'm a good worker. Some people there know I'm a slow learner, but not too many. I'm learning it all, but slower."
Photo: Pete Hohn
Photo of a smiling woman with a bow in her hair and a carnation on her suit jacket
Gloria Gunderson, 28, works in the sewing room of the United Cerebral Palsy workshop in Minneapolis. She says, "People with disabilities will have hang-ups when they get married, but I want to marry Larry," (a young man with disabilities whom she met at Outreach). "Normal people have more hang-ups," she continues, "but I don't have any statistics to back that up."
Photo: Pete Hohn
Photo of a woman with short hair and a purse slung across her shoulder
Rosie Logelin, 22: "In school, they call us names and make fun of us. They think they know everything."
Photo: Pete Hohn
Photo of a woman with a soft smile who is African-American
Carol Robinson, 27, strips down computers at a sheltered workshop: "I tell people I'm not really that bad (badly disabled). I tell them. But I don't know if they believe me."
Photo: Pete Hohn
Photo of a woman wearing glasses and earrings
Kathy Dekart, 24: "I don't like being on welfare. I want a real job."
Photo: Pete Hohn

Oct. 18, 1972

"Governor's Conference – People with disabilities want their rights recognized."

One of the main concerns of the participants was that their human and legal rights be recognized, and people had numerous stories to prove their point.

Photo of a young woman with short hair and glasses, wearing a nametag with Governor's Conference at the top
Joan Ryan, 24, graduated from St. Paul's Mechanic Arts High School with almost an A average. But when she tried to get into Southwest State College she was told that an attendant could not be found to take care of her.
Photo of a woman wearing glasses and a headband
Leanne Nelson, for example, has never been hospitalized in her 33 years, but because she has cerebral palsy, she cannot get hospitalization insurance.
Photo of a man looking straight into the camera, wearing a corduroy suit jacket and a tie
"We don't want to be segregated from the public," said Charles Frahm, a young man with cerebral palsy who spoke by pointing to words and letters on a board in front of him. "We just want the right to live a normal life."
Photo of a young man who carries a serious facial expression, wearing a suit and tie
Charles Van Heuveln, 25, carries no insurance at all because the insurance that is available to some people with disabilities has "outrageous premiums."
An adult woman with cat eye glasses smiles into the camera. She has a nametag on her lapel showing that she is with the Governor's Conference.
As part of a story about the Governor's Conference in 1972, people with disabilities served on a panel, each communicating their concerns about human rights and discrimination. Ms. Ruth Erickson, shown here, had been driving for 20 years without a single accident. But when her automobile insurance came due in 1971, her insurance company required that a doctor or nurse ride with her on a test trip and report back to the company before it would renew Miss Erickson's policy.

"I passed my driver's test the first time I took it," she recalled. "I know a lady who took it five times before she passed it, and the company sold her insurance right away."

TRIBUNE, May 10, 1973

Youngsters Compete In Special Olympics

Photo shows two young boys racing against each other and having fun, while adults on the track cheer
Six-year-old John Dahl, right, overtook Tony Gabriel, also 6, to win the 50-yard dash in a preliminary to the third annual Minnesota Special Olympics. The boys, both pupils at Emerson School, were among children competing Wednesday at Parade Stadium. The Special Olympics are sponsored by the Minnesota ARC and the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation. State winners are eligible to compete in a national Olympics: last year 17 Minnesota competitors won medals in Los Angeles.
Photo: John Croft
Photo of a pre-teen girl as she walks with help from a therapist.
July 11, 1973 – Aneo and Muriel Labargo watched as their daughter, Debbi, 12, held her head erect. They watched her lift a spoonful of food from her plate and spill only half of it. They listened to her speak and could understand her. To them, these were small miracles.

On August 9, 1969, Debbi got off a bus near her home and walked toward her parish church to make a confession. A motorcycle struck her as she crossed the street. The rescuers first on the scene could not detect a heartbeat and pronounced her dead. But her mother said, "You just keep breathing in her mouth." They did, and Debbi began to breathe again on her own. But for two months she was in a deep coma, and it took another six weeks for her to revive completely.

The accident left her with a brain injury and paralysis of her right side. She had developed cerebral palsy. She lost control of her head and much of her body, as well as most of her speech. In this photo, Debbi walked between exercise bars with the help of Jane Resnick, a physical therapist at the Sister Kenny Institute.

STAR, Aug. 1, 1974

Picnic for children with developmental disabilities

Photo shows an idyllic summer scene of a busy lake. The dock has a large slide on one side of it, and a boat on the other, with children wearing lifejackets and playing in the water.
Children and adults with developmental disabilities, and their families, were entertained at a picnic at Camp Indian Chief, Eden Prairie, after the dedication of a new day shelter building by the Bloomington Lions Club. The picnic was sponsored by the Minneapolis ARC. The afternoon program included boating, swimming, games, and music by a rock band.
Photo: Larry Schreiber

STAR, Oct. 10, 1974

Photo of a man speaking to what appears to be a public venue, wearing glasses and a suit and tie
Judd Jacobson, a Mankato radio broadcaster who uses a wheelchair, characterized people with disabilities as being "among the minority groups who are now rising to be heard."
Photo: Donald Black

March 10, 1975

Photo of a man and a woman talking about a document while using wheelchairs in the State Office Building
Representative Lon Heinitz, Plymouth and Representative Peggy Byrne, St. Paul, in her office
Photo: Larry Schreiber

STAR, Apr. 4, 1976

Photo of three children of high-school age sitting for a formal photograph, one boy and two girls
Received awards – Among those receiving Ability Counts contest awards at the Minnesota State Council for Disability meeting at Metro Square building St. Paul, were, from left, Steve Larson, Brainerd, fifth place; Rebecca Hage, St. Cloud, first place, and Mary Grimm, Lakeville, third place. Miss Hage is also the national contest first place winner. She is a volunteer worker at St. Cloud Hospital. She received a cash prize and a trip to Washington.
Photo: Roger Nystrom

STAR, Apr. 4, 1976

A host of generous Minnesotans solved one of Linda Holliday's problems Friday – and presented her with another.

Mrs. Holliday said Thursday that she would be unable to send her 8-year-old son, Shaun, to Camp Courage because a burglar had stolen the $50 to $60 in change the boy had been saving in two piggy banks for the last four years. Shaun has cerebral palsy and is developmentally delayed.

Close-up photo of a mom snuggling her cheek into her young son's happy face
Linda Holiday and her son Shaun have to figure out a way to thank all these people
Photo: Pete Hohn

June 17, 1976, article by Laird Hart

Patrick Horgan, 7, didn't know exactly what it was, but he couldn't wait to get in.

After a helping boost out of his wheelchair, and a few adjustments with a screwdriver, he was all set. Soon Patrick was pumping happily up and down the sidewalk using only his arms and shoulders. He has spina bifida and is paralyzed from the waist down.

Patrick had just taken the first Minneapolis ride in a recent invention called the Row-car, one of three in the United States. Two of them are now in Minneapolis brought here by their Australian inventor and maker, engineer Burt Terry.

The Lossing Orthopedic Brace Co. plans to begin manufacturing and distributing other cars within two months for $100.

Photo of a very determined young man riding his car down the sidewalk
Patrick Horgan, who has spina bifida, was the first Minneapolis youngster to try a Row-car, which is more than a toy. The cart was bright orange molded plastic, with flashy yellow wheels.
Photo: Donald Black
Photo of a happy man and woman hugging each other in a parking lot.
Fellow workers John Axness and Barb Sherman said goodnight in the parking lot at the end of the day at their workshop, 1976.
Photo of boy on Santa's lap as the boy uses American Sign Language to tell Santa his wishes.
Ryan Kinney, 5, of St Paul, made his request of Santa Claus using sign language at the Minnesota Theatre Institute of the Deaf. In 1976, the theater offered classes for 5- to 13-year-old children who were Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing.
Photo: Donald Black
Photo of a toddler surrounded by older family members, watching him roll a toy down a ramp. The boy is wearing a hearing aid.
At home, the Barnhart family worked with Matthew.
A man in a wheelchair uses a sidewalk cut-out ramp without assistance from the people nearby.
A sidewalk ramp outside St. Cloud State Employment Job Service Office was shown to highlight a mobility aid for people with disabilities, St Cloud Times, 1977.

Hastings Office of the MN Department of Economic Security Participates in Awareness Day

The Hastings Office of the Minnesota Department of Economic Security participated in a local Awareness Day, November 10, 1977. The purpose of the Awareness Day was to make the community aware of the need for the removal of architectural and attitudinal barriers [toward customers and employees with disabilities]. Hastings Office Manager Dick Lindeke spent the day in a wheelchair. With assistance from Al Price, Neighborhood Worker, they attempted to utilize various community services throughout the day.

A question and answer session was held in the afternoon, which was open to the public. A panel of several articulate guest speakers was available to answer questions concerning architectural and attitudinal barriers that confront people with disabilities every day.

As shown in the photographs, architectural barriers existed in most Economic Security offices. One of the main goals of the organization was to remove these barriers statewide.

The photo shows a man in a wheelchair as he and his chair are tilted at an uncomfortable angle by another man, who is struggling to get the man and his chair up the stairs into a brick building.
Man being pushed into the Hastings State Employment Job Service Office for "Disability Awareness Day," to create awareness about physical barriers to offices, 1977.
A man and his wheelchair are about to be maneuvered down the steps of a brick building and back out onto the sidewalk.
It seemed almost as difficult to get out of the building as it did to get in.

TRIBUNE, July 21, 1979

A young girl walks slightly in front of her watchful mother
Barb Budolfson was ready to grab if Jennifer started to fall. When Jennifer walks outside, her Mom walks behind her to assure that she doesn't fall.
Close-up photo of a girl on the floor who appears happy and pleased with her progress
Jennifer must crawl 150 meters a day. She smiles through that, too.
Two girls sit at one end of a room and place toys and balls on a mat as they encourage their sister to move toward them
Sisters Leanne, 8, and Becky, 6, move toys and other objects to keep track of Jennifer's crawling trips.
Photo of a mother seated on a high stool as she supports her daughter, who is hanging by her feet from a solid strap attached to the ceiling
As part of her medical treatment, Jennifer hangs upside down 42 minutes a day.
1970s