The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-07-02
BLIND GIRL GOOD
STENOGRAPHER
California Girl Tvpes
Letters for 9 Hospital
Doctors

solve, a head to contrive and a hand
to execute"
In this old but familiar quotat,o,
might be summed up the eXtraordl.
nary capabilities of Miss N1fffda
Allison, California's first blind stg.
nORrapher.
Miss Allison is stenographcr at Nh,
Napa state hospital, a position
which an intimate KNOWLEDGE 80
medical terms Is quite as imp0rtant
as fast and accurate typing. Her ROM
tine day consists of taking clInic,l
pathological and bacteriological din'
tation from nine physicians. TIoto
are many sighted stenographers who
probably would shy at such an AZ,
sisiiinent, you may observe. Then
how did a girl who is totally blind
prepare herself for such exlrfIr.
employment? Here is the story In
brief:
when she was only seven years .
age an accident which occurred M
her home In Lincoln, Placer county.
made Matilda Allison totally blind
Even then, although only a child
she was possessed of an indomltabIs
Will which recognized no affliction
too great TO overcome. Determine
TO achieve independence and conf.
dent In her ability to do so, she on.
tered the California school Tor tina
deaf and blind In Berkeley. Here
she became accustomed to the u,v
life which she must live. In 1909 sba
was graduated from the high scbooI
section OF that institution as The
valedictorian of her class. But even
then,' she says, # did not know how
to make a living"
The young blind girl took a posi-.
ton. as a telephone operator and
studied stenography in her spare
time. Her friends offered sympath,
but no encouragement. How can 4
blind girl take shorthand and poR
form the many other duties Of
stenographer? they asked her.
But. In addition to having "a heart
to resolve" Matilda Allison pos.
sessed "a head to contrive," and She
forced her way past one difficulty
after another undaunted ana stead
fast in her determination to become
u stenographer. Ana then, when She
felt equipped to take the state c!yil
service examination, the real strug-
gle began. There was no clause In
the law permitting a blind person to
take the examinations, and the civil
service commissioners advised her
even laws can be changed, and at
this juncture Miss Allison brough,
her hand to execute" into play
After steadily besieging the doors ot
the commission for more than two
years she finally convinced them Of
the practicability Of new classifl.
cation OF blind dIctapnune op.
orators, typists and stenOgraphers."
When the examination was over /,
was announced that Matilda Allison
was the first on the eligible list,
only one who has struggled under
some similar affliction can know
how proud l was on that day" the
blind girl said in commenting on her
rating. In securing n new civil
service classification / opened the
way for countless other blind girS
and 1t is this for which l am mG
thankful"
Miss Allison for the most part
takes all dictation directly on IN
typewriter. The dictaphone also ls
great help, and there is a system
of shorthand, especially for the use ,
OF the blind. She is one of the fast.
est typists in the state service and
receives the same salary az sighted
stenographes in similar work.
In addition to her regular duties,
-lISo AlllSOH III dSSlSldnt eQllOF OF
the lmola Times, a tri-monthly pa
per issued by the NCpa hospital. Il
have not reached the height OF my
ambition YET she will tell you,
Some day l am going to strike ou.
for a job In the news rooms Of a
paper. l have always loved to
write. and one of my chief aims IS
TO become Il newspaper woman"
In the evenings the blind girl visits
the veterans home at Napa to teach
and entertain the helpless inmates
OF that place. Her happy PHILOSOPHY
or lifa has been ihstilled in the
hearts of many of the old veterans II
the institution, and she is constant
~ finding some new source OF enters
talnment for them. one of her most
priced possessions is a watCh--a spec
clal watch adapted to the use OF the
blind.
The timepiece has no crystal md
at each hour there is a small raised
point by which the blind girl marks
orr the time OF day. The watch was
given her by the veterans as token
or their appreciation of her work.
During her summer vacations
Miss Allison breaches the gospel
that Blindness is not an affi.ctOn,
but an opportunity" to blind girls al
over the state.
In lectures before clubs and civic
ORGANIZATIONS she always stresses =
the point that what the blind need IS "
not charity, but practical education
training which will fit them for
actual work.