2 weeks Ago By Thomas Weber
Although she was blind, Helen Keller could see the storm clouds on the horizon. “World peace seems to be further off than ever just now,” Keller said in October 1937 in Rochester. Ever the optimist, she quickly added, “So often the darkness comes just before the dawn, and it might be that we are living through that darkest hour now.
” ADVERTISEMENT Keller’s comments came in an interview with the Post-Bulletin at her Kahler Hotel suite. Weeks earlier, Keller had undergone gallbladder surgery, which had been performed by Dr. S.
C.F. Dixon, of Mayo Clinic.
The surgery and recovery would force Keller to postpone a planned speaking tour to support the American Foundation for the Blind. Due to a mysterious illness, Keller had lost her sight, hearing and speaking ability at the age of 19 months. Education at special schools, and the efforts of her teacher Anne Sullivan, allowed Keller to take her place in the modern world.
She graduated from Radcliffe College, became a writer, lecturer and political activist, and by the 1930s was one of the most admired people in the world, So what she had to say in Rochester about world peace was national and international news. “Peace will not come until the people compel the governments to disarm, and it is a task educating the people to think for themselves,” Keller said. “I keep hoping against hope that the women of the world will mobilize their sentiments and energies on the side of peace.
” Keller had just returned from a four-month lecture tour of Japan, where she had an audience with Japan’s Emperor Hirohito. She expressed regard for the Japanese people. “They are so warm-hearted and really do not want war,” Keller said.
It was upon returning from that trip, during which Keller, 57, was dogged by intestinal issues, that she checked into Mayo Clinic. “My health continues splendid,” Keller said. But she said, an examination determined that her gallbladder was the source of her current illness.
“The doctors advised me to have it removed, and I am determined to do it while I am strong,” Keller said. ADVERTISEMENT The surgery was performed on Sept. 15.
Daily bulletins about her condition and recovery went worldwide. The day after the surgery, Keller was reported to be in “quite satisfactory” condition. “Her spirit is just beautiful,” said Polly Thomson, Keller’s longtime assistant.
Six days after the surgery, Thomson reported that Keller “ate a hearty breakfast of one soft-boiled egg, cereal, toast and coffee.” Finally, two days later, her physicians decided that Keller was “out of danger,” and she was permitted to sit up in bed. During her convalescence, Keller was visited at the Kahler by old friends and new acquaintances, including Dr.
C.W. “Chuck” and Alice Mayo.
“The doctors at the clinic were fascinated with Helen,” biographer Joseph P. Lash wrote. Keller returned the compliment.
“Besides their skill, they bring into the sick room a spirit which is like fresh air and sunshine,” she said of Mayo doctors and nurses. On Oct. 14, nearly a month after her operation, Keller was allowed to leave for her Long Island home.
“It was very fortunate for me that I came here,” Keller said as she boarded an eastbound train. She told the Post-Bulletin she would always have “a cherished memory” of Rochester. ADVERTISEMENT Thomas Weber is a former Post Bulletin reporter who enjoys writing about local history.
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