Evanston Woman Donates Letter From Helen Keller to Hadley School for the Blind

The Hadley School for the Blind in Winnetka will soon have on display a number of artifacts from Helen Keller, thanks to a donation from an Evanston woman whose family has ties to the historical figure.

Keller, who authored 12 books and became a civil rights activist despite being blind and deaf, wrote this phrase of encouragement to Gladys Brownlee, a poor black woman, in 1921: “We can do anything we really want to do if we only stick at it long enough,” according to the Winnetka Talk. Brownlee’s sister-in-law, Priscilla Ruth MacDougall of Evanston, will donate the letter that included the phrase in addition to another letter and photograph of Keller to Hadley.

“There are just certain things that belong in the public domain, but it’s about finding a place to donate them,” MacDougall said. “Hadley School for the Blind had always been an institution I knew was a very good one, and that’s why I picked them. … She was connected do it, Helen Keller, and she was, you know, complimentary of it.”

Brownlee was inspired by the note and returned to high school to get her diploma at age 26.

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