[Colorado-Talk] From the archives

[Melissa R. Green]

Thank you for this. I love history. 



 

----- Original Message -----
From: Peggy Chong via Colorado-Talk  <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org>
To: his'NFB of Colorado Discussion List'"  <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org>
Date: Monday, January 11, 2021 9:33 am
Subject: [Colorado-Talk] From the archives

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> Good Monday Morning:
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> Below is a short history of the organizations of the blind of Colorado as told in the late 1960's.  I thought you might be interested.
>  
> Peggy Chong
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> A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE COLORADO FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
>             The Colorado Federation of the Blind was organized on June 4, 1955.  This was brought about with the assistance of The National Federation of the Blind and was a direct outgrowth of the organization previously called The United Workers of the Blind.  The United Workers of the Blind was a local, corporate organization which had been active since 1912.  It had become affiliated with the National Federation of the Blind after that organization was organized in 1940.  Most of the members forming the Colorado Federation of the Blind were former members of this earlier organization.  The United Workers of the Blind were hosts to the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind held in Denver in 1949.  About 300 [The middle number is smudged and unreadable.] persons attended.
>   Between June, 1955 and the first annual state convention, the Colorado Federation had formed a chapter in Pueblo and one in Colorado Springs.  The constitution adopted in June, 1955, stated that when other chapters were formed the local chapter would become known as the Denver Area Association of the Blind and together all chapters would be the Colorado Federation of the Blind.  On December 3, 1955, the first annual state convention was held in the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Denver where a states constitution was approved and officers and board members were elected for a term of two years.
>   During the ensuing four or five years the Pueblo chapter dwindled and finally dissolved from lack of leadership and interest.  The Colorado Springs chapter survived but during the late #'fj's was not very active.
>   To date there has been four presidents of the Colorado Federation of the Blind.  The first three were men who were working for private industry and thus their time for organizing other chapters and bolstering the interest in the ones already in existence was very limited.  In 1967 our first woman president was elected and due partly to the fact that she can manage to take the time but more to her drive and enthusiasm, a local chapter has been organized in Greeley, Ft. Collins, Pueblo reorganized, and Colorado Springs reactivated.  Plans are in the offing for chapters in Boulder, Grand Junction, and somewhere in the Sterling area to cover northeastern Colorado.
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