A curious item from almost exactly 101 years ago, in the Detroit Free Press:
BLIND GIRL WILL NOT WORK IN SCHENECTADY
John Macy, With Whose Family She Lives, Resigns His Position With Mayor.
“Schenectady, N.Y., Sept. 21 – John Macy, executive secretary to Mayor George R. Lunn, has tendered his resignation, to take effect immediately.
“He gives as a reason his wife’s illness, stating that it is necessary for him to return at once to his home in Wreckham [sic: Wrentham], Mass.
“The departure of Mr. Macy will mean that Helen Keller, the famous blind girl, will not come to this city and become a member of the municipal public welfare board as planned. The position has been kept open by Mayor Lunn for her as Mr. Macy expected to move his family here this fall.
“Miss Keller makes her home with Mrs. Macy and has since her childhood. Mayor Lunn was surprised by the resignation as today was the first time that Mr. Macy had intimated leaving the socialists in Schenectady. No successor has yet been named.”
The story just seems odd as can be, until one learns that Mrs. Macy was better known to the world by her maiden name, Annie Sullivan. John Albert Macy was a writer and editor from the Boston area who met Helen Keller when she was attending Radcliffe. He learned to communicate with Keller, and for a few years pressed Sullivan to marry him, which she did in 1905. He developed strong socialist beliefs which Keller shared, and wrote extensively on the topic, which is likely what brought him to the attention of George Lunn, Schenectady’s socialist mayor. The association didn’t last, obviously, and neither did the marriage; Macy and Sullivan divorced in 1914.
Leave a Reply