Creator:
Douglas Decherd, writer, collector
Date range:
1961
Call number:
AG189
Abstract:
This collection contains a copy of correspondence sent from Douglas Decherd, the principal of the Tripoli Boys School, to Helen Keller in January 1961. It also includes a letter from Keller to Decherd, sent in response. After viewing The Miracle Worker, a film about Helen Keller’s life, Decherd had his senior boys write about the film. Decherd selected quotations from his students’ writing and sent them to Keller. Keller replied, thanking him for sharing the quotations with her.
Extent:
0.25 linear feet
Language:
English
Processed by:
Susanna Coit, 2022
Biographical/Historical note:
Douglas Hawkins Decherd (1902-1967) was born on February 25, 1902 in Corsicana, Texas. After graduating from Sterling College (Sterling, KS) in 1924, he taught at Assiut College (Assuit, Egypt) from 1924 to 1926. He graduated from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (Pittsburgh, PA) in 1929, the same year he married Rebecca Burgner, and became the PAster of Elmira Federated Church in Neponset, Illinois. The Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions sent Decherd to Jerusalem to study Arabic from 1931 to 1932 and he served as principal at the North Syria School for Boys in Aleppo, Syria until 1937. From 1939 to 1963, he was the principal at the Tripoli Boys School. He was Principal in Beirut, Lebanon at the Beirut Evangelical School for Girls from 1964 to 1965. He left Beirut and retired to Corsicana, Texas with his family in July 1966. He died a year later on July 16, 1967.
In January 1961, Decherd and his students viewed The Miracle Worker, a film about Helen Keller’s life. After the viewing, Decherd had his senior boys write about the film. Decherd selected quotations from his students’ writing and sent them to Keller. Keller replied, thanking him for sharing the quotations with her.
Helen Keller (1880-1968) was an internationally renowned author, lecturer, advocate, and activist who first gained attention as a highly accomplished student who was deafblind. Some of the many causes she advocated for were in support of equal rights for women, civil liberties, civil rights, and equal opportunity for people with disabilities.
Sources of information:
Lane, Betsy. “Decherds and Lanes in Lebanon.” Ainab and the American Community in Lebanon, September 8, 2020.
Notes provided in deed of gift.
Restrictions:
None.
Copyright:
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Perkins School for the Blind, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.
Credit line/Citation:
AG189 Douglas Decherd Helen Keller Correspondence. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.
Scope and contents:
Copy of typewritten correspondence sent from Douglas Decherd, the principal of the Tripoli Boys School, to Helen Keller in January 1961. It also includes a typewritten, hand-signed letter from Keller to Decherd, sent in response. After viewing The Miracle Worker, a film about Helen Keller’s life, Decherd had his senior boys write about the film. Decherd’s students reflected on Keller’s experiences and life as it was portrayed in the film. Decherd selected quotations from his students’ writing and sent them to Keller. Keller replied, thanking him for sharing the quotations with her.
Arrangement:
B1:F1 = Box 1:Folder 1
The collection is arranged in two folders.
Container list:
Box: 1
B1:F1: Letter from Douglas H. Decherd to Helen Keller, January 29, 1961
B1:F2: Letter from Helen Keller to Douglas H. Decherd, February 8, 1961
Related collections:
- List of digital collections related to Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan that are available online.
Provenance:
Donated by a family member in January 2022.
Subject headings:
- Perkins School for the Blind.
- Perkins School for the Blind–History.
- Keller, Helen, 1880-1968
- Gibson, William, 1914-2008. Miracle worker
- People who are deafblind