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The Braille

MonitorJanuary/February

2002

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Dick

Edlund May Be Blind,

But

He Can See Right Through You

Richard Edlund

by

Rebecca Shelton

From the Editor: The

following article first appeared in the October 17, 2001, edition of the Kansas

City Kansan. Dick Edlund is a long-time leader in the Federation. This

story quickly recaps some of the highlights of his many contributions. Here

it is:

Dick Edlund, seventy-seven,

still lives in Wyandotte County, still lives independently, and is still blind.

And he's still getting himself involved with blind people who need help of

one kind or another.

Edlund, a sort of utility

man, has been nearly everywhere and done nearly everything to help other blind

people.

Born in Armourdale in 1924,

he lost his sight in an explosion while waiting to be called into the Air

Force. As he tried to make sense of his loss, an official from a state agency

contacted him. At the time, Edlund said, a blind person could expect little

more than earning pennies in bad conditions at a workshop or selling magazines

and cigarettes in a corner kiosk at a courthouse.

Edlund

said he opted to stay clear of state agencies and go off on his own. In 1946

he leased some ground in Muncie, bought an old beat-up truck, and went into

the business of cement and sand. He mixed in another business in agriculture

and cleared a space by the Kaw River for a small airport. His friends used the

airport, and some of them did some skydiving.

"I

never saw any point in jumping out of one that was running," he said.

Edlund

was in business for forty years. In 1968 he hooked up with the National Federation

of the Blind. He became President of the Kansas chapter. When the previous President

moved to Missouri, Edlund took his spot. Having been appointed rather than elected,

"I felt like Gerald Ford," said Edlund. He helped organize chapters

in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Washington.

In

1974 he was elected as National Treasurer with a budget of $12 million.

And

he was called to Cincinnati to check out a sheltered workshop. The pay and conditions

at this workshop were rated at the bottom. Edlund jumped in the middle and in

five years made significant changes. He did the same in Los Angeles, Salt Lake

City, and Raleigh, North Carolina. "I beat them every place," he said.

At

the time the blind only had to be paid 25 percent of the minimum wage. Still,

Edlund said, the blind were doing well at their jobs with very little.

"That's

what I objected to," said Edlund, who pushed legislation to change this

situation.

Edlund

also organized a shop in Fairfax. He got legislation passed to set up a bargaining

unit there. The president of the then-welfare system told Edlund he was causing

all sorts of problems and wanted him put in jail. But Edlund kept on and did

the same thing in other cities around the country.

In

1988 he stepped down from his national position and sold his businesses. He

served in the Kansas House of Representatives. Again he pushed legislation to

help the blind but also help other people. He made a lot of contacts and was

good friends with Bob Dole.

One

of the bills he worked on was to make it mandatory for blind children to read

Braille. "Blind kids were coming out of school without being able to write

a sentence, punctuate, or spell," he said.

He

also involved himself in cases where common sense was the answer. Edlund said

he was called to South Dakota to see about twin girls who were blind. For two

years, they attended a school for the blind in North Dakota right next to the

state line of South Dakota. The state wanted to send them to a school for the

blind in South Dakota, but it was far away from the girls' home. Edlund told

the parents to take the girls to the public school and demand they be educated.

The principal said his small school budget could not afford to hire special

teachers. And so, said Edlund, the girls were allowed to continue to attend

the school right across the state line in North Dakota.

Edlund

said cases like this gave him a reputation for getting his way. "I am nice

and reasonable," said Edlund. "Do it my way, and that's reasonable."

He

continued his work around the world, in Zambia, England, Mexico, and Alaska.

He made several trips to Hawaii, but he turned down Bombay. He made two to three

trips a year to Washington, D.C. to testify on various legislation. In his years

Edlund once logged 300,000 flown miles and 269 nights spent away from home.

But

he still lives in Wyandotte County. "I've seen most of the world, but I

keep coming back," he said.

He

is now vice president for a blind and deaf organization nationwide. He was scheduled

to testify before Congress earlier this month until the September 11 attack

caused a postponement. And he is working on a training program for seniors who

are losing their sight. He wants to see seniors be able to remain in their own

homes. Edlund said the biggest obstacle remains attitude on the part of the

public.

"Most

people think blind people can't do these things, and they are never given a

chance to try," he said.

He

still works to change the attitude the blind have about themselves. "Blind

people need their independence," he said. "You can't smooth a way

for everybody."

Edlund

said, when people are losing their sight, he tells them it doesn't help to get

mad. Patience must be developed. And a job must be found. With a job no social

workers are needed.

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