Where the Miracle Happened

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Perhaps it’s an errant thought, but I would imagine that most people throughout the world have heard of Helen Keller. Her life story is amazing…so amazing, in fact, that the play based on her early life and the subsequent movie, The Miracle Worker, won a Tony Award for best play and Oscars for stars Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke. Keller was born in the northwestern Alabama town of Tuscumbia, so my trek took me to where the miracle happen: Ivy Green, Keller’s birthplace. Most of you are at least vaguely familiar with the story: Helen Keller was born in 1880 and lost her sight and hearing after a fever when she was 19 months old. Her parents, frustrated by the inability to help, contacted Alexander Graham Bell, who put them in touch with Anne Sullivan, who took the job of teaching Keller. Sullivan moved into the Kellers’ home in Tuscumbia and began the journey that was played out in The Miracle Worker. The staff is well-versed in the history of the Keller family (Helen’s mother was a descendant of presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams; her father was a Confederate officer and newspaper publisher) and will gladly give you a guided tour of the house for no extra charge. The house is quite large (the plantation was once over 300 acres, the guide told me), and 85% of the furnishings are original. The well where Helen Keller realized what water was as Anne Sullivan spelled the word in one hand while running water over the other hand is one of the highlights of the grounds. Everything is open for inspection, including the kitchen (which was separate from the house back in those days), the bedrooms upstairs, and the ice house. Also included are several tributes from around the world and from various chapters of the Lions Clubs. Helen Keller is one of the most inspirational individuals in history, as she went from her silent and dark prison to an educated woman and the author of a dozen books. Going to her birthplace was a terrific end to a fabulous vacation. PHOTO COLLAGE: *The well where Anne Sullivan spelled “water” for Helen Keller, making her aware of the connection *A photo of Keller reading a Braille book from 1923, autographed by Keller *The house at Ivy Green