I am deeply honored to share that the program organized in November 2010 to honor the late
Pearl Kilmer Wilson's contributions to the
"Mail-It" program, has received national recognition by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution in their literacy promotion contest.
When the contest was announced we didn't know if the program we held, which focused on the elderly and visually impaired, how it would stack up as compared to other more traditional programs centered on reading involving the youth. Our program seemed to fit the contest guidelines like a glove, so we decided to give it a try. I am pleased to report that the program placed as follows:
Contest Results
1st Place - New York State
1st Place - North East Division, which includes the States of NY, VT, NH, ME, MA, CT, and RI
2nd Place - National
To fully understand
why reading became so important (page 2) to Pearl, I'd like to share her story:
Pearl as a youngster worked for her family as a mule driver on the Erie Canal. This was a task traditionally performed by young boys for hire but she always stayed with her family.
She traveled the canal from Rochester to Syracuse and from Syracuse to Albany, following the Hudson river to New York City with her father William. She had a life long fascination over shoes and her days on the canal is likely the reason. Shoes wore out frequently due to the many miles traveled.
Myrtle, Pearl (center), Georgiana
While it was hard work, Pearl found the traveling to be very exciting. One of her adventures included a boat accident. Upon arriving at a lock, they found the lock tender was on a lunch break. A gentleman nearby assured her father he could operate the lock to get them on their way without delay. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned and the boat made contact with the chamber wall.
Pearl laughed, saying she was so scared by the water rushing into the boat, that she jumped onto a small table that was nearby. She added that by the time her father reached her, the table was floating in the water!
