Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 224, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 September 1919 — Sees Game With Teacher’s Eyes [ARTICLE]

Sees Game With Teacher’s Eyes

Blind Girl Is an Enthusiastic Rooter for New York Giants. GETS ALL THE GOOD POINTS Daughter of —Famous—Author and Composer Inherits Love of Sport From Father —Is Like Ray zzofSunshinerz? ~ New York. —Evetybody" was humaiing or whistling “After the Ball” 25 years ago. Charles K. Harris, author and composer of that popular song, was at that time a resident of Milwaukee and a frequent visitor to Chicago. He 'was in enthusiastic baseball fan. The Harris home is now at 151 West Eighty-sixth street, -this city T and Miss Mildred Harris, the nineteen-year-old daughter of the author-composer, has Inherited a love of baseball from her father and, despite her total blindness, is able to “see” the game and enjoy it almost as keenly - as if she had her sight. For the last seven years she has been a fan. She sits in the grandstand wearing smoked glasses and is always on hand when the Giants are playing. She jumps up and down and cheers the players just like other excited spectators. Behind her unseeing eyes is a mind of extraordinary perception, swift-to grasp what is going on about her. Some of . the - experts say she “sees” the game more intelligently than those who have all their senses. Sees Through Father's Eyes. Miss Mildred’s escort is her father, and it is through his eyes that she is able to see baseball and understand -all the nice points of the game, as she has been doing for the last seven years.

He explains the—game to her as it progresses by means of a conversational code. "When I was twelve years old,” she said, “the Giants were winning the pennant, and my father was tremendously excited about it. Of course 4 asked him to explain, and he took a piece of cardboard and drew a diamond.on it, markihgthe bases” Whi Io he told me. about the game I traced the diagram out with njy fingers until I got the thing visualized in my mind. Then I went to the games with him and soon learned to understand them by means of our code, usually expressed in monosyllables, a word at a time. Soon I came to know the players and? like -others present, to get all wrought up over team work and brilliant individual performances.” = Trinh is way the blind girl came to know the stars of the baseball world. She can tell you all about the wonderful feats of Christy Mathewson, Ty Cobb and’ those of more recent date, including Benny *Kauff, Ross Young and others. She laughingly says she has the time of her life when she goes to a ball game. Sheris sure that she sees all that is going on just about as anyone else sees it.

Although Miss Harris was born blind, she carries a ray of sunshine with her wherever she goes, for she is cheerful and optimistic. She is fond of the outdoors and excels In walking, " swimming and dancing. She is an accomplished pianist, speaks French fluently and during the war was a volunteer worker for the Y. W. C. A. Rooter for the It may be added that Miss Mildred this year is betting on the Giants, but the fact is she has always been a “rooter” for the Giants. More than once, however, she had lost money on -them-,-but-4s hoping that she will be lucky enough to get some of it back this year. She feels it “in her bones” that nothing can head the Giants off this year. - The ball game is the one place she can go where she can throw aside foration. “You see,” she explains,' “you don’t have to be subdued and self-repressed but can holler your head off if you want to, and nobody pays any attention. When the game is not going just right to suit everybody pandemonium reigns and the whole crowd is in a state of frenzy. It certainly is great sport.” .. ' . • —; Miss Harris modestly says she has been given credit for having converted many others into fans. She talks baseball enthusiastically to her friends and acquaintances and naturally they become interested and follow the crowd to witness the great American game.