Guidance of 6th grade teacher leads blind woman to 32-year career in Arkansas governor's office

From The Alva Courier-Express in Okla.:

The vision and kindly guidance of her sixth grade teacher has led a blind Alva native to a 32-year career in the Arkansas Governor’s office that has spanned the terms of five governors including two-time Governor Bill Clinton who went on to become President.

Her appreciation for that guidance has brought Barbara (Thornberry) Duncan (pictured) back to Alva to visit with that sixth grade teacher, Lee Haley (pictured), who went on to a 30-year career as the principal at Longfellow School before retiring.

Barbara’s path to the statehouse wasn’t an easy one. The journey was full of pain and hard work, punctuated with landmark accomplishments along the way.

By the first grade, Barbara’s teachers learned she had been diagnosed with glaucoma and gave her special attention, even assigning fellow students to read to her. Of course, her mother, Wybeta Calhoun, after her long days as a nurse, would read textbooks to Barbara at night.

By the time Barbara was in the sixth grade, though, Haley (pictured) could see clearly she would need special help only available through the Oklahoma School for the Blind at Muskogee, now known as Parkview. He put the wheels in motion and after Barbara completed the seventh grade at Washington, she was off to Muskogee.

“That’s when I had my real, real challenges,” Barbara recalled, “both mentally and physically. I couldn’t read print and I couldn’t read Braille. I was in the eighth grade.”

It takes a year to learn Braille, and as an adolescent, she alludes to a bit of an attitude problem.

“It took me longer than it should have,” she sighs, “because I was rebellious. I didn’t want to admit I was blind. I could still see something. I didn’t know you could be legally blind and still see a little.”

Adjusting to the environment was awkward because of the various ages of her fellow students, and she also had to face homesickness.

“I was a crybaby,” she confesses. “I would sit outside on the merry-go-round and cry every time I heard a car go by because I wanted to go home.”

But she persisted and completed her high school courses before coming home to Alva…and became the second blind person to enroll at Northwestern.

Barbara recalls being given permission to use an old Royal typewriter in an English class and spending an hour typing a paper. “I wasn’t familiar with the Royal, and the ribbon was set on ‘stencil.’” It was all to be done over.

She earned her bachelor’s and in 1969 joined the staff of the Lion’s Club World Service for the Blind in Little Rock, a position she held for 9 years before getting antsy.

“I went to Services for the Blind and told them maybe I needed to change careers,” Barbara related. “The counselor said he’d take me to the attorney general’s office because they had an opening in consumer protection, so we went. And Bill Clinton was attorney general at that time. So I was hired to be a consumer protection counselor.”

She was there for 15 months until Mr. Clinton was elected Governor.

“One Friday afternoon he came in and I said, ‘Bill, I’d like to go to the capitol when you go,’ and he said, ‘You would? You’ll hear from me later.’”

In a few weeks, she received a note from him saying she’d do case work. That was in 1979.

“So, when he went to the capitol, I did too. I’ve been very fortunate to work for him and the other four governors.” After Clinton’s first term, Frank White served a term. Then Clinton returned for another two terms. Jim Guy Tucker followed, then Mike Huckabee for two terms and current governor, Mike Beebe. That’s 32 years and counting.

“I’m the Special Assistant for Constituent Affairs. I handle child support, SNAP which is Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (that used to be called the food stamp program), and inquiries on disability.”

She admits resisting the computer revolution at first, but began to embrace it in 1988. Now she uses JAWS (Job Access With Speech) in which a computer reads printed material and voice-synthesizes it so she can hear.

Until recently, she used earphones so co-workers weren’t disturbed in the process, but recently was given her own private office so the earphones aren’t necessary.

Also unnecessary is mentioning to her clients that she is blind. Most of her clients never know, she asserts. Only when the client is blind, she shares personal information on how to deal with a problem to help them.

Once a team of administrators from Northwestern was planning to visit the Little Rock area and sent letters to all the alums there.

“I was the only one to respond,” Barbara reports. “They came to my office and took photos of me and did a story in the Ranger Roundup.”

Near the end of Bill Clinton’s last term, Barbara made another landmark achievement. She earned a master’s degree from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock.

“He was running for President then, and when he won, he asked me if I wanted to go to Washington with him.” This time, she turned him down.

“It would just be too much to learn how to get around in Washington, to learn where the restrooms are. I just had to tell him no.”

Barbara’s husband, Adrian, is also blind and works in a Little Rock Workforce office helping people find employment. The Lions Club is an ever-present entity in the important transitions in their lives and through the club Arthur and Veronica Ritter of Bryant, Ark., volunteered to bring them to Alva.

While here, Barbara will be visiting with her only remaining relative in Alva, Edith Rieger who is ailing (Edith Rieger died Sept. 4), then return to Little Rock and Gov. Beebe’ office.

But her appreciation and affection for Lee Haley will go with her.

“I was his first blind student and even with 42 students in the room, he always found time to help me. I’m giving him an A+!”