"New library won't shut out handicapped people" from the April 3, 1973 Door County Advocate
By KETA STEEBS
And away we go . . . Willing volunteers carry Mary Clarke, a victim of multiple sclerosis, up the library stairs as city librarian Gwen Runkle watches. Miss Clarke, who intends to do private tutoring this summer, has no other access to the library. "My walker doesn't climb steps," she says. Bob Larson, left, and Jim Sherman provide the temporary elevator service. —Advocate
New library won't shut out handicapped people
By KETA STEEBS
Mary Clarke believes in the direct approach. Justifiably concerned when the anticipated federal library funding fell by the Milwaukee wayside, Miss Clarke began waging a strenuous letter writing campaign.
"No, it wasn't to my congressmen," she grins. "I decided to write to every private foundation I ever heard of and to summer residents who, I know, care deeply about Door county."
This for a woman who admits to being hopelessly behind in her personal correspondence (a born procrastinator, she calls herself) is admirable in itself. What's even more remarkable is that the indomitable Mark Clarke, afflicted with multiple sclerosis for the past 15 years, has (in an unofficial capacity) worked closely with the architects to make sure the new library has no barriers for the disabled.
"I just want to make sure handicapped persons can get in," she says determinedly. "I understand 10 per cent of Door county's population is unable to use the present library facilities because of the steep stairs. The day this picture was taken was the first trip I've made up those steps in the past 15 years — ever since I've had M.S."
A former teacher, Miss Clarke hopes to resume her tutoring career this summer in her Glidden dr. home. To be effective, she will undoubtedly require varied material which she believes, will entail frequent library visits. Unless strong arms are able to aid her, she has no way of manipulating her walker this short but hazardous flight. For Mary Clarke and approximately 200 other handicapped persons, the present library's four outside and eight inside steps could just as well be the north slope of Mt. Everest.
Sheer determination raised Miss Clarke from her own wheelchair several years ago but she has a keen appreciation of problems facing the wheelchair-bound. It is especially frustrating, she says, not to be able to use the restrooms in most public places. Wisconsin law now demands that all doors in public buildings be at least three feet wide (as are the doors in Mary's home) and that restrooms and entryways be easily accessible to the handicapped. A gently sloping ramp is a lot easier to ascend than even one shallow step. Handrails also come in handy.
Mary's "no-barrier" suggestions are being incorporated into the present architectural plans but whether her suggestion that carpeting be discarded in favor of a smooth-surfaced floor is unknown at this point.
"It is a great deal easier for a person to operate a wheelchair or maneuver a walker on a hard surface," she maintains, noting that the only "carpeting" in her home consists of two small bathroom rugs — easily kicked aside whenever they get in her way.
Independent as they come, Mary Clarke threw out most of her medicines years ago, eats whatever she likes, substitutes housework for an exercise machine and complains there aren't enough hours in the day to "catch up" on her jobs. Her biggest regret is that she can't balance herself on a stepstool well enough to wash walls.
Mary credits her mother for instilling this "no-nonsense" approach to life. As an only child who lived most of her youth in neighborhoods populated by older people, Mary learned self-sufficiency at an early age.
"I was taught to read, sew, play the piano and amuse myself before I started first grade," she relates. "In fact, mother, a first grade teacher herself, taught me so well I didn't even go to first grade. I started in second."
Reviewing her own teaching career, Mary says she majored in vocal music (her first love) but taught just about any subject that came along. Even after being inflicted with multiple sclerosis, she taught an additional eight years, thus making a liar of her doctor who had told her she'd be dead in five.
"Imagine that," she says indignantly. "He said it was a good thing I hadn't contacted M.S. it the late teens or I'd be dead in a year. As it was — he gave me another five years to plan my funeral."
Mary says "will, determination and heart" have a lot to do with her ability to lead a near-normal life today. She also thanks her late mother for insisting she exercise with parallel bars during her wheelchair confinement.
"Our living room was literally turned into an exercise room but inside of two months I was out of that wheelchair and getting around on a cane," recalls Mary, as she capably brews a pot of coffee, sets the table and warms sweet rolls without wasted motion. "Now I use a walker and get all the exercise I need doing housework."
Despite the popular opinion that group therapy is beneficial, Mary wants no part of any prospective Multiple Sclerosis Assn. where members afflicted by the disease would hopefully aid and comfort one another.
"I believe we should be with normal people. I see no sense in joining a group where we sit around comparing notes and discussing our respective conditions. I've got too much to do right here at home."
Come spring, the redoubtable Mary Clarke will be tending her garden, tackling the kitchen cupboards, entertaining friends and spending as much time as possible in the fresh air. She'll also continue her personal and persistent fund raising drive via the U.S. mail. Some of the early response has proved gratifying.
The library is, in Mary's mind, a reality. She visualizes it through the eyes of one who, after decades of encountering "architectural barriers," will at least be free to come and go as fast as her walker will take her.
From the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
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