The Challenge That Inspired Lions
by Jay Copp
Already an American legend for 35 years, Helen Keller slowly strode to the center of the stage. As was her custom, Helen, 45, clung to the arm of Anne Sullivan-Macy, her almost equally famous childhood teacher. The 3,000 Lions and local Ohioans in the packed convention hall in Cedar Point were loud and restless as they awaited Helen’s speech. It was hard to blame them for their inattention. The poor acoustics in the cavernous hall had made it difficult to hear. Indeed, speaking in the same room a day later, a flustered district governor from North Carolina stormed off the stage and dragged a table to the middle of the room to be better heard..