Easter Seals marker ceremony photograph   Save
Wonderful World of Ohio
Description: This color photograph shows key participants in the ceremonial unveiling of an Ohio Historical Marker in Elyria, Ohio, on May 23, 1969. The marker honors the Easter Seals Society and its founder, Ohio businessman Edgar H. Allen (1862-1937). In this photograph four people are standing next to the historical marker. They are (left to right): Chauncey B. Smythe, president of the Elyria Memorial Hospital Board; Leon Chaterlain, president of the National Society for Crippled Children and Adults; Michelle Williams, the 1969 Lorain County Easter Seal poster girl; and Richard Elliott, president of the Elyria Rotary Club. A tragic event inspired Edgar Allen’s crusade to help children with disabilities. In 1907 his teenage son Homer died after sustaining injuries in a streetcar accident in Elyria. Eight other people died in the accident, and eighty were injured. The lack of local medical facilities prompted Allen to raise money to build the Elyria Memorial Hospital, which opened in 1908. His work with the hospital sparked his desire to help children with special needs. He led the successful effort to open a hospital in Elyria devoted solely to the care of children. The Gates Hospital for Crippled Children opened in 1915, the first of its kind in the nation. In 1919 he established the Ohio Society for Crippled Children. Three years later, Allen and leading Ohio Rotarians launched the National Society for Crippled Children, precursor to the Easter Seals Society and its affiliates. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06953
Subjects: Elyria (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio); Historical Marker; National Easter Seal Society (U.S.); Ohio Society for Crippled Children
Places: Elyria (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)