8th-Grader Spearheads Effort to Save Helen Keller's NY House

An eighth grader on Long Island has launched a one-man campaign to try and save Helen Keller's summer cottage from demolition.

Ian Toy, a student in Southold, will take his appeal to the Suffolk County legislator today to ask for $400,000 for restoration of the house, The Suffolk Times reported.

The house is in severe disrepair and faces imminent demolition by Suffolk County unless Ian can gather enough support from elected officials and concerned citizens.

In 1886, at the age of 6, Helen Keller, both deaf and blind, learned to speak with the help of her teacher Anne Sullivan. She went on to become the first deaf-blind person to earn a college degree, becoming an author, political activist and lecturer.

The dilapidated house near Cedar Beach in Southold is where Keller and Ms. Sullivan may have spent the summer of 1936 -- the last summer the companions spent together before Ms. Sullivan died.
 

Contact Us