January is National Braille Literacy Month, so we’re sharing a fabulous photo from the Rabbi Leo M. Franklin Archives. Can you guess the year it was taken? Here are some hints:
- What?! Temple Beth El has a Braille Bindery? It does! Although its actual founding year is up for debate, it’s been around since at least 1961.
- The most popular book published in the year of the photo was Mario Puzo’s The Godfather.
- The lovely lady pictured is Natalie Lankin, or as she was more commonly known at the time, Mrs. Richard Lankin. Cause, you know, women didn’t have first names back then.
So, what’s your guess?
And the year is…1969!
Natalie, who served as chair of the Sisterhood Braille Transcribing Committee, is standing with her award-winning display at a meeting of the League of Jewish Women’s Organizations.
The Braille Bindery at Temple Beth El started as a project of the Sisterhood and was originally only one of seven in the country. To this day, the bindery remains a volunteer-run, 100% nonprofit service that provides typing, binding and the distribution of braille reading materials globally. You can learn more about the Braille Bindery on their website.
If you want to learn more Jewish Detroit history, explore our digital database.
Image: Braille Bindery Collection, XXXX.19, Rabbi Leo M. Franklin Archives, Temple Beth El.