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Society and the "Cripple" - From Seclusion to Education
The 19th century saw dramatic changes in the way society treated those with physical disabilities. For the first half of the century, they were secluded in their homes because their families bore a social and moral stigma as a result of their disabilities. It was believed that parents’ improper behavior was why a child might be born with deformities... [continue here]


Top shelf: Post-Civil-War military pension records (1875-1889) and daily reports of the Toledo Federation of Charities (1904-1905). Illustration of orthopedic injuries of Civil War soldiers, and photographs of Alva Bunker of the Toledo Rotary Club (1917-21). View selected exhibits on this shelf...
Middle shelf: Minutes of the Toledo Society for Crippled Children (1921); copies of the Crippled Child's Bill of Right (1931), Constitution of the National Society for Crippled Children, and by-laws of the International Society for Crippled Children (1922). Scrapbook of Ed Kelsey, and letters by Edgar Allen of the Ohio Society for Crippled Children and Emma Robert's letter to the Toledo Rotary Club. View selected exhibits on this shelf...
Bottom shelf: Pamphlet of the W. N. Gates Hospital, a catalog of Colson wheelchairs, scrapbook and photos of the Charles Feilbach School (1921-1945). Book titled Reconstructing the Crippled Soldier (1918), and a book (Civilization and the Cripple). View selected exhibits on this shelf...
Referenced Canaday Center collections:
- MSS-046: Buchanan and MacGahan Law Firm, Military Pension Applications, 1875-1889
- MSS-075: Family Service of Northwest Ohio Records, 1904-1989
- MSS-145: The Toledo Rotary Club Records, 1912-1998 [digital collection]
- MSS-190: The Ability Center of Greater Toledo Records, 1920-2000
- Rare book collection (locate the individual titles above in the library catalog)