| Mike Lydick
mlydick@thereminder.com
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AGAWAM — Thirty years ago, Katherine Lancour wrote a special poem for the dedication of the statue honoring Helen Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan, in the center of Feeding Hills, Sullivan’s home community. On Saturday, Lancour — a direct descendent of Sullivan — will accept an award honoring her famous relative at the site of that same sculpture.
Lancour will be presented with the annual Women in American History Award from the local chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). This year, the American History Committee of the DAR’s Mercy Warren Chapter chose to honor Sullivan.
Lancour is Sullivan’s first cousin, two times removed; Sullivan’s grandfather James is Lancour’s great-great grandfather. Like her cousin, Lancour lives in Feeding Hills, about three miles from where Sullivan grew up. Sullivan lived 1866 to 1936.
“I was very surprised to get the phone call telling me about the award — I had no idea they were going to do it,” said Lancour, 85, who has lived in Feeding Hills since 1956. Her house on South West Street is just down the street from the farmhouse where her mother, Anna Sullivan, was born.
Lancour and her older sister, Joan Schoolcraft, 86, who recently moved from Springfield to Agawam, didn’t learn they were related to Sullivan until they were between 10 and 12 years old.
“I think our mother told us. We didn’t think much of it at the time — we didn’t know who she was,” said Lancour, known as Kay to her family and friends.
“Anne was a family member who we didn’t know much about, except that she had lived in Feeding Hills,” she added. “Everything we heard was pretty much hearsay from our family.”
Years later, when Lancour and her sister realized who Sullivan was and learned more about her work with Helen Keller, they were more “impressed” with what Sullivan had accomplished.
“It was a nice feeling to know that one of our relatives was important. It gave me a special personal feeling — and it was something I could discuss with people,” said Lancour.
It also led Lancour to become part of the committee that was planning to erect a statue of Sullivan in her hometown.
“I helped with the fundraising for the statue — we sold candy bars, little button pins, and held picnics. After the statue was done and we were getting ready to dedicate it, I decided to write a poem about Anne that was included in the program,” explained Lancour.
The poem, “Through Annie’s Eyes,” is about Sullivan’s dedication to teaching children who were blind and deaf after she overcame a childhood blindness that was caused by an eye infection. Lancour framed the poem and photos of the statue that she proudly hangs in her living room.
Sullivan was inspired to work with visually impaired children following treatment in Boston that restored her vision. She became known as “The Miracle Worker” for her work with Helen Keller.
“Anne Sullivan taught Helen Keller, who was blind and deaf, how to communicate and how to read Braille. They became lifelong companions and advocated for deaf and blind people worldwide,” said Samantha Seamans-Frizzell, the DAR chapter’s regent.
“Anne Sullivan is the ideal recipient for this award. Her courage and determination are an inspiration for all of us. We hope to continue to identify more women from our communities for this award as there are many who are deserving,” she added.
Seaman-Fizzell said the DAR award isn’t a competition, but recognition for a woman, past or present, who has significantly contributed to her community. She called the timing of Sullivan’s award “providential,” since the ceremony will be held nearly 30 years after the dedication of the sculpture near Sullivan’s Feeding Hills birthplace.
The bronze sculpture, dedicated in June 1992 and called “Water,” is one the most prominent memorials to her in a small park now known as Anne Sullivan Park. It depicts Sullivan with Hellen Keller at the “miracle moment” when Sullivan spelled out the word “water” to Keller, as she moved a water pump handle, so water flowed over Keller’s cup and her hand, to help her connect the two things.
Katy Krause, a member of the chapter’s American History Committee, is also a member of the Agawam Historical Association, which paid for the design and installation of the sculpture. Since the DAR is a lineage society, she said it wanted to award the certificate and medal to a Sullivan family member. Krause, an Agawam resident, helped to identify Lancour as a Sullivan relative living in Feeding Hills.
“History and genealogy are my passions. The statue was dedicated before my time with the [Historical Association], but I knew there was mention of a relative,” she said.
Lancour said Sullivan deserves the award. She also hopes Sullivan can be an inspiration to kids today and future generations, including her eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
“Anne had lots of difficulties, with her blindness and her tough life as a child. She had a hard life on the farm, but she was a fighter — and a strong woman — who overcame many obstacles and worked hard for herself and others around her,” Lancour said.
The DAR presentation will take place at Anne Sullivan Park at 11 a.m. on April 30. The park is at the corner of South Westfield and Springfield streets, in front of Granger School.
The DAR is a women’s service organization whose members can trace their ancestry to an individual who contributed to securing American independence during the Revolutionary War. Today, it has more than 185,000 members in 3,000 chapters in the United States and abroad.
The Mercy Warren Chapter of the DAR was established in 1892 and is named for Mercy Otis Warren of West Barnstable, on Cape Cod. She was a poet, playwright and pamphleteer during the Revolutionary War.