One of the most insightful quotations about being blind was made by the infamous blind Helen Keller. She was an author, lecturer, actress, and political activist who was blinded at 19 months of age by a mysterious illness and the first blind woman to get a Bachelor of Arts degree. The movie “The Miracle Worker” told her life story and that of Annie Sullivan who tutored Helen. Her quote is the astounding comment about blindness: “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” What extraordinary vision she had.
Kathleene Runnels, author of Glimpse, is showcasing men and women who “…endured vision impairment but improvised to overcome.” She featured her dad for the first person in the column where she is honoring and recognizing men and women for Blindness Awareness Month. One of her dad’s and mother’s friends was Mary Annis Sikes, who was born blind and later designated legally blind, having also had macular degeneration, detached retina, eye cancer and removal of one eye. However, these issues became stepping stones, not roadblocks.
Like Helen Keller implied, Annis had many visions: graduate from high school, get training, get married, raise her three children (who were 51 weeks apart in age), keep us kids housed, fed, educated, all as a single mother for most of her life.
Annis graduated Brackenridge High School in mid-thirties after overcoming many obstacles and married in 1940. After five years of marriage, there was a divorce. Determined to carry on, she was invited by Van Treese family to stay with them for the better part of a year before moving to government housing. While there, she assisted in house chores, baby sitting the Van Treeses’ two children and helping in any way she could.
Even though she was blind, it was never mentioned to her children. As we got older, we figured out she didn’t have very good vision, but we children never asked about her sight. She did not want pity and was out to prove she could raise the kids. But a few things gave us a clue about her vision as we got older: threading an entire package of needles [for her], reading street signs and grocery prices, watching the cars as she crossed streets. Otherwise, life went on and until she passed away, we never really knew for sure what she could or could not see.
Annis went to Texas School for the Blind in Austin to take a short course to learn how to run a lobby newsstand–also called blind stand, newspaper stand. These businesses gave the visually impaired priority to manage the facilities, which sold drinks, candy, tobacco products (sometimes giving the lobby business the name of cigar stand), newspapers, etc. These businesses were located in lobbies of government buildings, hotels, and commercial buildings, created by The Randolph Shepherd Act of 1936.
Annis’ first lobby stand was in the downtown San Antonio Arsenal, a major army supply depot for World War II (presently H.E.B. headquarters).
Living on the southeast part of San Antonio she rode the city bus to work and back. When coming home, she had all the money from the day’s sales in a cigar box with a rubber band around it. Now comes the ingenious improvisation and a valuable lesson for her daughter, about 10 years old. Annis had her stack money in dollar amounts: four quarters, 20 nickels, etc. Then, the daughter would pick up the coins, tell Annis the denomination, put them back in cigar box. She told her how to write the amount in a column. When all coins were written on the pad, Annis would add the amounts in her head and get the daughter to write them down. Usually, this was done twice to check for accuracy. So, improvisation for the momma, math practice for the daughter. Sadly, she had to give up this career as too many people would steal items from her.
In the interest of improving the housing and neighborhood, the family moved from the government housing to a duplex in the southeast part of town. She took a job with the State Tuberculosis Hospital for a short time, then she transferred to the San Antonio State Hospital where her social worker friend asked for her to be assigned to her as a “housekeeper,” the official job title. Here, she helped Bertha Sperring do all sorts of things: baking cookies for patients at Christmas and wrapping presents, setting up various parties, going to “rich” people’s houses to retrieve donated goods, etc. She helped Mrs. Sperring give parties for Handicapped Club, cooked for church and neighbors.
One more final house move. Annis bought a house converted into a duplex and had permanent income in addition to her state retirement. This brought on another innovation! She had to move all her furnishings. Of course, we never had a car. Mostly, we walked or rode the city bus. This time, the two “grown” sons, around 16 and 17, helped. They had a two-wheel trailer loaded with household furnishings, which they pulled by the tongue, and Annis pushed from behind. It had to be a dire emergency for her to ask for help. The daughter was in college and was only told this story.
The main transportation was a Red Ryder wagon. It was pulled down to the corner grocery store for groceries then hauled up hill a couple blocks loaded with groceries.
When the daughter was in 5th grade and had an ingrown toenail removed, the boys had to pull her in the wagon, up the hill a couple of blocks. The ride home was usually a big shove of the wagon to go downhill, sometimes overturning. But Annis accomplished lots with that wagon and refused to call on people to drive us around.
Wash day was always a trip. The old wringer Maytag was drug out of the shed, filled with water and sorted clothes. Once, the colored clothes had a garment that kept rising out of the hot soapy water. One of the kids told her and she got her broom handle, poked around the garment, which kept coming up. Finally, she took the stick and pulled the garment out: a poor, drenched but still alive kitten was inside that Annis didn’t see.
Annis usually worked two jobs-the state hospital and she worked in the nursery at church on Sundays and Wednesdays. She also did a lot of cooking for the people of Hot Wells Baptist Church, across the street from her house. She was a Charter Member of Hot Wells Baptist Church and was one of two remaining members when the church burned the note. She also babysat neighbor kids.
Annis’ house had swinging doors on it. Many people have lived temporarily with her, kids were always welcome and fed. Often she brought home mental patients for holiday meals. Once, she and Mrs. Sperring hosted 20 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor girls who came to San Antonio for a religious convention.
Another vision Annis had was she determined that all three of her kids would graduate from high school, not exactly smooth sailing with one of the siblings skipping school. She would ride the city bus to the school whenever the principal called. Dreaded event! All three graduated. One son joined the Marines and went to Vietnam, the other was drafted into the Army and went to Korea. They returned home and went to college. Both sons were self-employed as well as having other successful jobs. One graduated, the other lacked only a speech course to graduate, but wouldn’t take it.
The girl graduated and became a teacher. So, another vision accomplished.
Annis had many, many friends. A lot were vision impaired and they often met together and would eat and play dominoes while the young kids played outside till dark. When they went in the house, the grownups were in the dark playing dominoes. The kids would ask permission to turn on lights.
Annis used to say that where there’s a will, there is a way. She definitely had a strong, independent will and always found a way. On about $200.00 a month, she managed to get her three children grown, educated and they all have had rewarding and good lives. They gave her eight grandchildren.
In her last couple of years, Annis moved into a nursing home per her request in McGregor, TX, where she lived until she was a few months shy of 90. She always helped others; she gave sacrificially; she had an outgoing personality, and accomplished many visions. Her oldest grandson Bobby said it best: “To some it seemed she was handed more than her share of adversity. She didn’t seem to notice. Always smiling and always happy. It tells a lot about a person.”
The above story was written by Annis Sikes’ daughter, Portia Sikes McKown, who remains a dear family friend.
