VIDBE-Q Volume 68 Issue 1
school and the first book was printed in 1869. Superintendent Bryce Patten served
as superintendent of both the school and the printing house.
The Colored School for the Blind, built on Haldeman Avenue adjacent to the
Kentucky Institution for the Blind, opened in October 1884. That school merged
with KSB in 1955. In 1910, the Kentucky Institution for the Blind formed Boy
Scout Troop 10. Still active today, it is the first troop in U.S. serving students with
disabilities. In 1916, the name of the school changed to Kentucky School for the
Blind. In 1917, former KSB student Gladys Knight graduated from the University
of Louisville, the first blind person in Kentucky to do so. KSB aligned curriculum
to meet state requirements in 1931 and issued Kentucky high school diplomas for
the first time to 15 graduates in 1933.
In 1946, Superintendent Paul J. Langan negotiated with public schools to
allow KSB students to attend high school during their junior and senior years with
sighted students. In 1950, boys went to Male High School and girls attended
Halleck Hall (now duPont Manual High School). In 1953, the Louisville
Downtown Lions Club provided a Christmas Party and dinner for KSB students, a
tradition that continues today.
Will D. Evans, a KSB alumnus, was hired as teacher in 1967 and served as
Superintendent from 1974-95. Under his leadership, KSB experienced a five-
building, 20-year development on campus. The school established its Low Vision
