Interview with Mrs. Ronneberg "Beauty of Braille"

by Lady Jess

I feel so blessed that God has allowed me to know such wonderful people. It has been a pleasure to know Miss Charlene and to be able to learn sign language in order to communicate with her. I also have the privilege of knowing Mrs. Ronneberg. Miss Virginia and I had the great opportunity of going to her home to learn all about her life and how she accomplishes her daily life while being blind.

We discovered that much of what she told me is so similar to the same things I have learned about the deaf. They find their way of living life no matter what obstacles they face. While Miss Charlene is without hearing and Mrs. Ronneberg is without sight, they actually have a lot in common.

Many people don't realize how incredibly smart the blind and the deaf can be. All they need is someone to teach them. Some of you might remember when Sisterlisa wrote about Helen Keller and her friend and teacher Anne Sullivan. Miss Keller was deaf and blind, yet Miss Sullivan was only blind. Hand in hand they worked together to build upon each other's lives.

While we spent the afternoon with Mrs. Ronneberg we were able to find out how she lives her life and my family and I found it fascinating!

Jess- At what age did you go blind?

Mrs. R.- I started going blind at age six. It was a progressive thing.

Jess- Are you completely blind?

Mrs. R.- No, I can still identify light and some shapes. I can tell that you are standing there, but I can't tell what you really look like.


Jess- Did you already know how to read before you learned braille?

Mrs. R.- No, I think I was too young to understand how to read.

Jess- In what ways do you serve God in the ministry?

Mrs. R.- My husband does the photography in the church, so when pastor is introducing them for baptism and things like that, I try to write down their names in order as fast as I can so that my husband can match them correctly when he makes the certificates.

Jess- Is it hard to go about your every day life?

Mrs. R.- No, I have sort of memorized pretty much where everything is in my house. If my husband or my son moves anything, they had better tell me, because I would probably bump into it or fall. I also had some one teach me how to do my makeup, so I can do that myself. But, if I get mascara under my eye, or something, my husband will tell me about it.



Jess- What is a memory you have that is special to you, from when you were a little girl?

Mrs. R.- I remember seeing certain things when I was younger, like different trees. So if anyone talks about a tree, I have a mental image of what it looks like.

Jess- Are there other family members that have lost their sight too?

Mrs. R.- Both of my older sisters have the same eye condition that I have.

Jess- Can you tell us what caused your blindness?

Mrs. R.- It's an inherited condition. Both of my sisters have the same, it's called Cone-rod Dystrophy.



Jess- What are a few things you miss seeing?

Mrs. R.- It's not that I miss seeing anything, it's normal. This is the way God made me, and I'm fine with that.


Jess- Were you able to go to school blind?
Mrs. R- I was able to attend a normal school with the help of a 'reader'. A woman would come to class with me and read the books to me.
Jess- That is like how Miss Charlene had an interpreter in school right?
Mrs. R.- Yes I would think that is the same.


Jess- How do you organize your food?
Mrs. R.- I make labels with Braille. I have made some that are magnetic and I add them to the canned food in my pantry. In my pantry I keep cardboard in between the food so I can easily find what I want to cook. My refrigerator has Braille labels also so I know what button I am pushing. For the stove I know the first click turns the stove on and half way around is medium. I have memorized how t o use everything in my home.

Jess- How do you choose your clothing each day?

Mrs. R.- I have it all memorized and labeled, I just have to be careful. I can see some things when they are right next to my face, but, for example, a black shoe and a navy blue shoe look awfully alike. I still sort-of rely on my husband and my son to tell me about that. I also keep my earring organized in little boxes, by color. I know where each earring is located!

Jess- What are some ways your husband helps you that you could not get through the day without?

Mrs. R.- He takes me different places and he describes things to me, so that I can 'see' what's going on.

Jess- How old were you when you learned to read and write in Braille?

Mrs. R.- I was seven years old. My older sisters had a tutor that would come over and help them learn how to read and write in braille. So, I sort-of caught on.

Jess- Are there many books in Braille form for you to enjoy?

Mrs. R.- No, I mostly listen to books on tape.

Jess- Do you have a Bible in Braille?

Mrs. R.- No, that would take volume after volume of books to get it all written down. I have the Bible on tape.

Jess- Are you a part of any blind groups? (If so what do they do together?)

Mrs. R.- Yes, I meet with a local support group. Sometimes we have speakers that come and talk about new resources for the blind.

Jess- Do you send letters to your sister in Braille?

Mrs. R.- No, we all have the same phone plan, so we just call each other.

Jess- Tell me about these items on your table. I see these two blocks that have pegs in them. Can you tell me about those?

Mrs. R.- Yes those are called Cell Blocks. Each block has 6 cells that the pegs go in. We use them for practicing Braille. You can take out the pegs and add in the ones for the letter or number you are trying to create. It's good to use these when you're first learning how to read and write in Braille.



Jess- That is so interesting! What else do you have here?

Mrs. R.- I have Braille playing cards and Braille dice. The dots on the dice are raised so I can 'see' what number is displayed. The cards have Braille too.







Jess- That is neat that you have a way to play games in Braille. What are these metal plates for?

Mrs. R.- These are called Slates. You can put cards in between them and use a Stylus to punch the holes into the cards to make words. You have to do it backwards so that when you turn the card around we can feel the dots. There are small ones and larger ones for bigger sheets of paper.

Jess- This is all so fascinating Mrs. R. Tell me about this machine you have over here.

Mrs. R.- Oh yes this is called a Braille Machine. You can use it like a typewriter.


Jess- This is really fun for us Mrs. R. What about this brown book I see?

Mrs. R.- This is the book I learned to read from. The first page shows you the alphabet and the dots that represent each letter and number. Anytime you want to make a capital letter you punch in one dot before the letter you want capitalized. I have some extra worksheets here for you to take home. You can use them to practice learning to write Braille.

Jess- That is great Mrs. R. Thank you! Can we send some to the winner of our Louis Braille book giveaway?

Mrs. R.- Oh yes of course you can! I have a Braille card you can take too.


Jess- Thank you so much for taking the time to let us interview you Mrs. R. We had a lot of fun learning abut your life and about Braille.

Mrs. R.- You're welcome girls. If you have any more questions just let me know. And please send my husband the link to this article so he can read it to me. :O)

Jess- Of course!







I have a book I read about Louis Braille. This book is intended for ages 9-12, but I found it very interesting.
When Louis Braille was very young he went blind by accident. Although his parents reluctantly sent him to a special school for the blind, by recommendation of the priest, God used that time to inspire him to create something that would benefit the blind learn in learning how to read. While growing up he had a passion for books, now that he is older he believes that he has invented a way for blind people to be able to read, but what is it? Will the world accept the invention brought forth by a blind man? This book has the answers and I think you will enjoy reading about his life.

Along with this book giveaway we are ALSO sending the winner the Braille worksheet pages Mrs. R. made for us. You will get:


1- The Braille Alphabet and Number Card
2- Mrs. R.'s name sheet in Braille for an example
3- A Blank Worksheet to practice on
4- The Braille Alphabet Sheet
5- A Blank Braille Alphabet sheet to practice on.
6- And a Message sheet that Mrs. R. wrote for you to decipher along with a sheet you can write your own message on.
7- And a special message from me just for our readers of GGM!
(and you may make copies of these for your siblings to practice too.)

This is a great learning experience for those who wish to learn about the Blind Culture. It sure has been a fun lesson for our home school.

To Enter please follow the directions below:

1. Subscribe to Growing in Grace Magazine and forward your subscription confirmation email to: ggmads@gmail.com

2. Leave a comment for Mrs. R. in the comment box below.

3. Post about this giveaway on your blog and leave us the link.


For additional culture study on the Blind you can go to The National Federation of the Blind.
Suggested topics to research:
Can the blind use a computer?
What other ways can those who are visually impaired read?
Are there libraries for the blind?
Guide Dogs
Are there Braille books for children?
Is there a school for the Blind near you?
Here is a story from a woman who wrote "Homemaking After I Became Blind" by Mary Lou Hentges


Lady Jess is a teen lady who is homeschooled along with her siblings. She assists her mother in teaching her younger siblings, is an interpreter in her church's deaf ministry, sings in the choir, and is the Toys for Tots Assistant in her county.