Old Farm Convalescent Hospital
Bedford Garden Club, Zone III
1945 Founders Fund Winner
From 1944-1947, Avon Old Farms School for boys was temporarily closed and loaned to President Franklin D. Roosevelt (a personal friend of school founder Mrs. Theodate Pope Riddle) as an oasis for blinded army veterans. Old Farm Convalescent Hospital offered many classes such as Braille, music, typing, woodworking, machinery as well as skills for daily living.
In 1945, the Bedford Garden Club of NY sponsored Columbia University landscape architect professor Hugh Findlay’s creation of garden tools designed for the blind specifically for use at Old Farm. He created several tools for the visually impaired to rake, dig and till a straight furrow accurately. One of them is the five pronged Norcross weeder which has a clip on its side so that it may attach to a galvanized wire and move along a straight line. Professor Findlay’s plan had been to provide tools only for this hospital but his concept was so popular that many other institutions asked for these tools. The Bedford Garden Club members were so pleased with the success of the project they donated an additional $1,554 to Professor Findlay for his work.
In 1948, the Avon Old Farms School re-opened and continues to thrive as a boys’ school today
