Blind Man Selling Insurance?

Jacquelyn S. Coy, CLU

This remarkable man was recently honored by Northwest-Jersey AIFA.

A blind man with a guide dog, selling insurance? Yes, indeed, and this same blind man, Morris Frank, founded The Seeing Eye, the first guide dog organization in the United States.

It is the inspiring story of this blind man that led us, the Northwest Jersey Association of Insurance and Financial Professionals, to dedicate our annual golf outing to Morris Frank and donate all proceeds to The Seeing Eye.

Morris grew up in Tennessee, where he was blinded in each eye by two separate accidents — the first involving an overhanging branch while horseback riding, and the second at age 16 in a playground brawl.

In 1924, being blind meant no job — no way to earn a living. Most blind people were offered work in a factory making brooms, which Morris declined. Instead he went from door to door selling insurance, led by young black men whom he paid to escort him. One day, one of those men demanded a raise while on the job, and when Morris refused, the man abandoned him in the middle of the city.

The founding of the Seeing Eye School

After that, Morris decided that there must be a better way to get around. His father read him a Saturday Evening

Post article written by Dorothy Harrison Eustis, who was an American residing in Switzerland and training German shepherds for the Swiss police.

Dorothy’s article was about a guide-dog program in Germany for soldiers blinded in World War I. Morris was int rigued and excited about the possibility of a guide dog for himself, and he wrote an impassioned letter to Dorothy, pleading with her to allow him to go to Europe and train with one of her animals.

She eventually replied in the affirmative, and Morris promptly boarded a ship to Europe. He returned some months later with Buddy, his first guide dog, and the first one in the United States. Together, Morris and Dorothy founded a school that matched blind individuals with trained guide dogs.

The first such school, The Seeing Eye, opened in Nashville in 1929, and after a few years it was relocated to Whippany and then to Morristown, New Jersey, where it flourishes today and where, coincidentally, the local life underwriters group would eventually have their monthly meetings.

But it would be years before our local association and Morris Frank would meet because Morris worked diligently at The Seeing Eye for almost 30 years, building a successful organization, developing a puppy- breeding operation and recruiting students from all over the United States.

His main job was fundraising, and he traveled far and wide by train with his dog, raising awareness of the predicament of the blind community and the independence and self-assurance that could be gained by training with a guide dog at The Seeing Eye.

Back to insurance

When Morris retired from the organization in 1956, he opened an office in Morristown and returned to selling insurance. There are people around today who remember being helped by him and his staff. There is the story of a poor/rich girl who was an orphan from New York City who owned a Porsche but could not get it insured. She was advised by a friend of a friend to travel to New Jersey and visit Morris, and the insurance was issued. There are also those who remember him from his attendance at meetings of NALU (now NAIFA), with luncheons held at the local country club.

Morris sold insurance until his death in 1980. He was eulogized by many at his crowded funeral service, and at the end of the final prayers, as his casket was loaded into the hearse, those looking from the doorway of the church saw, standing just behind the hearse, his dog, Buddy.

Morris will long be remembered in the Morristown community and far beyond. A statue of him, with Buddy by his side, stands prominently in the Morristown Green. Students with their guide dogs still walk the streets of Morristown with their trainers, getting used to the hustle and bustle of city life. They even used to ride the escalators of the now-defunct Macy’s Department Store to practice getting on and off a difficult conveyance. (The Seeing Eye has since installed an escalator in its parking garage).

So, with this history, it is no surprise that after several years of donating the proceeds of our outing to various worthy organizations, we decided to honor one of our own, Morris Frank, and the great organization he founded, The Seeing Eye.

Jacqueline Coy, CLU, has been a NALU (now NAIFA) member since 1978. She was president of her local association, Northwest Jersey, and subsequently president of the State of New Jersey association. She is also a past trustee of AHIA. Currently, she serves as executive for her local association.

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In 1924, most blind people were offered work in a factory making brooms, which Morris declined. Instead he went from door to door selling insurance.