Second Dedication of Arcan Ridge, delivered at Westport, Connecticut (October 3, 1947)

Transcription

James Melton, your voice has again rung its power and nobility into my hand and reinterpreted for me the meaning of the Lord's Prayer. Long may it continue to carry joy and inspiration!

And, Mrs. McClure, I am tenderly indebted to you for a lovely deed. I rejoice in this opportunity to thank you through whom this multitude of gifts has been contributed to make Arcan Ridge a new temple of independence, self-reliance and service to others.

Dear friends, what am I to say, And (sic) how am I to behave in the presence of your beautiful good-will. You have been so generous to me in such unexpected, helpful ways that I am at a loss how to thank you verbally. It is just like New England which I have always loved, whose ideals I have cherished and whose abounding hospitality has rendered my dark silence sweet. Since my house had to vanish in the flames, it is a consolation to be in New England where you, friends, have gathered together to compensate me for my loss.

I feel that you have dowered me thus not for anything I have done, but rather because I represent the handicapped and their endeavors towards inner light and harmony. After the frightful conditions I witnessed into which the late War plunged the blind of Europe, all I want is to have m home a workshop of service, so that I may help revive them with fresh hope and self-renewal, and I am inexpressibly grateful to you for having opened a road for me to that goal.

Polly wishes to join her heartfelt thanks to my own. Her share in you kindness will uphold her in the labors we pursue together that are the happiness and the dignity of our lives.