History of Christian Record Services
Past & Present Presidents and Editors of CRS
In 1899, Austin O. Wilson, a legally blind young man in his early 20s, was
concerned about the lack of Christian reading material available for the blind.
He decided to try an experiment. Taking a clothes wringer, he modified it to
accommodate two metal plates with a sheet of heavy paper between them. As the plates
were squeezed through the wringer, the raised dots on the plates made an impression
on the paper, producing one page of a braille magazine he entitled the Christian Record.
It started with the dream of one man. One hundred years later, the Christian Record is still being published, along with eight other periodicals.
Austin Wilson produced 75 copies of the first Christian Record. In the 1920s, the Christian Record was being placed in the hands of thousands of blind people around the world.
In 1933 and 1934, Christian Record was one of the exhibitors in the Hall of Religion at the World's Fair, themed "A Century of Progress," in Chicago, Illinois. A year later, Christian Record was again prominently represented in the Hall of Science at America's Exposition, held in San Diego, California.
In 1950, the first talking books were recorded for Christian Record. There are now over 1700 talking books available through the Christian Record lending library.
In 1967, National Camps for Blind Children was formed. That first summer camp was held in Florida with 23 youth. Since then, nearly 50,000 campers have attended these special camps.
In August of 1999, Christian Record Services celebrated 100 years of service to the blind and visually impaired.
© 2013 Christian Record Services for the Blind / National Camps for Blind Children
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
Lincoln, Nebraska, USA 68506-0097
Phone 402.488.0981 - www.christianrecord.org
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