Honoring a Legacy of Service, Leadership, and Generosity

Memories of Our Connection to The Maryland School for the Blind

*Text is summarized from the ‘document of memories’ written by Nancy and Bill Ratchford.

Our family’s connection to The Maryland School for the Blind stretches back more than a century, long before either of us imagined the role the school would play in our own lives.

The story begins with Bill’s great-grandparents, Thomas Jefferson Collins and Emma Virginia Patterson Collins, whose close relationship with John and Edna Bledsoe helped shape the future of the school. In 1907, Thomas Jefferson Collins negotiated the purchase of the 100-acre property that became the present campus of The Maryland School for the Blind. By 1909, Newcomer Hall and the four original cottages had been completed, establishing the campus that generations of students would call home.

After Bill’s grandmother, Mary Margaret Collins, lost both of her parents during the influenza epidemic of 1919–1920, she was welcomed into the Bledsoe home on the MSB campus. John and Edna Bledsoe raised her as one of their own until she married Bill’s father, William S. Ratchford, in 1927.

Bill’s father later became Director of the Maryland Workshop for the Blind, serving from 1939 until his retirement in 1966. During Bill’s teenage years, he even spent a summer helping deliver products made by employees of the workshop.

As a young boy, Bill spent many Sundays at the Bledsoe home on the MSB campus. Family dinners were treasured occasions, filled with conversation and tradition. He remembers sitting beside Aunt Edna, who always made sure his plate was filled first, and spending afternoons watching the adults gather while exploring the campus that would become such an important part of his life. Summers at the Bledsoe family’s home on the Magothy River brought more cherished memories of swimming, fishing, rowing, and sailing with Warren Bledsoe.

Nancy’s connection to MSB began years later. After graduating from Westhampton College at the University of Richmond with a degree in education, she and Bill were married in 1957. That same year, Nancy accepted a teaching position at The Maryland School for the Blind, where she taught from 1957 to 1960. She fondly remembers attending gatherings at the Superintendent’s home and becoming part of the close-knit school community. When the family moved to Prince George’s County in 1960, Nancy helped establish one of the county’s first programs serving students with visual impairments.

Bill’s lifelong connection to MSB came full circle when he joined the school’s Board of Directors. Returning to campus for board meetings, he often reflected on the many memories created there as a child while witnessing the school’s continued growth and transformation.

Today, the William S. Ratchford II Outdoor Learning Center represents the next chapter in our family’s enduring relationship with The Maryland School for the Blind. It is our hope that this space will inspire generations of students to learn through exploration, discover the beauty of the natural world, and build the confidence and independence that have always been at the heart of MSB’s mission.