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[[File:Aslaug Haviland.pdf|upright|thumb|Haviland in 1963]]
'''Aslaug Haviland''' (January 19, 1913 – January 6, 2003), known as "Utah's Helen Keller" was a deaf and blind Norwegian woman who came to the United States at the age of 16 to attend the [[Perkins School for the Blind|Perkins Institute]] in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]]. She became a nationally renowned motivational speaker.
==Biography==
Aslaug Haviland was born in [[Bergen]], Norway, January 19, 1913.<ref name="Aslaug Haviland">{{cite web|title=Aslaug Haviland|url=http://www.deathfigures.com/index.php?id=Ha-75549964|website=deathfigures.com|accessdate=August 12, 2016}}</ref> At age 12 she contracted scarlet fever, and as a result lost both her hearing and vision.<ref name="Jolley Interview">{{cite news|last1=Jolley|first1=Clifton|title=A Touch can Reveal Life to Those with Sensory Handicaps|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19850628&id=1JczAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VYQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1410,5754937&hl=en|accessdate=August 12, 2016|work=The Deseret News|issue=June 28, 1985|location=Salt Lake City, Utah}}</ref> Little is known about her early life except that after the loss of her hearing she first attended Norway's school for the deaf, where she learned sign language, and later went on to attend the Royal School for the Blind.<ref name="Daily Herald Bio">{{cite news|title=Blindness, Loss of Hearing Fails to Daunt Woman in Search of Self-Support|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/25633549/|accessdate=August 12, 2016|work=The Daily Herald|date=25 September 1963|location=Provo, Utah}}</ref><ref name="Greenberg Lecture">{{cite web|last1=Greenberg|first1=Joanne|title=My sister's Husband, a German Major, and a Ninety-eight Pound Norwegian|url=http://facultysenate.mines.edu/dist_lecture/greenberg_text.shtml|website=facultysenate.mines.edu|accessdate=August 12, 2016}}</ref> At the age of 16, Haviland's family was able to save up enough money to send her to the Perkins School for the Blind. There was not, however, enough money for anyone to travel with her, so Haviland traveled alone by boat to Boston. She recorded that all of the individuals on the boat, including the captain, looked after her. Even though she was ill for both the journey and most of her time in Boston, Haviland had a great desire to learn English.<ref name="Greenberg Lecture" /> Though Haviland returned to Norway after her studies at the Perkins School for the Blind had finished, she eventually was able to teach herself English.<ref name="Daily Herald Bio" />
Haviland married and had a son, George. In 1952 she, her husband Arne, and her son immigrated to [[Winnipeg]], [[Manitoba]], Canada. Aslaug and her son joined the [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] in Norway, and in 1958 after the death of her husband, she and George immigrated to the United States and traveled to Utah.<ref name="Daily Herald Bio" />
Haviland moved to [[Murray, Utah|Murray]], and over time became known as "Utah's [[Helen Keller]]".<ref name="Utah's Helen Keller">{{cite news|title='Utah's Helen Keller' Talks in Provo Tonight|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/36872466/?terms=Utah%27s%2BHelen%2BKeller|accessdate=August 1, 2016|work=The Sunday Herald|date=3 November 1963|location=Provo, Utah|page=6}}</ref> Haviland was a popular speaker in Utah and the west coast, giving both motivational speeches and training on handicaps and rehabilitation.<ref name="Public Speaker">{{cite news|title='Helen Keller of Utah' to Speak at Child Haven|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/25635669/?terms=Utah%27s%2BHelen%2BKeller|accessdate=August 1, 2016|work=The Daily Herald|date=2 October 1963|location=Provo, Utah|page=3}}</ref> Haviland spoke to the general public at open meetings, but also to professional and government organizations, including both the Governor's Advisory Council for the Visually Handicapped and the Coordinating Council of Organizations and Agencies Serving the Blind at their 1974 conference at [[Brigham Young University]].<ref name="Speech to Advisory Council">{{cite news|title=Meet Slated by Agencies Serving the Blind in Utah|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/6573611/?terms=Aslaug%2BHaviland|accessdate=August 1, 2016|work=The Daily Herald|date=12 December 1974|location=Provo, Utah}}</ref> Haviland was also heavily involved in planning and implementing job training programs for the deaf and blind.<ref name="Job Training">{{cite news|title=Job Training Planned for Blind and Deaf|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/6097744/?terms=Aslaug%2BHaviland|accessdate=August 1, 2016|work=The Daily Herald|date=4 October 1972|location=Provo, Utah|page=3}}</ref>
Despite her double handicap, Haviland strove for independence and had a strong desire to learn new things. In 1977 she was given a scholarship to attend a nine-week ceramics class at the Salt Lake Art Center school. The class was designed specifically for the blind, and Haviland was named one of the "star pupils".<ref name="Ceramics Class">{{cite news|title=Ceramics Class Makes a Dream Come True|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/10551789/?terms=Aslaug%2BHaviland|accessdate=August 1, 2016|work=The Salt Lake Tribune|date=29 May 1977|location=Salt Lake City, Utah|page=126}}</ref>
Haviland's son George would go on to graduate from the University of Utah and serve an [[Mission (LDS Church)|LDS mission]] in [[Denmark]].<ref name="Daily Herald Bio" /> He worked as an admissions counselor at [[BYU]].<ref name="Speech to Advisory Council" />
Haviland was made an American citizen in 1964.<ref name="Obtains Citizenship">{{cite news|title=Becomes Citizen Despite Handicap|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/23673443/?terms=aslaug%2Bvaieland|accessdate=August 1, 2016|work=Oshkosh Daily Northwestern|date=9 April 1964|location=Oshkosh, Wisconsin|page=1}}</ref> Though Federal Judge [[A. Sherman Christensen]] offered to waive the repetition of the oath of citizenship, Haviland requested to be able to participate in the ceremony.<ref name="Obtains Citizenship" /> Senator [[Wallace F. Bennett]] reported that it was "one of 1964's most unusual naturalization cases".<ref name="Oath Interpretation">{{cite news|title=Most Unusual Naturalization Case Mentioned|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/29843427/?terms=aslaug%2Bvaieland|accessdate=August 1, 2016|work=The Ogden Standard-Examiner|date=13 January 1965|location=Ogden, Utah}}</ref> An arrangement was made by which as the judge read the oath, a friend of Havilands translated it into sign language and tapped it out into Haviland's palm.<ref name="Oath Interpretation" />
Haviland died in Utah on January 6, 2003, at the age of 89.<ref name="Aslaug Haviland"/>
==References==
{{reflist|40em}}
==External links==
* Haviland, George Arne. [https://findingaid.lib.byu.edu/viewItem/MSS%206864 Aslaug Haviland Scrapbooks and Memoir]. Provo, Utah: L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University.
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haviland, Aslaug}}
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:Motivational speakers]]
[[Category:Norwegian emigrants to Canada]]
[[Category:Norwegian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Deafblind people from Norway]]
[[Category:Deafblind people from the United States]]
[[Category:People from Bergen]]
[[Category:People from Murray, Utah]]
[[Category:People with acquired American citizenship]]
'''Aslaug Haviland''' (January 19, 1913 – January 6, 2003), known as "Utah's Helen Keller" was a deaf and blind Norwegian woman who came to the United States at the age of 16 to attend the [[Perkins School for the Blind|Perkins Institute]] in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]]. She became a nationally renowned motivational speaker.
==Biography==
Aslaug Haviland was born in [[Bergen]], Norway, January 19, 1913.<ref name="Aslaug Haviland">{{cite web|title=Aslaug Haviland|url=http://www.deathfigures.com/index.php?id=Ha-75549964|website=deathfigures.com|accessdate=August 12, 2016}}</ref> At age 12 she contracted scarlet fever, and as a result lost both her hearing and vision.<ref name="Jolley Interview">{{cite news|last1=Jolley|first1=Clifton|title=A Touch can Reveal Life to Those with Sensory Handicaps|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19850628&id=1JczAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VYQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1410,5754937&hl=en|accessdate=August 12, 2016|work=The Deseret News|issue=June 28, 1985|location=Salt Lake City, Utah}}</ref> Little is known about her early life except that after the loss of her hearing she first attended Norway's school for the deaf, where she learned sign language, and later went on to attend the Royal School for the Blind.<ref name="Daily Herald Bio">{{cite news|title=Blindness, Loss of Hearing Fails to Daunt Woman in Search of Self-Support|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/25633549/|accessdate=August 12, 2016|work=The Daily Herald|date=25 September 1963|location=Provo, Utah}}</ref><ref name="Greenberg Lecture">{{cite web|last1=Greenberg|first1=Joanne|title=My sister's Husband, a German Major, and a Ninety-eight Pound Norwegian|url=http://facultysenate.mines.edu/dist_lecture/greenberg_text.shtml|website=facultysenate.mines.edu|accessdate=August 12, 2016}}</ref> At the age of 16, Haviland's family was able to save up enough money to send her to the Perkins School for the Blind. There was not, however, enough money for anyone to travel with her, so Haviland traveled alone by boat to Boston. She recorded that all of the individuals on the boat, including the captain, looked after her. Even though she was ill for both the journey and most of her time in Boston, Haviland had a great desire to learn English.<ref name="Greenberg Lecture" /> Though Haviland returned to Norway after her studies at the Perkins School for the Blind had finished, she eventually was able to teach herself English.<ref name="Daily Herald Bio" />
Haviland married and had a son, George. In 1952 she, her husband Arne, and her son immigrated to [[Winnipeg]], [[Manitoba]], Canada. Aslaug and her son joined the [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] in Norway, and in 1958 after the death of her husband, she and George immigrated to the United States and traveled to Utah.<ref name="Daily Herald Bio" />
Haviland moved to [[Murray, Utah|Murray]], and over time became known as "Utah's [[Helen Keller]]".<ref name="Utah's Helen Keller">{{cite news|title='Utah's Helen Keller' Talks in Provo Tonight|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/36872466/?terms=Utah%27s%2BHelen%2BKeller|accessdate=August 1, 2016|work=The Sunday Herald|date=3 November 1963|location=Provo, Utah|page=6}}</ref> Haviland was a popular speaker in Utah and the west coast, giving both motivational speeches and training on handicaps and rehabilitation.<ref name="Public Speaker">{{cite news|title='Helen Keller of Utah' to Speak at Child Haven|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/25635669/?terms=Utah%27s%2BHelen%2BKeller|accessdate=August 1, 2016|work=The Daily Herald|date=2 October 1963|location=Provo, Utah|page=3}}</ref> Haviland spoke to the general public at open meetings, but also to professional and government organizations, including both the Governor's Advisory Council for the Visually Handicapped and the Coordinating Council of Organizations and Agencies Serving the Blind at their 1974 conference at [[Brigham Young University]].<ref name="Speech to Advisory Council">{{cite news|title=Meet Slated by Agencies Serving the Blind in Utah|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/6573611/?terms=Aslaug%2BHaviland|accessdate=August 1, 2016|work=The Daily Herald|date=12 December 1974|location=Provo, Utah}}</ref> Haviland was also heavily involved in planning and implementing job training programs for the deaf and blind.<ref name="Job Training">{{cite news|title=Job Training Planned for Blind and Deaf|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/6097744/?terms=Aslaug%2BHaviland|accessdate=August 1, 2016|work=The Daily Herald|date=4 October 1972|location=Provo, Utah|page=3}}</ref>
Despite her double handicap, Haviland strove for independence and had a strong desire to learn new things. In 1977 she was given a scholarship to attend a nine-week ceramics class at the Salt Lake Art Center school. The class was designed specifically for the blind, and Haviland was named one of the "star pupils".<ref name="Ceramics Class">{{cite news|title=Ceramics Class Makes a Dream Come True|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/10551789/?terms=Aslaug%2BHaviland|accessdate=August 1, 2016|work=The Salt Lake Tribune|date=29 May 1977|location=Salt Lake City, Utah|page=126}}</ref>
Haviland's son George would go on to graduate from the University of Utah and serve an [[Mission (LDS Church)|LDS mission]] in [[Denmark]].<ref name="Daily Herald Bio" /> He worked as an admissions counselor at [[BYU]].<ref name="Speech to Advisory Council" />
Haviland was made an American citizen in 1964.<ref name="Obtains Citizenship">{{cite news|title=Becomes Citizen Despite Handicap|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/23673443/?terms=aslaug%2Bvaieland|accessdate=August 1, 2016|work=Oshkosh Daily Northwestern|date=9 April 1964|location=Oshkosh, Wisconsin|page=1}}</ref> Though Federal Judge [[A. Sherman Christensen]] offered to waive the repetition of the oath of citizenship, Haviland requested to be able to participate in the ceremony.<ref name="Obtains Citizenship" /> Senator [[Wallace F. Bennett]] reported that it was "one of 1964's most unusual naturalization cases".<ref name="Oath Interpretation">{{cite news|title=Most Unusual Naturalization Case Mentioned|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/29843427/?terms=aslaug%2Bvaieland|accessdate=August 1, 2016|work=The Ogden Standard-Examiner|date=13 January 1965|location=Ogden, Utah}}</ref> An arrangement was made by which as the judge read the oath, a friend of Havilands translated it into sign language and tapped it out into Haviland's palm.<ref name="Oath Interpretation" />
Haviland died in Utah on January 6, 2003, at the age of 89.<ref name="Aslaug Haviland"/>
==References==
{{reflist|40em}}
==External links==
* Haviland, George Arne. [https://findingaid.lib.byu.edu/viewItem/MSS%206864 Aslaug Haviland Scrapbooks and Memoir]. Provo, Utah: L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University.
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haviland, Aslaug}}
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:Motivational speakers]]
[[Category:Norwegian emigrants to Canada]]
[[Category:Norwegian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Deafblind people from Norway]]
[[Category:Deafblind people from the United States]]
[[Category:People from Bergen]]
[[Category:People from Murray, Utah]]
[[Category:People with acquired American citizenship]]
