Walking down the 4th floor of
Fry Hall, you’ll find a picture and certificate on the wall. The paper is a 1943
certificate from the Ohio State Board of Optometry for Ruth Elizabeth Penrod
Morris to practice optometry in the state of Ohio. I became intrigued by these two items and wanted to know more.
A search of the internet yielded a great
article about her on the college’s website: http://optometry.osu.edu/alumni/pdfs/Alumni-NL-FA08.pdf
Based on
that article, here’s my rendition of her story, but I highly encourage you to
read the whole story using the link above:
Dr. Ruth
Morris (1919 - 2011) decided as a child that she would become an eye doctor. The decision was made the day her mother
walked her and her three brothers to the local library where her mom told each
of them to take out three books. Having
wandered into the science area of the library, she decided then and there that
she would be an eye doctor.
When she was
16, her parents helped her with bus fare to Columbus. She went immediately to
the Dean of Women and asked how much money she needed to come to OSU. Although
the price she was quoted was enormously high, especially for her circumstances,
she told her folks not worry, that she would be an optometrist.
To pay her
way, she held as many as three jobs at one time. Eventually she landed a job at an optical
business that helped her meet the financial needs of becoming an
optometrist. She was the only girl at
OSU among her colleagues in optometry school. From the day she arrived at
Columbus, she didn't see her family until after her senior year and had married
her husband that same year.
Shortly
thereafter her husband left for years of combat in Germany. Going home to live
with her parents back in Toledo, her employer from college introduced her to
his life-long friend in Toledo, an optometrist.
Dr. Parker interviewed her, like her on the spot and hired her. When Dr.
Parker unexpectedly passed away a few months later, she took over the practice
as were Dr. Parker's wishes.
When her
husband returned home after World War II, he went to school and became an
optometrist and joined the practice with her.
Dr. Ruth Morris
is a credit to the Ohio State University College of Optometry through her distinguished
service to the profession and the community.
There is a distinguished alumnus award given by the college named in honor of her and her husband, of whom she was the first recipient.
A picture may tell a thousand words, but
sometimes those words only scratch the surface of the story.
