ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 3, 1997 TAG: 9704030003
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ANGIE WATTS THE ROANOKE TIMES
Ralph Prescott came to Litton Poly-Scientific through a program that integrates blind people into mainstream jobs. He's thankful for the chance.
Being sent off to boarding school at age 3 would be hard on any child, but for Ralph Prescott, it was the greatest gift his parents could ever give.
Being away from home was hard, but those memories have faded. All Prescott remembers now is what he learned when he was away ... and the difference it made in his life.
Prescott was struck with glaucoma at age 3, an eye disease that left him blind - but remarkably aware. After more than 15 years at the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind in Staunton, Prescott had the tools to succeed in society.
He has put in 25 years of service as the food service manager for Litton Poly-Scientific, and at age 48 has opted for an early retirement.
"In a way I'm sad and in a way I'm glad," said Prescott, the day before his retirement party. "When it's all over, who knows. I will certainly miss the people, but I won't miss the work or getting up at 3 a.m. every morning."
Poly-Scientific houses more than 600 employees at its North Main Street location in Blacksburg, and Prescott estimates about half of them choose to spend their lunch break in the comfortable confines of the cafeteria each day. Impeccably clean, the cafeteria is also a haven of friendship, a place to laugh with friends. Prescott knew each of his customers by the sound of their voice and many by the mere sound of their footsteps. It's an art he mastered as a young boy.
"You can't pull tricks on him," said Rintha Simpson, one of three employees who worked for Prescott in the cafeteria. "He knows everyone and everything around this place. And really, he's always the one playing jokes on us, saying 'Oh, don't you look good today.' He's got a great sense of humor."
Prescott was paired with Poly-Scientific by Business Opportunities for the Blind, a nonprofit organization that matches graduates of such schools as the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind with prospective employers. The organization submitted a proposal to Litton on Oct. 15, 1971, and began construction on a new cafeteria equipped with such things as a talking cash register and Braille vending machines soon after.
"I do just about everything around here," Prescott said. "I manage three employees, help plan menus, order food, run the cash register, stock shelves and load vending machines. Everything but cook."
And letting go won't be easy. Prescott's life has changed dramatically in his time at Litton, where he arrived a 22-year-old single man, alone, living in a motel and taking a taxi to and from work each day. He is now a happily married man of 16 years, with two stepchildren, two young grandchildren and an abundance of friends.
"I had a friend who managed the apartments across the street, and after I found out Ralph was living in a motel I took him there one afternoon," said Davis Walker, vice president of industrial relations for Litton. "We were walking through and I was saying 'this is the living room, here's the bathroom' and so forth. Then I took him into the bathroom and put his hand on the light switch and said, 'here is the light switch.' Ralph just started laughing and said, 'Why would I need a light switch?'"
That was his first home, and despite the dangers of crossing North Main Street each morning and afternoon as he walked to work, he lived there for several years.
"Isn't he just amazing," said Annie Oliver, switchboard receptionist at the plant. "Good 'ol Ralph, there'll never be another one like him."
It's a sentiment shared by many at Litton, who said they marvelled continually at Prescott as he whipped though the cash register to produce change for their lunch orders. Building a trust with his customers, Prescott asked each person in the line what they ordered. Then he rang it up either in his head or on the cash register, and trusted that the money they handed him was what they owed.
"I've learned a lot from Ralph," said Simpson. "He doesn't complain about anything and it makes you really stop and think if you go to complaining. He has so much more to overcome."
Prescott might disagree. From his perspective, the only thing he misses out on doing is ironing (which he doesn't really miss) and driving. And friends say he's even been known sneak a little driving in on a deserted strip.
"I do just about everything I want to do now," Prescott said. "But retirement means I'll have more time to do it in."
A country music lover, Prescott and his wife, Melvene, have visited Nashville and attended a multitude of country concerts in the past. What they have been putting off for years is a trip to Branson, Mo. In light of Prescott's retirement, the couple has already reserved their seats a on Sunshine Tours bus for October.
"In 25 years, Ralph has only missed about seven or eight days of work," Walker said. "He's become an integral part of our culture here. He's a big part of the reason we're going to continue our partnership with the Business Opportunities for the Blind. We're going through the selection process to find another worker now. Not a replacement, because Ralph could never be replaced, but someone new."
Poly-Scientific is one of eight companies in the New River and Roanoke valleys that employ workers through the nonprofit organization. Others include New River and Wytheville community colleges, the post office, the federal building and city hall in Roanoke, Rowe Furniture in Salem and Webb Furniture in Galax.
"Companies like these all over the state of Virginia offer opportunities for people who are either partially or completely blind," Prescott said. "For me, the management here at the plant has always been good to me. I never wanted to look anywhere else for work because I was happy here. I want to not only thank them for the opportunity they gave me, but that when I leave, the program will still be here."
Walker said the decision to keep the program was easy.
"I never gave it any thought," Walker said. "Just close your eyes and walk around the room once - it builds instant respect."
LENGTH: Long : 113 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM THE ROANOKE TIMES A day before his retirementby CNBlast week, Ralph Prescott performs his usual gig of cashier handling
both the snack and food lines during lunch. Workers tell him what
they have and read back the register total to him. He can usually
recognize the person by their voice. color