It started as nine Douglas County couples seeking better opportunities for their children, who had developmental disabilities before even public schools provided aid.

Now it’s 50 years of history that has helped heighten social awareness and open new doors for residents with disabilities in Douglas County and Kansas.

Thursday evening at a 1950s-style sock hop at Maceli’s, 1031 N.H., members of The Arc of Douglas County honored its founders and celebrated a half century of providing services and advocating for clients and their families.

“If you look around, it definitely would not be like this 50 years ago,” said Barbara Bishop, executive director of The Arc of Douglas County since 1997. “People with disabilities were either kept at home away from a community that didn’t understand them, or they had to be locked in an institution.”

Kathy Lobb was born with cerebral palsy, but for seven years she has met with legislators through her job at Arc and the Self Advocate Coalition of Kansas and discussed issues and services that involve the disabled.

“It’s helped me to advocate better for myself and others and be able to help other advocates be more self-reliant,” she said.

Lyman Wiley, Arc’s first president in 1956, stood amazed in the ballroom full of dozens of people as he thought about the early days.

“We were trying just to get off the ground,” he said.

Wiley and his wife, Bryona, were one of the nine founding couples, and they wanted to help find more opportunities for their son Ted, now 60.

Wiley said things fell into place as the group expanded and the Lawrence school district helped create a private program. United Way funding enabled classes to began in September 1956 in the old high school building at Ninth and Kentucky streets. In 1975, Congress then passed the Education of All Handicapped Children Act.

“The big effort was to bring these individuals and families out of the closet so that they could have a life because back in those days, there wasn’t any education, there wasn’t anything,” Wiley said.

The other founding members of Arc were Vernon and Jessie Branson; Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Bristol; Justyn and Richard Brown; Charlotte and John Glinka; Mr. and Mrs. Burton Marvin; Dr. and Mrs. Alfred Moore; Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Rice; and Lewis and Bess Stone.

The Arc currently manages cases for about 50 clients, plus 15 to 20 more who receive other services. It receives funding from the United Way of Douglas County and individual donors. It also receives reimbursement through Medicaid, Bishop said.

Frank Gossage, a 2005 Free State High School graduate, for the last year has received case management and positive-behavior support for his developmental disability.

“I like the people I’ve worked with,” Gossage said. “They taught me to think about my own job.”

Matt Enyart, Arc’s director of support services, said the organization’s history was amazing.

“I think, for us, it’s important to still move forward and to make sure that we don’t stop pushing,” he said.