SEEING THE CHANGING HISTORY
Eyewear styles adapt with times
By SHARON KERR

Newsboy photo/ Sharon Kerr FREE VISION SCREENING doesn't take the place of seeing an optometrist or opthalmologist, but the portable unit can be used at health fairs and schools to help identify people most in need of glasses. Optician Betty Duckworth helps Ty Grissom through the brief exam.

Betty Duckworth and Wanda Shofner, both employed at Wal-Mart Vision Center, are closing fast on three decades worth of optometric history in Jasper.

Both began in 1979 when TSO (Texas State Optical) offered the only place in town to get an eye exam and glasses.

"Back then, the big thing was to talk people out of glass and into plastic lenses. They were afraid the plastic lenses would scratch. Huge glasses were stylish and with glass lenses, they would be so heavy they couldn't keep the glasses on their face," Duckworth said.

Duckworth and Shofner have seen a lot of styles come and go. While glass in glasses was still popular, women wanted facet-cut or beveled edges.

"Some even had rhinestones or their initials set right into the glass," Shofner recalled.

When "no-lines" bifocals first came out, opticians had to be trained to fit them vertically and horizontally. It could take up to an hour just to take all the measurements to fit them properly. Now that's all done by an autorefractor computer in a matter of seconds.

Safety glasses, required for many jobs regardless of vision correction, used to be industrial thickness. Now with impact-resistant polycarbonate materials, they can be much thinner, and with new coatings they are also scratch resistant.

"No more frog eyes," both women agreed.

"People don't have just one pair of glasses any more," Duckworth said. Glasses are occupationally specific- a pilot will use one type of lens, people who sit at a computer all day need a different type.

"One pair doesn't get the job done any more," according to Shofner.

Contact lenses have changed even more than eyeglasses.

"When we started, $250 covered the eye exam and one pair of contact lenses that lasted until you lost them or tore one," Duckworth said. "Now we sell disposable lenses you wear two to four weeks."

Duckworth explained that with disposables there is less chance of infection and therefore they are much healthier for the eyes.

"We would see smokers where the nicotine had yellowed the contacts that people kept for years," Shofner said.

Glasses are again popular and considered a fashion statement, but when contacts were first introduced in colors, that was a huge fashion draw. "They were high priced but even people who didn't need vision correction lined up to get them," according to Shofner.

She said that now they mostly sell such specialty contacts during Halloween.

"We have contacts that can make you look possessed, we have white-out zombie lenses and those with stars or spirals," Shofner said.

Frames have changed over the years as well. Plastic frames were easily broken and when metal frames were bent, it was time for a new pair. Titanium flex frames now have a memory and can be pulled back into shape after a mishap. They've also dropped in price from about $250 when introduced as a luxury item to an average of $100, on par with most frames offered today.

"Totally rimless is another popular style," Duckworth said, "and sunglasses. They're big again and going to great big sizes and funky shapes. Also retro styles like cat's eye."

However eye fashions change, Duckworth and Shofner keep up with it all through continuing education classes. However, it isnot something required by Texas. The state does not require a place that sells glasses to have licensed opticians on the floor.

"Texas is lax in that area, compared to other states," Duckworth observed. "Many states have programs similar to what a pharmacists has to do in terms of training, testing and internships."

Both women agree that time spent studying and passing the test for the American Board of Opticianry is worth the effort.

"We learn reasons you can't see, what's going on and how to fix it. You can save the doctors some time if you can fix the problem by adjusting the fit on your face. It's critical as to where the glasses set on your face," Duckworth said.

Both women recommend careers in optometry. They explained the different options in the field:

An optician fills eyewear prescriptions written by an optometrist or ophthalmologist.

An optometrist is not a medical doctor but has a post-bachelor's degree in optometry. Optometrists perform eye exams and prescribe glasses and contact lenses.

An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor licensed to practice medicine, perform eye surgery, treat and diagnose eye diseases, prescribe medication and also fit patients with glasses and contact lenses.