Rev. Eric Pridmore, 38, hasn't let blindness stop him from hunting. The mounted antlers from a three-point buck he shot hang over his fireplace, a testament to his marksmanship. Pridmore's friend, Ted Kendall IV, helped him gain his trophy.
"I didn't think the two of us operating a shotgun together could hit the side of a barn, much less a deer, but we did," Pridmore explained.
A Columbus native, Rev. Pridmore will be featured on a new episode of "Mississippi Roads" airing tonight at 7 p.m. on Mississippi Public Broadcasting. "Mississippi Roads," hosted by Walt Grayson, is a weekly program featuring unique people and places across the state of Mississippi.
Born with a degenerative eye disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa, Pridmore has always had limited vision. Early in life, he could see well enough to function, and wasn't actually diagnosed until he was 15. Despite this limitation, Pridmore's parents expected him to go to college and do the things that other kids did. He even had a car and driver's license.
"Somehow I passed the driving test, I still don't know how I did that." he said with a chuckle.
Rev. Pridmore graduated from Mississippi State in 1993 with a degree in Sociology. He currently teaches sociology, Old Testament, and New Testament at Hinds Community College in Raymond. His seeing eye dog, Orson, accompanies him to class. When he isn't working, Orson is a part of the family, running around the house and playing with Pridmore's daughters, Mary Ruth and Maggie.
He also serves as minister to the Memorial United Methodist Church in Bolton. Lisa, his wife of fifteen years, serves as co-pastor in the church. Pridmore muses that the small-town congregation probably doesn't know what to think of a blind pastor and a wife who also preaches.
In May, Pridmore will graduate from Drew University in New Jersey with a his doctorate in sociology of religion.
Pridmore will be featured on a new episode of "Mississippi Roads" airing tonight at 7 p.m. on Mississippi Public Broadcasting.
For more informatiom about Mississippi Roads, visit MPB's Web Site.
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