Maps and diagrams continued to be a feature during all the years the Ziegler had its own plant. They were particularly appreciated during the two world wars, when maps of the battle zones helped readers to keep abreast of the shifting fronts. During the excitement over the excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamen in Egypt, readers could follow events by examining a raised-line diagram of the tomb.

During its first four decades, the magazine devoted more than a quarter of its space to recounting current events. At a time when radio did not even exist, and later was too expensive for the average blind person to afford, a heavy dose of news was what readers needed and wanted. In the early years Current Events also included items of the kind now included in the Special Notices section, such as reports of developments in work for the blind, of services available from organizations of and for the blind, announcements of articles readers want to buy, swap or give away, and requests for pen pals.

Along practical lines, early issues of the magazine regularly featured articles entitled "Successful Blind." Walter Holmes was an enthusiastic believer in salesmanship as a productive field for blind persons (he once gave a paper on the subject to an AAWB convention) and he took concrete steps to enable readers to start entrepreneurial careers. He bought quantities of small articles from wholesalers and resold them at cost to people who could in turn retail them at a small profit. During the Depression years, the magazine listed 20 items it could supply to readers for resale, including pencils, pens, pencil sharpeners, rubber bands, shoelaces, ribbons and yarns.