Hopewell couple named deaf parents of the year
By MARK DORROH
News Staff Writer
August 17, 2004
Members of the Richmond Chapter of the Virginia Association of the Deaf named Billy Taylor Sr., Deaf Father of the Year and his wife Deanna, Deaf Mother of the Year, during a recent ceremony at Dockside restaurant in Prince George. It's the first time in the history of the VAD that a husband and wife team has been named Mother and Father of the Year.
Billy and Deanna live in Hopewell and have been married since 1962. Their award came in recognition of their role model status as parents and deaf Americans, serving the interests of the hearing-impaired community ofVirginia while rearing six children, two hearing, four deaf.
Deanna is retired from her job as a procurement clerk with Defense General Supply and is the current Richmond Chapter VAD Vice President and the newsletter editor for the Richmond Club for the Deaf. She also has spent considerable time and effort establishing a home for deaf senior citizens in the greater Richmond Metro area. In between those volunteer activities, she manages to find time for her hobbies of travel and fishing.
Billy spent most of his working career in printed communications. Upon graduation from the Virginia School for the Deaf in Staunton in 1955, he became the owner of a shoe repair shop in Ashland. After some years, he switched careers, becoming a Linotype operator at The Hopewell News in 1960 and later for the Washington Post. He returned to the greater Richmond Metroarea from Washington after 25 years and spent his last 17 full-time working years as an Optical Character Reader machinist for the Richmond Post Office.
His volunteer activities are many and varied: He is a past president and board member of the Richmond Club for the Deaf, as well as board member of the Virginia School For the Deaf Alumni Association. His leisure time activities include woodworking, photography, computers and collecting old pictures.
At Friday's awards banquet, Chapter President Allen Justice signed the text of the award while the Taylor's son, Billy Jr., performed the voice translation.
Billy Jr. and his wife live in Prince George while daughter Lily Mountjoy lives in Hopewell and daughter Karen Taylor lives in Richmond. Their daughter Hedy lives in Texas but currently is staying in Hopewell and the family's two youngest sons, Ricky and Gary, live in New York and Florida respectively.
Deanna was born deaf and Billy Sr. became deaf at the age of 2 after a bout of spinal meningitis. Billy Jr. said until he was 5, he thought everybody's parents were deaf. "So far as I was concerned, my growing up was normal," he explained. "Everybody I knew was deaf except my sister Karen."
Despite attending special schools, Billy Junior's brothers and sisters managed to remain in more or less constant touch with each other, which was possible because of changes made in how deaf schools are administrated.
"When my father was off at school during World War II, he'd only get home for holidays and summers," said Billy Jr. "But when we were growing up, my siblings came home every weekend."
Asked about developments in restoration of hearing through cochlear implants, Deanna and Billy Sr. come down firmly on the side of deaf culture. "I'm opposed to the implants," signed Billy Sr. "Any operation or implant has the potential for damage to the body."
Deanna signed, "I'm the way God made me, deaf, and I feel I should be proud of what I am."
Billy Jr. simply said he wouldn't change anything about his family. "If you've never heard a bird sing, you can't miss it," he said. "My father had his hearing and lost it, but he's still proud of being deaf."
© 2004 The Hopewell News All Rights Reserved.
Ridor's Note: There are several errors in this article. My parents were chosen by the STATE, not the Richmond Chapter -- the Richmond Chapter sponsored the banquet.
It is true that Mom loves to fish, I absolutely hate it when Mom said, "I'm going fishing, come with me so we can talk and fish." Then we sat on the pier by James River while Mom fished and yakked about this, that and there. Then picked up the fish and tossed it back in the river, then yakked. As for Dad, he does not collect old pictures, he collects old cameras!
Hedy is not in Hopewell, she is in Dallas. I'm bit disappointed that my hearing brother had to interpret. He shouldn't have done that -- he is there to share the parents' moments. *sigh*
Special schools?! Oh, gawd. Somebody give me a whiffle bat to beat up on Mark.
Sigh.
But overall, nice article, though.
R-
Friday, August 20, 2004
Thursday, August 19, 2004
Paul Hamm, Marry Me!!
Let it be known that Michael Phelps is boring. His face is everywhere -- I'm sick of him. So fuck off, Phelps!!
But on other hand, Paul & Morgan Hamm, that is completely different story. They just captured my heart and hormones when they mentioned about their life-long goals and adventures in the barn. That was a great All-American story.
When Paul fell off the vault, I freaked out. I really felt for him. I mean, I really felt for Paul. I wanted him to win. I wanted him to. When he fell, I quickly stood up from the couch and walked back and forth -- thinking hard, "What to do? What to do?"
It was cool that Paul came back from 12th place to 1st. I was relieved and happy for him.
You rock, Paul! Marry me!
R-
Face The Adversity
Conquer The Adversity And You Stand On The Top Of The World!
But on other hand, Paul & Morgan Hamm, that is completely different story. They just captured my heart and hormones when they mentioned about their life-long goals and adventures in the barn. That was a great All-American story.
When Paul fell off the vault, I freaked out. I really felt for him. I mean, I really felt for Paul. I wanted him to win. I wanted him to. When he fell, I quickly stood up from the couch and walked back and forth -- thinking hard, "What to do? What to do?"
It was cool that Paul came back from 12th place to 1st. I was relieved and happy for him.
You rock, Paul! Marry me!
R-
"If you met him once, you knew him for life"
I was pulling some boxes out and clean up -- stumbled upon an old article regarding this deaf, illiterate man who frequented the deaf club -- the same person who introduced me to my favorite character in comic books -- Amethyst. Today, I have the tattoo of Amethyst on my left calf. All of this will not happen if not for Morton Adelanski. Here is the article which occurred right after Morton's death.
"If you met him once, you knew him for life"
By Bill Lohmann, Richmond Times-Dispatch
He was lying in a hospital bed at the Medical College of Virginia, recuperating from a collision with a truck. The truck survived and so did Morton Adelanski, which was no small feat seeing how Morton was 83 years old and on foot when the truck ran into him on West Broad Street three months ago.
So, here he was in the hospital a few weeks later, his left hand bandaged from where doctors had to amputate a finger.
He didn't care much for being in the hospital. He was too much a man of motion to be happy cooped up in one place for so long. But at least he had just about everything he needed right there. His beloved sister, Anne, with whom he lived, slept on a cot nearby. Pretty nurses were forever stopping by. A television flickered within a few feet. A bottle of ketchup sat on the window sill.
Morton lay there intently watching a talk show on the overhead TV.
He wore pajamas.
Black socks.
And black wing-tips.
Ready, apparently, for a quick getaway.
It was pure Morton.
* * *
Morton Adelanski, the deaf man who became one of Richmond's best-loved and most recognizable characters, made his final quick getaway last Wednesday. A massive heart attack took him quickly.
"It's rough," said his sister, Anne Chernack, who lived with Morton practically her entire life. "This house was Morton. When you walked in he'd tap you on the shoulder or kiss you on the head. We just enjoyed each other all the time. He's really missed.
"I've got to learn a new life for myself. At 77, I guess it's just part of growing up."
Richmond Circuit Judge T.J. Markow, whose family owned the florist shop where Morton worked for more than 50 years, delivered the eulogy at the funeral. He regaled the gathered with Morton stories, leaving them crying and laughing.
"It was wonderful," Anne Chernack said.
A point made by Markow was this:
If you met Morton once, you knew him the rest of your life.
A lot of us discovered that.
* * *
Though he couldn't hear, Morton lived a richer life than most. He was sweet and resilient, generous and intrepid. His heart made up for whatever his ears lacked.
He delivered newspapers and flowers, acquiring the nickname "Scooch" for the way he scooted from place to place. He silently sold ice cream and anything else at ballgames, scrawling the price on a sign he tacked onto his hat. Who needs to yell? His former boss said he never had a better salesman.
He traveled most anywhere, usually alone. He made regular jaunts to Las Vegas and even went on a cruise once. He absolutely loved buses.
When he wasn't riding, he was walking. He and his thumb were familiar to Richmond motorists; he hitchhiked everywhere.
He never learned to read or write and he didn't use formal sign language, but he never had trouble communicating. A conversation with Morton was like playing a game of charades. And nobody did it better. If Morton had ever stopped you on a sidewalk, grabbed your hand and kissed it, you would have come to the same assessment.
He loved wearing the wildest assortments of clothes. At the same time.
He hated wearing his false teeth.
Morton didn't worry much about first impressions.
Lasting ones, he knew, are the ones that count.
He was famous for giving presents -- trinkets he collected, somewhat-less-than-perfect flowers that wound up on the cutting-room floor, whatever -- to people he met along the way.
"Morton was one of a kind," said his sister Anne. "God bless him."
In preparing a 1995 article on Morton, I spent an evening with him and his family -- including Anne, another sister, Mary-Ann Ladin, and other relatives who doted on him his entire life. As I was leaving, Morton grabbed my arm and told me to stay on the front porch. He disappeared into the house and came back in a few minutes with a plaid baseball cap. He wanted me to have it, he insisted. It still sits on my computer monitor at the office.
For a man trapped in a world of silence, Morton's life resounded eloquently and loudly with those who knew him. He possessed and exhibited on a daily basis a quiet fearlessness and a simple dignity most of us can only wish for.
And he was a creature of habit, whether it was thumbing down Monument Avenue on weekday mornings at dawn or eating grits at Tony's. But no one -- other than Morton -- knew them all. In an age of cell phones and pagers and instant access to everyone and everything, his life had a delicious sort of mystery about it. Where had he been? Where was he going? How did he get there? Who knew. Morton would never tell.
We don't know what we missed.
But Morton always will.
*************************************
Guys, guys. Why did I talk about this? When I was a kid and attended the deaf club in downtown Richmond, my parents treated Morton like normal ... even if it was obvious that he cannot communicate very well with anyone else in particular but what mattered the most is that he always tried to get his message across, somehow and eventually.
I enjoyed him because he was famous for bringing hundreds of magazines and comic books to the club. How? Nobody knew how, someone said someone saw Morton getting in 7-11 store which is a block away from the deaf club and the manager saw him and told him to go in the back and pick it up. He did the deed and brought it to the club and distribute it to everyone else.
When he died, his sister left Morton's monies to the deaf club. The folks were surprised but again, I was not surprised. The club was the place where Morton can be himself as a Deaf person.
Why didn't he learn ASL nor read and write? He became deaf when he was 8 or 9 on a farm in the Czech Republic and fled the Nazism atrocities -- he never had the time to go to school to learn. He only had the time to survive escape the Nazis.
When he arrived in the United States during the World War II, he just walked into the Markow Florist Shop and picked up the broom and worked there for 50 years. He was not even interviewed, he just hired himself in the florist shop.
These little things will *never* happen again in this modern society.
Some lucky things do happen to good people, I guess.
R-
"If you met him once, you knew him for life"
By Bill Lohmann, Richmond Times-Dispatch
He was lying in a hospital bed at the Medical College of Virginia, recuperating from a collision with a truck. The truck survived and so did Morton Adelanski, which was no small feat seeing how Morton was 83 years old and on foot when the truck ran into him on West Broad Street three months ago.
So, here he was in the hospital a few weeks later, his left hand bandaged from where doctors had to amputate a finger.
He didn't care much for being in the hospital. He was too much a man of motion to be happy cooped up in one place for so long. But at least he had just about everything he needed right there. His beloved sister, Anne, with whom he lived, slept on a cot nearby. Pretty nurses were forever stopping by. A television flickered within a few feet. A bottle of ketchup sat on the window sill.
Morton lay there intently watching a talk show on the overhead TV.
He wore pajamas.
Black socks.
And black wing-tips.
Ready, apparently, for a quick getaway.
It was pure Morton.
* * *
Morton Adelanski, the deaf man who became one of Richmond's best-loved and most recognizable characters, made his final quick getaway last Wednesday. A massive heart attack took him quickly.
"It's rough," said his sister, Anne Chernack, who lived with Morton practically her entire life. "This house was Morton. When you walked in he'd tap you on the shoulder or kiss you on the head. We just enjoyed each other all the time. He's really missed.
"I've got to learn a new life for myself. At 77, I guess it's just part of growing up."
Richmond Circuit Judge T.J. Markow, whose family owned the florist shop where Morton worked for more than 50 years, delivered the eulogy at the funeral. He regaled the gathered with Morton stories, leaving them crying and laughing.
"It was wonderful," Anne Chernack said.
A point made by Markow was this:
If you met Morton once, you knew him the rest of your life.
A lot of us discovered that.
* * *
Though he couldn't hear, Morton lived a richer life than most. He was sweet and resilient, generous and intrepid. His heart made up for whatever his ears lacked.
He delivered newspapers and flowers, acquiring the nickname "Scooch" for the way he scooted from place to place. He silently sold ice cream and anything else at ballgames, scrawling the price on a sign he tacked onto his hat. Who needs to yell? His former boss said he never had a better salesman.
He traveled most anywhere, usually alone. He made regular jaunts to Las Vegas and even went on a cruise once. He absolutely loved buses.
When he wasn't riding, he was walking. He and his thumb were familiar to Richmond motorists; he hitchhiked everywhere.
He never learned to read or write and he didn't use formal sign language, but he never had trouble communicating. A conversation with Morton was like playing a game of charades. And nobody did it better. If Morton had ever stopped you on a sidewalk, grabbed your hand and kissed it, you would have come to the same assessment.
He loved wearing the wildest assortments of clothes. At the same time.
He hated wearing his false teeth.
Morton didn't worry much about first impressions.
Lasting ones, he knew, are the ones that count.
He was famous for giving presents -- trinkets he collected, somewhat-less-than-perfect flowers that wound up on the cutting-room floor, whatever -- to people he met along the way.
"Morton was one of a kind," said his sister Anne. "God bless him."
In preparing a 1995 article on Morton, I spent an evening with him and his family -- including Anne, another sister, Mary-Ann Ladin, and other relatives who doted on him his entire life. As I was leaving, Morton grabbed my arm and told me to stay on the front porch. He disappeared into the house and came back in a few minutes with a plaid baseball cap. He wanted me to have it, he insisted. It still sits on my computer monitor at the office.
For a man trapped in a world of silence, Morton's life resounded eloquently and loudly with those who knew him. He possessed and exhibited on a daily basis a quiet fearlessness and a simple dignity most of us can only wish for.
And he was a creature of habit, whether it was thumbing down Monument Avenue on weekday mornings at dawn or eating grits at Tony's. But no one -- other than Morton -- knew them all. In an age of cell phones and pagers and instant access to everyone and everything, his life had a delicious sort of mystery about it. Where had he been? Where was he going? How did he get there? Who knew. Morton would never tell.
We don't know what we missed.
But Morton always will.
*************************************
Guys, guys. Why did I talk about this? When I was a kid and attended the deaf club in downtown Richmond, my parents treated Morton like normal ... even if it was obvious that he cannot communicate very well with anyone else in particular but what mattered the most is that he always tried to get his message across, somehow and eventually.
I enjoyed him because he was famous for bringing hundreds of magazines and comic books to the club. How? Nobody knew how, someone said someone saw Morton getting in 7-11 store which is a block away from the deaf club and the manager saw him and told him to go in the back and pick it up. He did the deed and brought it to the club and distribute it to everyone else.
When he died, his sister left Morton's monies to the deaf club. The folks were surprised but again, I was not surprised. The club was the place where Morton can be himself as a Deaf person.
Why didn't he learn ASL nor read and write? He became deaf when he was 8 or 9 on a farm in the Czech Republic and fled the Nazism atrocities -- he never had the time to go to school to learn. He only had the time to survive escape the Nazis.
When he arrived in the United States during the World War II, he just walked into the Markow Florist Shop and picked up the broom and worked there for 50 years. He was not even interviewed, he just hired himself in the florist shop.
These little things will *never* happen again in this modern society.
Some lucky things do happen to good people, I guess.
R-
Hamm, Drunkard, Paris Hilton
Why is that people checked google.com and typed anything with "gay" in it along with "Paul & Morgan Hamm" and directed to my blogsite?
I never said that they are gay. It is true that I think they are hot, gorgeous and all that. But I never said they are gay.
And I was happy for Paul Hamm who came from behind at 12th place to win the gold medal in Athens. They also showed a bit of the Hamms' Barn -- it is HUGE. Paul deserved it -- even I wanted Morgan to be part of this -- but I'm sure he is. When Paul learned that he won the gold, he was floored, excited, bewildered and pumped up. And humbled. That is sexy. Way to go, Paul!!
I watched the swimming meets, it is becoming of a rivalry these days between the United States and Australia -- very healthy, if you ask me -- but what made me look at Aussies differently is that its population is only 27 millions and the United States has 250-plus millions, and yet Aussies were able to compete with us very well. Kudos to Aussies.
There is an article that you guys will enjoy -- have fun reading this! Obviously, this one has a good taste -- the local ale is always better than the cheap beer.
Some of you asked me why I termed Melmira as Deaf Paris Hilton -- after chatting with a friend, we agreed that she dressed very well. She always look gorgeous and loves to shop. Like Paris Hilton -- I hadn't met a deaf woman who does that *all* the time. So I decided to use the term on her. It is a compliment, really.
Speaking of Paris Hilton, she is lucky that her dog, Tinkerbell, was found safely. Next time, it won't be. She lives in the area where there are plenty of coyotes, mountain lions and bobcats. Paris, next time, you'll see Tinkerbell butchered.
R-
I never said that they are gay. It is true that I think they are hot, gorgeous and all that. But I never said they are gay.
And I was happy for Paul Hamm who came from behind at 12th place to win the gold medal in Athens. They also showed a bit of the Hamms' Barn -- it is HUGE. Paul deserved it -- even I wanted Morgan to be part of this -- but I'm sure he is. When Paul learned that he won the gold, he was floored, excited, bewildered and pumped up. And humbled. That is sexy. Way to go, Paul!!
I watched the swimming meets, it is becoming of a rivalry these days between the United States and Australia -- very healthy, if you ask me -- but what made me look at Aussies differently is that its population is only 27 millions and the United States has 250-plus millions, and yet Aussies were able to compete with us very well. Kudos to Aussies.
There is an article that you guys will enjoy -- have fun reading this! Obviously, this one has a good taste -- the local ale is always better than the cheap beer.
Some of you asked me why I termed Melmira as Deaf Paris Hilton -- after chatting with a friend, we agreed that she dressed very well. She always look gorgeous and loves to shop. Like Paris Hilton -- I hadn't met a deaf woman who does that *all* the time. So I decided to use the term on her. It is a compliment, really.
Speaking of Paris Hilton, she is lucky that her dog, Tinkerbell, was found safely. Next time, it won't be. She lives in the area where there are plenty of coyotes, mountain lions and bobcats. Paris, next time, you'll see Tinkerbell butchered.
R-
Addendum to Bass
I should mention something about Bass Hall. If you drive towards Staunton on Route 250, you'll see the Toyota dealership that went out of business on your right side, park it by the fence overlooking the downtown, Mary Baldwin College and my deaf school. You shall see the main building, appropriately called the Main Hall sitting on the top of the hill while other buildings sits closer to it -- Bass Hall sits right next to Main Hall on the right -- it is the tallest building in the area, perhaps in all of deaf schools, 7-stories high.
Today, there is a federal kaw that prohibits a school that goes beyond 4-stories high as per safety reasons. But my deaf school has a grandfather clause because it was built before the law was enacted.
It is remarkable to mention that in its existence of the dormitory, no deaths occured for many years ... until last year. You know, what happened is that there was a female student who returned to VSD from a weekend at her family's home. She went to 6th floor and jumped off and was dead on its impact. VSD students and staff were thrown into turmoil and confusion. Some people accused VSD of causing her to do that -- later, it was found that she was a lesbian and came home to tell her family about it -- her family is religious nuts -- and they were pretty harsh on her all weekend long so when she returned to VSD, she just went straight to 6th floor and did the deed. It was the first suicide in 160-plus years at VSD.
R-
Today, there is a federal kaw that prohibits a school that goes beyond 4-stories high as per safety reasons. But my deaf school has a grandfather clause because it was built before the law was enacted.
It is remarkable to mention that in its existence of the dormitory, no deaths occured for many years ... until last year. You know, what happened is that there was a female student who returned to VSD from a weekend at her family's home. She went to 6th floor and jumped off and was dead on its impact. VSD students and staff were thrown into turmoil and confusion. Some people accused VSD of causing her to do that -- later, it was found that she was a lesbian and came home to tell her family about it -- her family is religious nuts -- and they were pretty harsh on her all weekend long so when she returned to VSD, she just went straight to 6th floor and did the deed. It was the first suicide in 160-plus years at VSD.
R-
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Few Tidbits from "I Remember..." by R. Aumon Bass
R. Aumon Bass, one of the most respected Deaf teacher by many others at VSD. Despite the fact that he was a teacher of the Deaf, the Board of Visitors named the girls' dormitory after him. Why not the high school building? Guess who ran the Board of Visitors back then? You got it right! It's hearies. So SYL to 'em!
However, R. Aumon Bass was educated at VSD and ended up staying at VSD to educate and work with Deaf students for more than 35 years. Not only that, he was actively collecting and preserving the history of Deaf Education in that state. He wrote two books. I'm going to select some interesting facts about my deaf school that R. Aumon Bass mentioned in his book, "I Remember..."
R. Aumon Bass lived to 101 years old, I believe. I'm not sure but I know he went over 100 years old. Here is what he wrote, the red comments are my own so you can follow what is going on:
"When I was a pupil at VSDB, an old soldier of the Civil War came directly to the chapel door and stood there and looked inside the chapel. I met there and offered him any help. He showed me where his bed was while he was in the hospital. His bed was near the stage on the east side of the chapel."
It is no secret that when the Civil War occured at New Market as the Northerners battled the Southerners, 30 miles south of New Market at VSDB's huge Main Hall and the Chapel was transformed into a hospital. There are stories that lots of dead bodies were thrown down the steep hill just few feet away from the current high school building.
"When I was in school, one of the boys and I found some human bones under the steep hill near Healy Hall."
R. Aumon Bass said it in a casual manner. To me, that is freaky.
"We had a good old former slave whom we called "Uncle Dennis" Shafer who worked and lived in VSDB most of his life up to his death in 1906. He saw the school under construction 1839 - 1845. He worked most of his time on the main hall. He was highly respected and loved by all at VSDB up to his death. I enjoyed talking with him."
"1839 - 1901, we had no nurse until 1901. The matron took charge of the infirmary. "Uncle Dennis" Shafer took charge of the children in the infirmary for the matron while he lived in the infirmary for many years. The whole school loved him up to his death in 1906."
I thought it was interesting that a former slave, black man was reveled by a white-dominated deaf school. At that time, no black student was *allowed* to enroll in VSDB. Yet, the school permitted a black man to take care of its white students. Plenty of contradictions, really. But again, that is so VSDB.
"We had only one Christmas holiday for many years from 1839 to a few years after I graduated -- 1908. The pupils were not allowed to go home from the opening of the school to closing (June)."
Can you imagine that? My Dad told me that we were lucky to go home "every weekend", he went home only twice or thrice per year in 1950s.
"1872, Paxton Pollard (deaf) was the first student from VSDB to be admitted in Gallaudet College."
"1907, Alvah Rasnick was the first student from VSDB who graduated from Gallaudet College."
Wow, it took 68 years for a student from VSD to graduate from Gallaudet College. Sigh.
"1958-1978, Mr. Joe R. Shinpaugh was appointed Superintendent of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, Staunton, Virginia. See the Virginia Guide, November 1958 - Page 1-2. Since Mr. Shinpaugh became Principal and Superintendent of the VSDB, he has turned out more graduates than all the superintendents of the past. He has also sent more students to Gallaudet College. More Virginia students have graduated from Gallaudet College. We, the students, the parents and the alumni take our hats off to Mr. Shinpaugh."
Many of you might say, "So what? Who cares about Mr. Shinpaugh?" His sign name is "S" on a person's heart. He is the child of deaf adults from ... Arkansas! Yes, his parents graduated from Arkansas School for the Deaf. Hold on this subject for a minute or two.
"1876, the aged mother of two of our pupils arrived at the school having walked, in two days, a distance of fifty miles for the purpose of visiting her children. After she had recovered from the fatigue of the journey, money was furnished for her to return to her home by rail."
Interesting, is it?
"Dr. John W. Michaels was one of our graduates, 1873. He taught at VSDB and at Arkansas School for the Deaf. He was a teacher, principal, author and minister. He married Miss Mary Agnew Scott with me in 1912."
Again, Arkansas. As you can see ... even today, Arkansas and Virginia still shared these bonds for more than 100 years. Drake, Shinpaugh, Frick, Copeland, Michaels and now with me, Chlms, RozRana, Fears, Silas ...
So you can see why I hang out with Arkansas friends at the Gallaudet Barfeteria -- I never planned it ... apparently, someone intends me to be stucked with these Arkansasites.
R-
However, R. Aumon Bass was educated at VSD and ended up staying at VSD to educate and work with Deaf students for more than 35 years. Not only that, he was actively collecting and preserving the history of Deaf Education in that state. He wrote two books. I'm going to select some interesting facts about my deaf school that R. Aumon Bass mentioned in his book, "I Remember..."
R. Aumon Bass lived to 101 years old, I believe. I'm not sure but I know he went over 100 years old. Here is what he wrote, the red comments are my own so you can follow what is going on:
"When I was a pupil at VSDB, an old soldier of the Civil War came directly to the chapel door and stood there and looked inside the chapel. I met there and offered him any help. He showed me where his bed was while he was in the hospital. His bed was near the stage on the east side of the chapel."
It is no secret that when the Civil War occured at New Market as the Northerners battled the Southerners, 30 miles south of New Market at VSDB's huge Main Hall and the Chapel was transformed into a hospital. There are stories that lots of dead bodies were thrown down the steep hill just few feet away from the current high school building.
"When I was in school, one of the boys and I found some human bones under the steep hill near Healy Hall."
R. Aumon Bass said it in a casual manner. To me, that is freaky.
"We had a good old former slave whom we called "Uncle Dennis" Shafer who worked and lived in VSDB most of his life up to his death in 1906. He saw the school under construction 1839 - 1845. He worked most of his time on the main hall. He was highly respected and loved by all at VSDB up to his death. I enjoyed talking with him."
"1839 - 1901, we had no nurse until 1901. The matron took charge of the infirmary. "Uncle Dennis" Shafer took charge of the children in the infirmary for the matron while he lived in the infirmary for many years. The whole school loved him up to his death in 1906."
I thought it was interesting that a former slave, black man was reveled by a white-dominated deaf school. At that time, no black student was *allowed* to enroll in VSDB. Yet, the school permitted a black man to take care of its white students. Plenty of contradictions, really. But again, that is so VSDB.
"We had only one Christmas holiday for many years from 1839 to a few years after I graduated -- 1908. The pupils were not allowed to go home from the opening of the school to closing (June)."
Can you imagine that? My Dad told me that we were lucky to go home "every weekend", he went home only twice or thrice per year in 1950s.
"1872, Paxton Pollard (deaf) was the first student from VSDB to be admitted in Gallaudet College."
"1907, Alvah Rasnick was the first student from VSDB who graduated from Gallaudet College."
Wow, it took 68 years for a student from VSD to graduate from Gallaudet College. Sigh.
"1958-1978, Mr. Joe R. Shinpaugh was appointed Superintendent of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, Staunton, Virginia. See the Virginia Guide, November 1958 - Page 1-2. Since Mr. Shinpaugh became Principal and Superintendent of the VSDB, he has turned out more graduates than all the superintendents of the past. He has also sent more students to Gallaudet College. More Virginia students have graduated from Gallaudet College. We, the students, the parents and the alumni take our hats off to Mr. Shinpaugh."
Many of you might say, "So what? Who cares about Mr. Shinpaugh?" His sign name is "S" on a person's heart. He is the child of deaf adults from ... Arkansas! Yes, his parents graduated from Arkansas School for the Deaf. Hold on this subject for a minute or two.
"1876, the aged mother of two of our pupils arrived at the school having walked, in two days, a distance of fifty miles for the purpose of visiting her children. After she had recovered from the fatigue of the journey, money was furnished for her to return to her home by rail."
Interesting, is it?
"Dr. John W. Michaels was one of our graduates, 1873. He taught at VSDB and at Arkansas School for the Deaf. He was a teacher, principal, author and minister. He married Miss Mary Agnew Scott with me in 1912."
Again, Arkansas. As you can see ... even today, Arkansas and Virginia still shared these bonds for more than 100 years. Drake, Shinpaugh, Frick, Copeland, Michaels and now with me, Chlms, RozRana, Fears, Silas ...
So you can see why I hang out with Arkansas friends at the Gallaudet Barfeteria -- I never planned it ... apparently, someone intends me to be stucked with these Arkansasites.
R-
Wanna Be Branded?
I watched the local news last night where they interviewed a girl who was hospitalized after falling off her skateboard in East Village near my workplace.
She showed her back, which the doctors at the hospital applied the ice on her back for several hours and warned her that it is going to be permanent. What happened is that she fell on the manhole and apparently, the manhole was very hot and it branded the whole thing on her back. ConEd is "investigating" the incident. Yes, I saw the "ConEd" on her back.
Only in New York, my dear children, only in New York.
R-
She showed her back, which the doctors at the hospital applied the ice on her back for several hours and warned her that it is going to be permanent. What happened is that she fell on the manhole and apparently, the manhole was very hot and it branded the whole thing on her back. ConEd is "investigating" the incident. Yes, I saw the "ConEd" on her back.
Only in New York, my dear children, only in New York.
R-
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