Originally appeared in Silent News, August 2001.

Mark Fisher, a renowned deaf animator and now filmmaker, had his one-minute classical animation style piece, Elves and the Bat Beast, chosen for the Best Animation category at the Atlantic City Film Festival held Aug. 4 in New Jersey.

“I was very inspired they presented me the Best Animation award, the grand prize, and was deeply honored as was Michelina, my wife, who was an acting coach for some particular scenes,” Fisher said.

Fisher grew up in Glassboro, N.J., and attended the Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf. He then graduated from Gallaudet University in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in art along with minor studies in philosophy and religion. Fisher eventually made his way to Burbank, Calif. where he today pursues a career in animation and live action filmmaking.

The animation award, a first for Fisher, is something he hopes will help the industry recognize him as a director. Fisher’s credentials include having worked on several animated feature films such as Universal’s Land Before Time,Disney’s The Little Mermaid and The Prince and the Pauper, Nest Entertainment’s The Swan Princess, Morgan Creek’s Stay Tuned and Warner Bros’ Thumbelina and The King and I, in addition to having worked on several television cartoon series for Universal, Warner Bros. and others as a storyboarder/revisionist.

With his well-rounded background, Fisher has even grander goals. “I’d love to work on a major classical feature animation as a character animator hopefully at a major studio,” he said. “Meanwhile, I’d like to develop various projects as it is always best to have more than one project to sell for better luck, rather than have only one ‘card’ sold.”

Fisher and Michelina, who have a hard of hearing son Mavrick, currently are developing a live action mini-movie project with a reputable Oscar-winning film company. “A script has been written by a hired hearing writer, and a complete production can then be a more powerful way to showcase my directorial ability in the live action feature business,” he stated.

Fisher will now submit the same Elves short film to other film festivals in the hopes of continuing its success, and perhaps gain interest from companies. Fisher’s award was one of 22 given out at the festival, out of 350 entries.

Copyrighted material. This article can not be copied, reproduced, or redistributed without the written consent of the author.

Originally appeared in Silent News, August 2001.

Well, we’re at it again. We immediately believed every e-mail we got about the fiascoes in Rome at the Deaflympics. The rapes, the runner that died during a race and the delegate that died from a heart attack.

I got 48 – yup, count ‘em – 48 instant messages or e-mails asking me to verify the crazy e-mails that ate up my mailbox. I didn’t even bother counting how many times I got the same e-mail over and over and over and over and over and over and over…. but we know it was at least 48 times, though, right?

I couldn’t verify any of the rumors except for the Ireland delegate that sadly did pass away from a heart attack. So I’m not going to bother with the rumors anymore. I’m sure most of the people involved – if the rumors were true at all – would want some privacy and space. So I’ll leave it at that.

While I didn’t go to Rome (someone has to put together the newspaper!) I had staff there. And they were incredibly frustrated with the disorganized proceedings of the Deaflympics. Transportation was a pain, and so was lodging. Regardless of the confusion and misinformation that seems to exist at every event (whether it be hosted by deaf or hearing people), my staff said they were impressed by the athletes at the games, especially the ones who truly respected each other, respected officials’ decisions, and played for the sport rather than for ego. The facilities were also astounding for the fans and athletes.

I kept a close eye on the Errol Shaw/David Krupinski trial on Court TV. Since it was closed-captioned, I watched several of the commentaries before, after and during the trial. While the proceedings got dreary at times with the dull questionsing and seemingly pointless comments, there was one thing that bugged me: the repeated use of “deaf-mute” by so many experts. And the fact that not one single deaf person was asked to appear on Court TV’s various discussion shows.

Why? There are plenty of deaf lawyers who could have fulfilled this request easily, and certainly plenty of deaf advocates. Many people that I discussed this issue with had the same feeling as I did: Here we go again. Yet many of us were/are too weary to do much about it. We’re almost resigned to this happening for the rest of our lives. I don’t think that’s a good sentiment; we, including me, need to make sure we don’t tire of advocating for equality, even with small issues like terminology.

Some of you have written in asking why we didn’t cover this or that conference, or why we didn’t print a certain article. We are a small staff. We only have a few in-house staff who are available to go to different events, and some remote staff (i.e., our sports editor is in Minnesota, our layout editor is in Washington D.C., our copy editor is in Oregon, and so on). We are not always able to attend various conferences or events, but if you learn of an event and feel it should be covered, please let us know. We can either have you supply us with information, and have one of our writers write the story, or we can have you help us in locating contact people and/or writers.

I hope you enjoy our special coverage of the Deaflympics. Due to the extra pages in the Deaflympics section, we had to hold off many stories until next month. But do take notice the two terrific stories we received on two golden individuals: Bertha Kurz, who just turned 104 (page 9), and Dora Bolen, who has attended 73 straight homecomings in Illinois (page 15). These individuals truly inspire me, and make me look forward to having a long life.

We will resume our regular sports coverage next month, and go back to the normal number of pages.

You may have noticed a little change in the news briefs section on page 3. We normally use that section for tidbits here and there. This month, we decided to try and use that section for the various newspaper articles that appear around the country and world. We’re not able to reprint many of the articles we receive, so we felt this would be a terrific solution. Let us know what you think.

Finally, Silent News would like, again, to extend our congratulations to the astounding athletes who represented us at the Deaflympics.

Copyrighted material. This article can not be copied, reproduced, or redistributed without the written consent of the author.

Originally appeared in Silent News, August 2001.

Today I had yet another nasty reminder of how ignorant hearing people generally perceive deaf people.

The day actually started out productive, even though my nine-month-old puppy was giving me attitude, but everyone is entitled to having doggy days. Adele came in to let me know that a woman was going to come in to talk with us about her son wanting to learn sign language. What was significant about this woman, who I will call Jenny, was that she was the granddaughter of a well-known interpreter who helped found a deaf organization. Jenny’s mother also was a teacher of the deaf. Bonus point? Her adorable 12-year-old son was learning sign from deaf schoolmates.

I came out of my cell, er, my office to meet Jenny, and she seemed nice at first. When I learned of her strong ties to the deaf community, I was a little surprised that she didn’t know sign language. After some small talk about my puppy and her son’s involvement with the deaf community, I jokingly said (with Adele voicing for me), “How come you don’t know sign language if your grandmother, mother and son know it?”

Jenny, not looking at me, said defensively, “I’m an audiologist. Why would I need sign?”

Oh, boy.

I looked at her, and responded with a quick smile, “To communicate with me!” I initially thought that she was joking. However, after my response, it became quite apparent that she was not at all joking.

What followed was a power struggle. Why didn’t I wear hearing aids? I told her I didn’t have a need for them in my life, though it was very much an individual choice. She said I obviously couldn’t speak because, “You’re signing now instead of speaking to me.” She also implied that I wasn’t successful because of my inability to speak or hear. I pointed out that I was in a very good job, with a good life and a nice dog (who was by now sleeping, obviously bored by the conversation). I then pointed out that I clearly could communicate better with her than she could with me, since she couldn’t understand me while I could lipread her just fine. Changing the subject, she asked the name of my dog. I told Adele not to voice, and to drive my point home, I fingerspelled the name of my dog: “Isre.” After an awkward pause while she looked dumbfounded, I instead wrote the name down, and showed it to her. She got the point.

By now I was seething inside (and it was probably obvious to her), but I smiled politely and said that I would go home since it was nearly 5:00 p.m.

As I was leaving, her sweet little son said apologetically, “Please, please don’t mind my mom!” I shook my head with an “Oh, don’t worry!” smile as if the thought of minding his mother had never occurred to me.

I was shaking from shock when I got into my truck. How could she come into the office of one of the oldest deaf/hard of hearing publications in the country and insist she didn’t need to know sign language because she was an audiologist? How could she even try to imply that I wasn’t successful because I didn’t speak?

And those people control the future of our children?

A few years ago, I had to go in for a hearing test to complete my Peace Corps invitation packet. The audiologist, a very friendly young woman, came to take me to that infamous closed-in metal room for the testing. She spoke entirely at first without offering me any paper and pen, but she was easy to lipread so I didn’t ask for paper yet. After the test, she asked me how I had become deaf. I explained that my parents were deaf, and that I was born deaf. She thanked me for my time, gave me my test results, and I left the office.

My friend, however, had an entirely different experience only a few weeks before. The same audiologist found out that Mary came from a hearing family, and started to offer her information on cochlear implants to the point of where Mary felt almost convinced to get one. She left the office wondering, “What if I had been from a deaf family?”

Well, her deaf family question was answered with my visit. I never once was offered information on cochlear implants. The audiologist simply dismissed me as soon as she found out I was from a deaf family – not to the point of where I felt rejected, but the subject was never once brought up.

But that’s not the point I’m trying to make here.

My point is: why aren’t more audiologists neutral?

Do they think it’ll hinder their success stories if they don’t sign? Don’t they realize they’ll reach a far higher number of people if they use sign? Don’t they realize that the more they use sign language, the less resentment they will encounter from deaf people in general? Don’t audiologists know that the more neutral they are, the more appreciative the deaf and hard of hearing community, and more importantly, parents of deaf and hard of hearing children would be of them?

Jenny immediately placed the burden of my ‘inabilities’ on me. What kind of stereotypes was she teaching her son (apparently not too many if he was apologizing for his mother)? What did she say about people like me? Did I come across as an angry, militant deaf person to her simply because I chose to sign? Granted, she was only one audiologist, and can hardly represent a whole profession. Still, it really threw me back to the days where my parents were blamed for my inability to speak at an individualized education plan meeting, until my mother stood up and pointedly said to the audiologist using voice, “Does my preference of using signing mean I’m hindering my daughter’s language development? Do you know I can speak and hear pretty well on the phone?” The audiologist sat down, flabbergasted with the new information that my mother spoke perfectly well. She never made that accusation again against my parents again.

Stereotypes are powerful. They bind and trap. Yet, would that exchange have taken place if I didn’t have my own biases about audiologists? Granted, I didn’t know she was an audiologist until after I asked her why she didn’t sign. Even so, is it fair of me to expect all audiologists to learn sign? Is it fair for them to expect all deaf people to be failures because of an inability to speak or refusal to wear hearing aids?

These are questions to be pondered carefully. But the lesson I took with me that day: stereotypes aren’t always necessarily multigenerational. And that’s a relief.

Copyrighted material. This article can not be copied, reproduced, or redistributed without the written consent of the author.

Originally appeared in Silent News, August 2001.

It seemed only fitting that the 115th annual Pennsylvania Society for the Advancement of the Deaf (PSAD) convention was held in a charming hotel in a cozy town in the middle of the mountains. PSAD is the oldest association for the deaf in the country, and celebrated its 120th anniversary at the convention in Williamsport, Pa., the weekend of July 19.

With 371 people in attendance, there were a variety of workshops and exhibits for participants centered on the conference theme of “Going Towards the Light of the Future.”

On Wednesday, a job fair was held for prospective employees, along with a PSAD board meeting. Thursday brought a rich mix of workshops, including HIV/AIDS awareness, the establishment of deaf group homes, 401k planning, and many more. The afternoon had a feature speaker, Dr. Marilyn Daniels, an author who has made ripples with her theory that hearing babies should sign.

An interesting component of the PSAD conference was the schedule specifically geared towards deaf women. The Deaf Women Section had workshops geared towards women that included domestic violence, stress dangers, and golden years of senior citizens. A luncheon was also held with a keynote speaker and elections.

Thursday evening brought a special showing of Sound and Fury, a documentary that follows a New York family’s controversial decision to get a cochlear implant. National Association of the Deaf (NAD) President and Pennsylvanian Libby Pollard was in attendance, seeing the movie for the first time. After the showing, PSAD President Steve Florio held a public president’s reception in the lobby of the movie theater and opened the floor up to remarks.

Friday brought more diverse workshops, including health awareness and police awareness workshops. The American Sign Language Teachers Association (ASLTA) had a series of workshops, such as Carl Schroeder’s “Power of ASL” and ASLTA President Leslie Greer’s training for ASL teachers. Cliff Rowley talked about AOL and its features, Frank Bowe discussed technology and education, and senior citizens luncheon/workshops were held.

Friday night provided what was the most exciting part for may attendees, the Miss Deaf Pennsylvania pageant. With three contestants providing a colorful show thanks to production director Karen Mrdjenovich, the judges had a difficult time in making their selection. Ultimately, Tracey Tasselli of Ducnasville won in every category and will go on to represent Pennsylvania at the NAD Convention in 2002. After the dazzling production, some people went back to the ballroom at the Genetti hotel, while others chose to rest up after a long day.

Saturday was devoted to the PSAD general meeting, where many resolutions were passed. Saturday night, capping off the entire weekend, brought the banquet and various awards. Deaf disc jockey Alex Simmons of Maryland again provided musical entertainment as he did the previous night, and clowns entertained the crowd.

Conference chairperson Lisa Purnell Noll said, “One of the comments from one of the attendees… indicated that she usually leaves early prior to the banquet on Sat. night. She shared that she had a blast the whole week, in that she stayed to the end on Sunday morning. It was the highest compliment ever paid by one of the attendees.”

The light of the future is indeed bright for PSAD as they gear up for another 120 years.

To learn about PSAD, visit www.psadweb.org.

Copyrighted material. This article can not be copied, reproduced, or redistributed without the written consent of the author.

Originally appeared in Silent New, August 2001.

Sun, fun, and entertainment were the key features of the 17th national conference of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, held Aug. 6-11 in Orlando, Fla. 1,702 registrants participated in the conference, just beating out 1999’s record of 1,600 attendees.

The opening ceremonies featured Paul Wesselman, a motivational speaker who had the audience laughing immediately with his quips and stories. This year’s conference featured a stunning list of workshops and activities in a staggered format designed to provide participants with more opportunities to earn continuing education units (CEUs). “There were a possible 6.4 CEUs for participants if they attended preconference and conference events, which comes out to 64 hours of training and professional development,” RID President Ben Hall said. “That is really exciting, because it shows that our interpreters were truly afforded opportunities to further their skills and knowledge.”

Laurie Hunter, senior conference coordinator, said, “We decided to go with five general themes to fit in with the overall conference theme of ‘Tapestry of Our World.’ They included: the world around us, the world within us, our professional world, our future world, and why in the world do you want to be a leader?”

A noticeable feature of the conference was the international presence. Jay Scirratt, public relations coordinator for RID, said, “We had individuals representing ten countries, including Venezuela, Australia, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Brazil, Belgium, Germany, and others. It was just fascinating, and we were really pleased with their participation.”

“There was a woman who came from Brazil. She had to save up $65 per month for nine months to be able to purchase a plane ticket to Orlando. This woman only earns $200 a month, and for her to have to spend such a large chunk of her salary for the plane fare alone really touched home for me,” Hall said.

The conference wasn’t only about workshops, though. There were various features, including regional meetings, special interest group gatherings, and Child of Deaf Adults (CODA) gatherings. On Thursday night, what originally started out as a small gathering of CODAs turned into a get-together of 115 people at a local restaurant.

Also noticeable was the high visibility of deaf participants, including representatives from the National Association of the Deaf. NAD, which historically has had a difficult relationship with RID, has over recent years built a strong and cooperative relationship. NAD President Libby Pollard, Executive Director Nancy Bloch, Associate Director of Programs Nancy Rarus, and American Sign Language Teachers Association (ASLTA) President Leslie Greer were all active participants in many of the proceedings.

There were approximately 30 participants at the Deaf Caucus meeting, a group comprised of deaf interpreters that considers the roles of deaf people and interpreters within the interpreting profession. Concerns brought up at the meeting included the need of workshops to become more deaf-friendly, increased recognition of deaf interpreters, and more training opportunities at the advanced level for deaf interpreters.

A memorial was held for Lou Fant, one of the co-founders of RID who recently passed away. A slide presentation was shown, along with Fant’s wife, Barbara Bernstein, in attendance. “I am glad the RID honored my pop as I know, from our many talks, he felt that the RID’s mission is vitally important to opening the broader world to deaf people,” Fant’s son Lorn said.

He added, “It also warms me greatly that a professional organization can set aside time to remember Pop’s humanity with the slideshow and photo presentation…though I probably could have done without such a public showing of my 1970s fashion choices.”

JohnMark Ennis, an interpreter from the Washington, D.C. area who had just arrived from the Deaflympics in Rome said, “The RID for the most part was terrific. Most of the sessions were informative, but the best part about the conference was that it allowed me to meet many old friends, make new friends, and to network. It was well worth the trip.”

Copyrighted material. This article can not be copied, reproduced, or redistributed without the written consent of the author.

Originally appeared in Silent News, August 2001.

Maryland School for the Deaf in Frederick has scored a touchdown with the hiring of its new football coach, Andy Bonheyo. Bonheyo is leaving his athletic director position at the Texas School for the Deaf and will start at Maryland in the fall. In addition to coordinating the football program, he will work with the elementary and middle school athletics programs and teaching a few courses.

“I am elated to have Andy working at Maryland School for the Deaf. His presence has already lifted morale among not just our football players, but the whole student body as well,” said Scott Morrison, MSD Athletic Director.

Bonheyo brings with him an impressive record: eight football national championships (and a ninth one as an assistant coach) at both Model Secondary School for the Deaf and Texas School for the Deaf, a track national championship, in addition to three district championships at Texas and three tri-state conference championships at Model, and to top it all off, a football career record of 91-39-1.

A Minnesota native, Bonheyo graduated from the Minnesota School for the Deaf, and went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Gallaudet University and master’s degree. in computer science from John Hopkins University. He was assistant coach at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf to Bob Westermann and Rich Pelletier, both well-known coaches, and then was head coach from 1987 to 1990 and again in 1992. He eventually moved to Texas with his wife Lori and their two boys, and worked as head coach at TSD for seven years. There, he brought Texas five straight national championships.

The years of experience have certainly helped shape Bonheyo’s winning coaching style. He is sad to leave Texas, but eager to start working at Maryland. “Working at Texas will always be a memorable experience, especially winning five straight national titles. Support from alumni, staff, administrators, students and parents at Texas is awesome! ” he said in an e-mail.

Morrison has faith in Bonheyo. “We will benefit from his leadership in developing our strength and conditioning program as well as his coaching,” he said. “I’ve known Andy for a long time and there is no question the impact he will have on our program will be felt for years to come. I feel quite fortunate to have Andy join me in shaping the future of Maryland athletics. I know we will make a great ‘tag team.'”

Bonheyo agreed. “I am looking forward to working closely with the athletic director, Scott Morrison. I believe that we, as a team, along with other coaches, will make an impact on MSD athletics and put the school on the map. The school superintendent, Jamie Tucker, has shown a lot of support for the athletics program and I am really excited about it.”

When asked about his expectations for the Maryland program, Bonheyo said, “My expectations for MSD football program will not be any different than at MSSD and Texas. I want for my boys to enjoy playing football and of course, develop a winning attitude. Attitude is everything! Hopefully, down the road, we will be the team to beat.”

Copyrighted material. This article can not be copied, reproduced, or redistributed without the written consent of the author.

Originally appeared in Silent News, July 2001.

Every day I open my e-mail, and am often bombarded with e-mail after e-mail about various situations at schools in the nation. It’s almost frightening for me at this point. It’s tragic that so many things are happening at so many different schools. Let me give you a quick rundown of the problems facing us at the various schools in the country, in addition to the crisis at Riverside, Calif.

Beverly School for the Deaf has closed its residential program due to declining enrollment, but continues to operate its school. St. Mary School for the Deaf in Buffalo, N.Y., recently experienced an uproar when a committee offered the superintendent position to Dr. William Johnson of the Iowa School for the Deaf instead of Dr. Reginald Redding. This happened even though the community and majority of the search committee clearly favored Redding. Washington School for the Deaf (Vancouver) got bruised recently by a series of in-depth articles in the newspaper about the sexual and physical abuse that allegedly existed at the school. North Carolina School for the Deaf (both Eastern and Morganton) had a revisitation of the battle that Central (Greensboro) experienced when they learned that the state legislation was going to cut their budget and suggest the closure of their schools. The same happened at Alabama with a profound budget cut. The sexual abuse cases at Governor Baxter in Maine continue. The list goes on and on.

Even though I’m not a product of a residential school (unless you count one measly year at Illinois), I still ache when I hear about all these punches in deaf schools’ stomachs. I am a firm supporter of the continuance of residential schools. Most of the deaf people in my family are products of residential schools, and I think they’re all great, great people. No, not all of them are American Sign Language (ASL) users. Some of them are hard of hearing, or oralists. Anyway, I’ve talked with them about their experiences at their schools (a total of five different states), and none had bad things to say. And even the difficult experiences were things they could laugh about today. I didn’t exactly have pleasant experiences at my deaf school, but I wouldn’t change a thing.

Yet, we can’t deny that problems exist at schools. Simply because there’s so much history doesn’t mean that things shouldn’t change. There’s a world of opportunity out there with all these crises; this is the deaf community’s opportunity to clean up the schools – that is, if they don’t get shut down first. Give people who are truly the best and qualified candidates in the “deaf school experience” an opportunity to try and improve the schools. I wonder why it’s not acceptable for deaf agencies or schools to give priority in jobs to those who have direct experience with the community (i.e. deaf people, CODAs, etc.)? Is that so wrong? Here at Silent News, we give priority to deaf and hard of hearing writers, though we don’t bar hearing writers with minimal involvement from writing for us. This is a newspaper about the deaf and hard of hearing community. It’s only logical.

Yes, I know I’m simplifying a very complex subject. It’s just so sad to see all our history – which is quickly being recorded before schools die out or before anything happens – become just that: history.

However, these crises can do what the Deaf President Now movement did for us 12 years ago: unite us in a common cause. And what is that common cause? Equal and fair access. Such a simple concept, yet such a Pandora’s Box.

Time after time, we see people trying to take us back to the days of the 1880 Milan Conference. Yet the deaf and hard of hearing community continues to unite whenever it is necessary, whether it be communication issues, language issues, or simple humanitarian issues.

With our history, this is our opportunity to unite and figure out just how we can save our schools, our language(s), and our community.

Copyrighted material. This article can not be copied, reproduced, or redistributed without the written consent of the author.

Originally appeared in Silent News, July 2001.

In 1901, people had not yet experienced a World War; Titanic hadn’t sunk yet; TTYs and decoders were unheard of; and deaf people were routinely denied life insurance.

The National Fraternal Society for the Deaf (NFSD), one of the oldest deaf organizations active today, recently observed its 100th anniversary with a banquet and weekend of celebration in Elk Grove Village, Ill. On May 25, nearly 200 Fraters congregated for dinner and presentations. In attendance were many notable deaf individuals, including Dr. Frank B. Sullivan and Robert Anderson, former NFSD presidents; Al Pimentel, superintendent of the New York School for the Deaf in White Plains; and Billie Moehle, the first woman elected to the NFSD Board of Trustees.

Upon arrival at the hotel, Fraters were immediately greeted by a room full of exhibition displays, which included photographs from NFSD’s first year, various letters focusing on the peddling scandal of the 1940s, and many other amazingly preserved documents. Photos showed group after group gathering at picnics and events in cheerful spirits. In browsing the exhibits, it became apparent quickly that NFSD has had a rich history.

A quick history lesson
NFSD was formed in 1901 to provide life insurance to deaf people at low costs, in addition to offering socialization opportunities. A group of men at the Michigan School for the Deaf (MSD), who were influenced by a fraternal group during their high school days at MSD, a group known as the Coming Men of America (CMA), came together at an alumni picnic to discuss the feasibility of such a life insurance organization.

The Fraternal Society of the Deaf (FSD) was established in 1901, in Illinois since a majority of the men were employed in the Chicago area, on June 12. FSD became NFSD at the national convention held in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1907. Today, NFSD has 68 divisions in the nation and is licensed to sell insurance in 36 states.

Historical book
Banquet attendees were given many goodies, including a ruler, cups, and a hand towel. But perhaps best of all, attendees were also given a commemorative book of NFSD’s grand history.

“I felt the best way to attract the attention of readers was to do a quarterly chronological history, with corresponding pictures, articles, poems, etc., for each page,” Editor Virginia Borggaard said. “Fortunately, there were several published articles written by Fraters – all accomplished writers – and convention proceedings that enabled me to put historical facts into perspective for each important year being covered.”

The book, filled with clear and crisp photographs, biographies, and a detailed chronological history, is a must-see for any person interested in the history of not only NFSD, but also of the deaf community. The efforts began three years ago, and interestingly enough the most difficult era to record wasn’t the early years.

“The hardest part was finding a complete written history on the period from 1952 to 2001, since there are no published papers covering this period of time as a whole, other than the every-four-years convention proceedings since 1952 and The Frat magazines,” noted Borggaard. Borggaard worked closely with Carol Van Nevel, the Society archivist, and Dr. Frank B. Sullivan, who offered feedback and proofreading skills.

Fraternalism
The spirit at the 100th anniversary banquet was very much filled with fraternalism. The night began with remarks from Grand President Al Van Nevel, who began his involvement with NFSD in 1964 as an accountant and became Grand Treasurer in 1967. The master of ceremonies for the evening was past NFSD Board Chairman Charles Giansanti. After an invocation given by Mary Anderson, wife of NFSD’s 11th Grand President Robert Anderson, Roberta Cordano of Minnesota treated the audience to a speech.

Cordano, a third-generation NFSD member, spoke about building community. Her grandfather, John Cordano, was extremely active with NFSD activities, and passed down that activism to her father, Waldo Cordano. “My father had a briefcase in his closet,” Cordano said. “Whenever we kids saw him take that briefcase out of his closet, we knew it was time for serious business, NFSD business.”

After Waldo passed away in 1994, his wife Jean was asked to fill his board position. Jean did so, serving for five years, then passed along the board position to one of her three daughters, Mary Cordano Dall of Indianapolis. Dall has a deaf son who is also a NFSD member – making him the fourth generation to be so.

This spirit of fraternalism was stressed by Cordano, who said, “When I was socializing with some of [the members] last night, one thing was common. Each member had stories after stories about their NFSD involvement, activities, and experiences. Stories that made me feel so much a part of the NFSD family.”

This feeling is found in many other members. Michael N. Ubowski of Phoenix, Ariz., who serves on the NFSD board of directors, says, “I am a diehard NFSD member and have been in my own way driving people to think one thing. When I was the Western Regional Field Manager of NFSD – and I still say the same thing today – I would always lecture to the people that once they join NFSD, it belongs to them, too…not ‘us’ or ‘them’ but us together – and that is what fraternalism is all about.” Ubowski also designed a commemorative poster tracing NFSD’s history.

After dinner, the opening of a 25-year-old time capsule was to be opened by Sullivan. The time capsule was buried at the former home office in Mount Prospect in what was claimed to be an airtight container. However, some of the NFSD officials decided to open the capsule a few days earlier to ensure that everything was of decent condition. That was when that they discovered the contents had been completely demolished by Mother Nature.

A few notable members were also recognized. Forrest Reid of Chicago was recognized as  NFSD’s oldest member in attendance, at the age of 92. Henry Niemeyer was also recognized as the longest-serving member of NFSD in attendance, having been a member for 61 years.

Barry Strassler of Annapolis, Md., gave his speech next. He spoke of the past 100 years in historical terms, and stated that NFSD stood for nostalgia, force, seed, and destiny. The evening was capped off by a performance given by Charles N. Katz of California.

“The weekend succeeded in achieving our goal in recognizing those people who made NFSD what it is,” President Van Nevel said.

Norman Glazer, of Skokie, Ill., who attended the events with his wife Minnie said, “The exhibitions were especially interesting. The attendance numbers seemed to be pretty good, and I enjoyed the events thoroughly.”

Sullivan said, “Most noteworthy [of the evening] was the age of the attendees – mostly older people who stayed loyal to the NFSD through the years.”

So, what lies in the future for NFSD’s next 100 years? “I’d love to see a renewed interest in the history and solidarity of the NFSD, and a surge in new members,” said Borggaard, who was the first woman elected to NFSD’s board of directors and who continues to serve today. She added, “By 1945, the phenomenal growth of the NFSD to 10,000 men (no women were admitted until 1952), came by because members themselves brought in new members.”

Ubowski added, “NFSD is now working to explore what the public wants to ensure that we give them what they want, and at the same time, they can keep us together, moving into the next century at the satisfaction of both parties.”

The spirit of fraternalism has always been a priority in NFSD, and from the looks of things at the 100th anniversary banquet, it’s obvious that this spirit isn’t going to die anytime soon.

Copyrighted material. This article can not be copied, reproduced, redistributed without the written consent of the author.

Originally appeared in Silent News, July 2001.

Visitors to St. Paul will see a variety of characters – including some quite comical ones. No, that isn’t an insult to anyone. The city is literally filled with Snoopys and Charlie Browns.

Charles Schulz, the late creator of the comic strip Peanuts, was originally from St. Paul. The city, proud of its hometown hero, decided to have various statues of Snoopy scattered throughout the city. The Snoopys were a phenomenal success, so the city decided to this again, this time with Charlie Brown, another character in the strip. Artists were invited to submit applications to paint one of 102 statues. Helene Oppenheimer, well-known for her Deaf Art sculptures, decided to try and apply on behalf of her Deaf Art Club, a group of approximately 20 members that meets regularly to work on Deaf Art sculpting and exhibits.

“I sent in my drawing of ‘Charlie Brown Understands American Sign Language’ to the City of St. Paul along with my resume and the application form. They showed it to the Schulz family and to companies interested in buying a Charlie Brown statue,” Oppenheimer said. “My drawing was selected out of 500 by Hamline University.”

With the selection, Helene and the Deaf Art Club congregated at a studio to work on their Charlie Brown sculpture, which stands six feet tall. While at the studio, a chance meeting took place between Stephanie Johnson, Schulz’s granddaughter, and the Deaf Art Club.

“The lady that was in charge of the whole Charlie Brown thing, knows that I know ASL and that I love it. She came up to me, as I was painting my Charlie Brown, and told me that a lady at the other end of the room, was painting a Charlie Brown with all hands on it. She didn’t exactly know what they all were,” Johnson said. “Well, I got really excited, because I absolutely love to meet people and talk about ASL. I introduced myself and told her about how I am working on a career in ASL.” Johnson is studying to become an interpreter in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In fact, there is an interesting connection between the Peanuts creator and the deaf community. “I also thought it was such a strange coincidence that there was a person doing that sort of idea for a Charlie Brown. Also, my grandpa loved that I did ASL. In his Ice Arena, in Santa Rosa, Calif., he had hired a deaf lady in the coffee shop,” Johnson recalled.

“He was so excited to tell me about her, and wanted me to meet her. So, one day, he took me to her, and we had a nice conversation, and he just sat and watched. He thought it was the coolest thing. A few years before, when I was first starting out in sign language, I had taught him the sign for ‘dog’ because he loves his dog. So I remember him doing that sign all the time for me!” Johnson said in an e-mail.

The statue opened to the public along with the other statues on June 8 and is located specifically at Hamline University on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul. The statues will eventually be auctioned off for charity.

With this statue, Oppenheimer said, “We hope that more people will be involved in our DeafArt Club projects, including teaching/creating DeafArt in the schools and with our Deaf seniors.”

Johnson said, “I think [my grandfather] would also love that the Deaf Art Club and Helene did that Charlie Brown, because he so much liked that I use sign language.”

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