Archives for November 2001

Originally appeared in Silent News, November 2001.

I never really got to know the Julius Wiggins of Silent News fame. When I first met him in the summer of 2000, he was already in the advanced stages of his illness. Harriet faithfully brought him to the office on a daily basis, and he had a big smile for anyone that walked into the Silent News office. He was always happy to see us. But I never knew him when he was agile and healthy.

Julius Wiggins is a name I have always known. The newspaper is older than me by a few years, so I’ve never known a life without Silent News. I grew up with the newspaper, and inadvertently the Wiggins name.

Now, in my second year with the newspaper, I have come to realize just how much of an effect Julius, and his wife Harriet, truly has had on the deaf community. Every event I went to, every gathering I attended in the past year – there were people coming up to me and asking, “How is Julius?” And they weren’t asking just for the sake of conversation. They truly cared about Julius.

When Julius had the idea of forming Silent News, he didn’t do it to make money. He didn’t do it to create a legacy. He didn’t do it for anything except to try and make communication between deaf people easier.

Back in those days, newspapers consisted of social gossip and event information. He simply wanted a better way for people all over the country to learn about each other’s lives, milestones and happenings. The first issue of Jan. 1, 1969, said, “The Silent News came into existence because of the deaf’s demanding needs of a newspaper in New York City and other cities as well.” A subscription cost $3.60 per year back then.

Nearly 34 years later, communication in the world is at its most powerful, yet the newspaper is still a valuable commodity.

Over the past decade, the deaf publications world has seen a lot of muckraking, a lot of sensationalism, and a lot of deep, embittered politics behind the scenes. Silent News has been directly hit by these incidents and publications. I even worked as a writer for one of the publications that helped “hurt” Silent News indirectly (although not deliberately). Today, most of the mudslinging between publications has calmed down – and hopefully, the deaf newspaper business has cleaned up a little.

I’ve listened to story after story about the experiences of those first years, the peak years, and the recent years before I came on board. And one thing was consistent in these stories that I heard: Julius wanted nothing but the best for our community.

I’ve listened to Harriet and his daughter tell me about the years of struggle when all the other deaf publications were battling mighty and proud. They’ve told me of the sweat and toil of the first years, the determination of the later years, and now the years of pure love and loyalty to the newspaper today. “How can we give up the dream Julius had?” Adele is always saying to me in the office. “The newspaper is in our blood.”

We find ourselves transported back to Jan. 1, 1969, when the newspaper was founded solely to communicate with each other, not for profit or for reputation or for malice. Silent News has attempted to return to the days of honest, clean journalism. While the newspaper is still far from perfect, we’re very proud of how far we’ve come in a year.

We do this simply because we want to ensure that we continue Julius’s dream of bringing the deaf community together through news.

We hope to help this dream go on by adding a youth section – introducing our deaf youth to the world of deaf and hard of hearing achievements, events and people. One of these children– like I did when I was in high school – might read Silent News and want to become a writer, or even editor in chief, some day.

People have often asked me why I don’t work for a hearing newspaper, or why I choose to stick with a deaf publication. I tell them that working for a deaf newspaper, for me personally, holds far more prestige than a hearing publication. How can I not give back to the community that gave me what I have today? Without the deaf community, I wouldn’t be who I am. My way of giving back is to work for the very publication that brought me here today.

Perhaps I did know the real Julius Wiggins, after all.

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Originally appeared in Silent News, November 2001.

After battling nine other teams in the tournament, Greater Tampa Bay and Colorado Springs Thundersnow came face to face in the National Softball Association of the Deaf (NSAD) championship game. If Tampa Bay lost this game, the two teams would be forced to play a second game in the double-elimination bracket tournament.

Colorado got off to a fast start in the second inning, going 7-0. Their strong defense held Tampa to a no-scoring game, winning 10-0. The second game was equally powerful for Colorado, though Tampa Bay fared slightly better offensively.

Tampa Bay immediately got up 3-1 over Colorado in the first inning. However, by the second inning, Colorado, a team full of experienced player such as Alicia Flores, Angela Kuehn and Ruth Lummer, was back on top, 9-3. Donna Osborne was deliberately walked by Tampa Bay, and the bases were loaded. Colette Stoker then hit a drive into outfield and brought two Colorado runners home for a score of 11-3.

Colorado’s Jamie Fisher, who was pitching and batting with an obvious leg injury, remained steadfast in her mission for the championship. The Tampa Bay players, consistent in their hitting fly balls, were showing fatigue in their hitting, and Colorado took advantage of this. By the top of the third inning, Colorado’s Alicia Flores, who played for Gallaudet’s softball team, was able to run home thanks to a hit by Michelle Malcolm, a Deaflympian in the sport of team handball and the tournament’s most valuable player. The score now stood at 13-5.

In the bottom, Tampa Bay had some luck with McKee’s hit to right field that brought four runners home, bringing the score up to 13-9. By the fourth inning, McKee had also run home, and Tampa Bay was down 13-10.

The game remained somewhat sleepy with no runs in the fifth and sixth innings, until Fisher hit to right field, running to third base and bringing Flores home for a score of 16-10. Kuehn was then intentionally walked for the second time by Tampa Bay, and due to a Tampa Bay catcher error, Lummer, also a Deaflympian team handball player, brought the score up to 18-10. The championship was sealed with easy outs, and a tired Tampa Bay team congratulated the buoyant Colorado women.

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Originally appeared in Silent News, November 2001.

Take a look at David H. Pierce’s vita, and you see a six-page list of his accomplishments and experience. His film and television credits alone span four pages in small print. Say David Pierce, and people respond, “Oh yeah, TV guy, good with cameras.”

Few people know that Pierce is a part-time magician as well as “film guy.”

He likes to have Sunday BBQs.

He’s an avid comic book collector.

Oh yes, he also has 2 dogs, 12 cats, 2 iguanas, 2 parakeets, 5 crested pigeons, and 30-plus white doves.

Say what?

“I’m a dove breeder and make many of the doves available for sale to professional magicians to use in their shows,” Pierce explains.

Pierce, who lives next door to a large-animal veterinarian in Texas country, has recently relaunched Davideo Productions, a broadcast television and film production and consulting firm. “When Kaleidoscope Network, Inc., closed its doors in November 2000, I decided to relaunch Davideo Productions as a sole proprietorship,” Pierce says. Originally established with David B. Strom in 1986 when the two were students at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, the company was dissolved in 1988 when Pierce moved to Los Angeles to work with a Davideo Productions client, Silent Network.

After two years, Silent Network was sold to Texas investors, who then founded the America’s Disability Channel, a completely accessible channel with open captions on every program. ADC then became Kaleidoscope Television Network, and expanded to a 24-hour accessible channel. “I was often referred to as a dinosaur,” Pierce says of his longevity with the highly stressful environment back then. He was responsible for a multitude of duties, including programming, production, satellite operations, captioning, traffic, library management, and equipment/facility management and design.

With his expertise, the relaunch of Davideo only seemed natural. And the firm is already off to a good start.

“Many of my projects over the past year were industry consultations. I’m producing short client videos and a 13-part television series, negotiating literary rights for a screenplay, and helping with a book to be published next year,” Pierce says.

Pierce was born in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and grew up near Buffalo. He attended a public school and then learned sign language at 19 as a student at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, though he knew some basic signs thanks to a fellow bus rider who attended the St. Mary’s School for the Deaf. “My experiences were good, but tough at times, as my profound deafness was a challenge in a speaking environment with no sign language,” Pierce remembers. “I survived it well, although I would recommend the use of sign language for future students in that setting as not everyone is a good lipreader.”

A recent showcase of Pierce’s work was seen at the Houston Deaf Film Festival (Silent News, October 2001). “Marine Escape to Port Aransas, Texas,” a nine-minute experimental film, is a humorous look at two friends’ fishing trips. “It was shot and edited ‘cinema verite’ style, and got a lot of good response to it.” He is working with the Chicago Institute for the Moving Image, which will be hosting the Cinema for the Deaf Festival in Chicago in March 2002.

Pierce is also credited with inventing an editing technique, known as the Pierce Method for Deaf Editors, for cutting video to audio by editors with hearing losses.

Over the years, Pierce has seen quite a few changes in his profession. “During the Silent Network’s heyday, seeing Deaf people on television was commonplace and now, today, it is almost non-existent. There is just a smattering of small roles played by Deaf/hard of hearing actors in mainstream television programming.”

With Davideo Productions, Pierce hopes to alleviate this lacking visibility. “There are many production companies operating successfully in today’s media centric market. However, there are only a few that have the ability to cater to our specialized population sector, namely the Deaf and hard of hearing community,” Pierce says. “Davideo maintains the necessary credibility and accuracy in its productions. So I consider this one of my niches, but my experience and resources are broad enough to service everyone.”

So, in between his self-proclaimed “mouth-watering” Sunday BBQs, part-time magician career, book reading, film collecting, and taking care of his animals, how will Pierce stay focused on the goals of Davideo?

“While Deaf cultural programming has significantly decreased, the amount of closed captioning has increased…the use of video over the Internet, especially video interpreting and conferencing, seems to be catching on very quickly,” Pierce explains. “In spite…I see an increasing desire to have the choice of being able to watch Deaf programming on television on a regular basis.. So, don’t worry, I’m not retiring anytime soon.”

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

Originally appeared in Silent News, November 2001.

James Hall was ordained a Catholic priest in Aurora, Ill. on June 9. He becomes the seventh deaf priest in the U.S.to be ordained.

Hall, who grew up in the Warren/Niles area near Youngstown in Ohio became deaf at nine years old from spinal meningitis. After attending a few mainstreamed programs, Hall made his way to the St. Rita School for the Deaf in Cincinnati. Upon graduation, he attended Youngstown College (now University) for two years. “I did not receive a degree in anything. My goal at that time was to be a mechanical engineer, but as time went on, I was unable to finish,” Hall said, citing the lack of interpreters as a reason. “I had no notetakers or tutors to help me.”

In January 1972, Hall decided to enter the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart as a Religious Brother. “In 1978, I began to take an interest in a different way of life, and began my studies to become a priest with the permission of the order,” Hall says. “It was just a special feeling I had where I feel I could reach out and touch the lives of other deaf people in a special way.”

He then entered Gallaudet College (now University), finishing up with a degree in psychology. Next was the Washington Theology Union in Silver Spring, Md., to begin his studies for the priesthood. However, he decided to take a leave to see if the priesthood was truly for him. “Through much spiritual guidance I was encouraged to return and complete my studies and become a priest,” Hall says. “I became involved in Deaf Ministry in the Dicoese of Gary, Ind. At the age of 59, I again developed an interest in the priesthood and began my studies again, this time at the Catholic Theology Union in Chicago.”

Hall completed his certification in pastoral studies, and began his preparation. “I became a priest at the age of 64 and am enjoying the fruits of my ministry.”

Today, Hall is in the Aurora, Ill. area, and working at five dioceses in the area. “Being ordained as a priest became a great joy for me as I reach out touch the lives of others in a special way, which includes bringing the word of God into their life and helping them to live His word,” Hall states. “I feel a special blessing to be part of this ministry.”

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Originally appeared in Silent News, November 2001.

Usually, the opposing school is very conscious of the fact that the North Carolina School for the Deaf (NCSD) football team has two female players on the team.

“My players were very aware of the girls, ” says Ronnie Taylor of the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind in Spartanburg. “But when playing on the field, my team players had a hard time remembering that they were girls, not boys.”

Saprina David, a freshman, and Ebony Miller, a sophomore, are the school’s first female football players in its history. David, 14, is 5′ and 115 pounds. Miller is 15, 5’1″ and 180 pounds.

“These two girls are actually in the midst of the gridiron battling on every play as both are starters on our team,” NCSD coach and athletic director Mark Burke says. “If not for these two girls, we could actually have had  to cancel the season when we were hit with injuries as three have been lost for the season. It’s important to note that these girls did not join the team to allow us to have a team. They joined because they wanted to play football.”

Aside from giving the girls separate locker rooms, not much has been done to accommodate their gender differences. Burke says, “The girls are not given any slack in football just because they are girls, and they don’t ask to be given the slack, either.”

“When I was in the fifth grade, I became interested in football on television,” Saprina says. Her cousin taught her about the sport. “We still play whenever I go home on weekends. After about a year, I made it a goal to join the NCSD high school football team.”

When Burke came to the school in 1999, Miller asked him if she could play, since the previous coach had denied her request. “To me if anyone says they want to play football, they obviously have the desire for it,” Burke rationalizes.

The girls are excellent players. David, who plays wingback, wide receiver, safety and defensive linebacker, has had 14 receptions for 319 yards in the seven games she has played to date. She is currently second in receiving yardages and number of receptions on the team, in addition to having three touchdown catches with a long of 69 yards versus Kentucky. She also averages two to three tackles per game. “When [David] caught the ball and ran into the zone, I didn’t think she was a girl until she was in the zone for the touchdown…then I realized she was actually a girl!” Taylor says.

Miller is a starter on both the offense line and the defense line. Joining the team late in the season, she has recorded 17 tackles with a game high of ten versus South Carolina.

Burke is proud of his girls and the impact they have had upon the NCSD team.

“These two girls are doing damage to the opponents.”

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

Originally appeared in Silent News, November 2001.

Julius H. Wiggins died Oct. 13 at a nursing home in Mount Laurel, N.J., due to complications stemming from congestive heart failure. He was 73.

Wiggins founded Silent News, a newspaper devoted to the deaf and hard of hearing community, in 1969. “My father had a dream, and that was to bring deaf and hard of hearing people together through the newspaper,” daughter Adele Wiggins says. “He lived to see it continue for nearly 34 years, and that was a proud achievement for him.”

Julius was born in Toronto, Canada, on Sept. 19, 1928, and attended the Belleville School for the Deaf in Belleville, Ontario, until the school became an army base during World War II. He was transferred to a vocational school in Toronto, where his skills at tailoring were noticed by his father. His father thought Julius might want to try apprenticing with fur, and Julius learned the trade rapidly. He decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a furrier. He worked in Toronto until he was 20, then moved to New York City.

Back in those days, it was difficult for a deaf person to be taken seriously by employers. As described in his autobiography No Sound, Julius experienced years of frustration and oppression as many employers doubted his ability to be a top furrier. However, he proved them all wrong and worked his way up into the Manhattan fur district with his expertise and skills.

Julius met Harriet Berkowitz at a deaf event in New York City. They married on March 23, 1952, and had three kids and 49 years of marriage.

In 1968, as the fur market once again fell for the second time, Julius found himself unemployed. He decided to try and request help from his vocational rehabilitation counselor in seeking appropriate employment. The vocational rehabilitation counselor referred Julius to a job in the postal service. Julius was a creative man and according to Adele, the job was difficult for him with its repetitious and tedious tasks. “Unfortunately, some of his supervisors gave him a hard time and teased him about his deafness,” Adele remembers.

That following summer, as the family traveled to California for a deaf convention, they stopped over in Las Vegas to visit relatives. As the family shopped, Julius saw a sign that said, “Who, What, When, Where and Why,” and was suddenly inspired with an idea. The family returned to their Fair Lawn, N.J., home, and Julius immediately arranged a meeting. Deaf leaders were invited, and the idea of having a newspaper serving the deaf and hard of hearing community was discussed.

“This was the time before portable TTYs and computers were available to the deaf community,” Adele says. “The North Jersey deaf community said he couldn’t do it. Some had tried, but Dad wouldn’t listen to the naysayers.”

Julius, who his family describes as a very determined and strong-willed man, proceeded to convince the deaf leaders to buy shares of Silent Press, which printed Silent News. In exchange for printing the first year’s issues of Silent News and No Sound, he would provide the publisher’s wife with a full-length white ermine mink coat.

The first issue was pasted together in the basement of the Wiggins family’s home. All the Wiggins kids were recruited and put to work for the first year’s issues. The newspaper is about to enter its 34th year, and continues to thrive with a solid subscriber base. The newspaper was run by the late Walter Schulman for the first 20 years.

Julius loved to travel, and he with his wife Harriet traveled all of Europe and Israel. He believed that high visibility was key to gathering information for the newspaper, so he and Harriet attended many conventions and gatherings. The newspaper moved back to New Jersey after several years in Rochester, N.Y. Due to Julius’s failing health, the newspaper was sold to Adele, who then became executive director in 1996.

Julius leaves behind many people. His three kids have all grown up to be successful adults. Adele is currently the executive director and owner of Silent News in Mount Laurel, N.J.; Morton Wiggins is the president of 33rd St. Records, a division of Tower Records, in California; and Shimon Wiggins is a rabbi in the Atlanta, Ga., area. Combined, they gave Julius and Harriet ten grandchildren, and plenty of memories.

He also was very active in deaf organizations, including the Temple Beth Or of the Deaf in Queens, N.Y., the Philadelphia Hebrew Association of the Deaf, New York Hebrew Association of the Deaf, Brooklyn Hebrew Society of the Deaf, and a member of the National Association of the Deaf and the National Fraternal Society of the Deaf.

“Julius and Harriet both were business role models for me to look up when I started my business in 1982,” Bob Harris of Harris Communications in Minnesota, says. “When I see the name Silent News anywhere, the first picture that pops up in my mind is always Julius and Harriet.”

Others remembers the same sense of awe upon meeting Julius. “I looked up to him and sought his ideas and guidance during the time I served as editor in chief of Silent News. He was unfailingly supportive and positive about the future of the newspaper. He was an inspiration to me and countless others,” says Betty Broecker.

“My father was always a man ahead of his time, and this is evident in his life experiences,” says Adele. “I am honored to have been able to carry on his determined dreams of bringing the deaf community together through the power of news.”

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to the Julius Wiggins fund, which will go towards the creation of a youth section in Silent News. Contributions may be mailed to The Julius Wiggins Fund, c/o Silent News, 135 Gaither Drive Suite F, Mount Laurel, NJ 08054.

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

Originally appeared in Silent News, November 2001.

A sense of patriotism was apparent in every corner of the National Softball Association of the Deaf (NSAD) tournament held Sept. 28-30 in New Orleans, La. Players, fans, and referees braved the looming sense of danger from the Sept. 11 attacks as they flew to New Orleans through major security checks.

With most of the teams displaying the American flag on their shirts or caps, and an American flag waving over the fields, 26 men, 11 women, and 6 co-ed teams for a total of 43 participated in the double-elimination tournament.

“I was really impressed with the high-spirited patriotism of the players and fans here at the tournament,” said tournament chairperson Dan Arabie, who credited his committee for the successful tournament.

Teams began arriving on Wednesday night with registration on Thursday. NSAD meetings were held all day on Thursday, and for nightlife, people flocked to the nearby infamous Bourbon Street. “Bourbon Street was a good place to hang out after all day at the softball fields,” Leon Parker of Georgia said. “Everything was happening on that street, but it’s not just Bourbon Street that made the New Orleans experience. There was the French Quarter, the waterfront, French Market, and so many other places!”

Games were played on a four-field playing ground, with a concession stand and tables providing respite for hungry fans and tired players. The co-ed games were played on a separate field, just a short distance down the road from the main field. Over 1,300 people attended, including 700 players and 500 fans. Twelve deaf referees were also part of the tournament.

Favorites Minnepaul, Austin, and Carolina were quickly reconsidered as Minnepaul lost to Atlanta in a first-round upset. Minnepaul again understood the sour taste of defeat when they lost to Tampa Bay in the loser’s bracket, ending their quest for the championship at 2-2.

One of the drawbacks to the tournament seemed to be the sand on the infield. Player after player tripped as they ran home. Due to the climate of New Orleans, the sand was quite soft, making it difficult to have solid footing at time.

The tournament cultivated with two exciting championship finales. The Tampa Bay women’s team battled the experienced and stronger Colorado Springs team, giving Colorado the championship title (see stories of both championships on page 4). The aging Chicago team – although with its share of youngsters – just would not quit, battling the Carolina team in their fourth and fifth games straight without a break. Carolina clinched the title with a tie-breaking, and winning, run in extra innings.

“Many games were close games. I think we had at least five games forced into extra innings,” Vance Rewolinski, NSAD Commissioner said. “The championship game was very close – the closest we’ve had since 1988 in Dallas.”

After the nerve-wracking final game, awards were handed out. Michelle Malcolm of the Colorado Springs team won Most Valuable Player for the women’s tournament, and the men’s MVP went to Carolina’s Justin Moor. Coaches of the tournament were Betty Bonni of Colorado and Terry DeBoer of Chicago Catholic Ephpheta.

There was no ballroom event held that night, because as a planning committee member said, “We all knew everyone would prefer to go to Bourbon Street and celebrate there.”

“All the teams seemed to really enjoy themselves. There were no complaints,” Rewolinski said.

“I would love to go to future NSAD tournaments. I had such a great time, meeting many new and old faces,” Parker, who was attending his first NSAD tournament, said.

The next tournament will be held in Chicago on Sept. 12-14, 2002. For more information, visit www.nsad.org.

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