Football is life in Green Bay, Wisconsin. A city of just 100,000 people, Green Bay has one of the most storied histories of football which dates back more than 75 years. The Packers are the only publicly owned team in the National Football League, and the season ticket wait list is more than 60,000 names long. Life in Green Bay revolves around Sunday Packer games, and it is no different for the Deaf population there. When they got wind that we were visiting the area, they insisted on meeting at Lombardi Stadium, “the heart of North-East Wisconsin.”

As we arrived, four Deaf people were finishing up a tour inside the stadium’s hall of fame museum. It turned out that one of them, Norbert Snortum, is actually a not-so-distant family member of Vince Lombardi and bloodlines have been verified by the Packers. A brick that bears his name is in the front of the stadium among other Packer fans. We decided to get a stadium tour as well as see the hall of fame museum and we even paid for both of them. When we started the stadium tour however, we quickly realized that there was a heck of a lot of talking by a man who was impossible to understand. We felt lost even before we moved to the second stop on the tour, and decided to stay back and get a refund. That isn’t to say the trip was a total loss however, because the hall of fame museum was really something. It is a shrine to Packer football, obviously, and even features the franchise’s three Vince Lombardi trophies from their three championships in a trophy case for us to view. We spent more than an hour and a half there immersed in video clips, pictures, and displays. I almost felt brainwashed of my Indianapolis Colts loyalty, but when I walked out I finally snapped out of it and regained my faith.

We then met with Terri Matenaer, who was the one who contacted us and emphasized to us that northwest Wisconsin does, in fact have a Deaf community. She took us 20 minutes away to Appleton, where the United Translators, Inc. is based in. United Translators is owned by Adalia Jansen and is an interpreting agency offering services for more than 50 languages in the very diverse Appleton area. The agency is just two and a half years old and specializes in training and providing interpreters for the medical and legal fields. Adalia recognized the need for ASL to be a part of her organization because of the demand for the language. She has one Deaf employee who specializes in working with Deaf clients, Faye Jordan.

Faye is currently studying to become a Certified Deaf Interpreter because she feels that the community demands such a person. Up until just six months ago when Faye was hired, a hearing employee had always overseen Deaf services. “But,” Faye explained, “Adalia realized the need for a culturally Deaf person to have this job, because we relate better with our clients.” Our tour of the office was a short one because simply put, the office is small. The scope of its services however is large, and so is Adalia’s dream to provide full accessibility for those who do not have access to English. “Foreign or American, Deaf or hearing, we all have the same need for accessibility,” capped Adalia, a native of Peru.

United Translator also has a small community room which is open for community gatherings, and today the Appleton community gathered to watch a 10 minute movie of our tour and ask questions. They weren’t the only ones asking questions as we asked around trying to find out more about the Wisconsin Deaf community. We ended up learning about the Fox River Valley Association of the Deaf which has been around since 1930. Robert Kamasky, a Wisconsin native who has spent 32 years as treasurer of the Deaf club explained to us that while they have no official clubhouse, more than 40 members still meet monthly at different places and plan many socials for the local community. He pointed us in the direction of Lloyd Hagen, who has been a member of the club for more than 60 years. When I asked why he remained a member so long, Lloyd simply answered, “they always keep me busy and give me things to do.” The people there are fascinated with the great outdoors, taking full advantage of what mother nature designed Wisconsin to be. They love spending their time on one of the state’s many lakes fishing for bass, or taking part in local timberfest competitions. Some of the people there even went on about their experiences in participating in tractor pulls, engaging me in fascinating conversation over something I had never learned about before. But here, just a short drive from Green Bay, Wisconsin where the Packers call their team home, football remains king.

“Things to do,” are found only on Mondays through Saturdays, explained FRVAD Vice President Gregg Smuddle. “If we plan something on Sunday, we better have a TV there or else nobody’s going to show up.”