For years they had hoped this day wouldn’t come, but it was inevitable. They had been officially notified one year ago, and by now the pain had numbed. It was a hopeless cause that voided years of battle and the decision was all but written in stone. The 129th and final commencement of the Nebraska School for the Deaf saw just six graduates in a somber ceremony. None of the school’s 33 students cared that the state found that the costs of operating the school outweighed its benefits. This was their home, their sanction from a hearing household where nobody knows sign. For hundreds of others throughout the years, the school’s 23 acres holds countless broken bones, scraped knees, and countless nights of mischief in the school dorms. The school is not only a place of education, but was also the bastion of the Deaf community where everyone gathered. It was the only place in Nebraska that tied everyone together, and the day the gates were closed, the ropes were cut.The way they did it however, was the most sickening of all. All the staff and faculty gathered for one last picnic on Friday, July 5th, 1998. The school was scheduled to be closed at 5 p.m., and the staff gathered for their last moments of reflection. Their tearful picnic was suddenly interrupted when huge white trucks bearing the Department of Education’s namesake barged on campus before the school was even scheduled to close. Movers stepped out of the truck and described as “scavengers,” they proceeded to grab everything in sight and threw them in the trucks. Everyone stood in horror and heartbreak, shocked at how they could do this in front of their own eyes. Daniel Darnall, historian and Residential Advisor at the time, jumped to his feet and raced to gather important sentimental things before they would be taken away and reused at other state run facilities. In a scene that should have never happened, Daniel raced movers to gather old desks, chairs, clocks, and such, saying that, “the only way we could keep these were if we got to it before they did.” They have since used the objects to build a museum on the school grounds which we visited.

The importance of the school is evident when Linsay Darnall Jr., a 1988 graduate of NSD and newly elected third term president of the Nebraska School for the Deaf Alumni Association, gave us a tour of the beautiful school grounds. The school sat on 23 acres in its 129 year history and Darnall took us to a clearing beneath a row of trees next to the administrative buildings. He told us that theirs is the only Deaf community that can actually point out the very geographical spot that is the cradle of the Deaf community. It was on that spot that the first building of the school was built, and thus the Deaf community born. When they sold that small patch of land for $2.5 million to The Genesis Foundation, a Christian based organization, the state essentially sold their heritage away as well.

Linsay and his brother Daniel, have both feverishly worked to preserve the heritage of the Nebraska Deaf community. Now that their school has been taken away from them and that there is all but no hope for bringing the school back, their focus is on preserving what there once was. The owner of the campus which is now called “The Turning Point,” has developed good relations with the Darnall brothers. They have since been given a block of rooms in the top floor of the old boy’s dorm to convert into a museum which has opened. The museum beautifully chronicles the school’s 129 year history and offers an important look into what is the backbone of the Deaf in Nebraska. They built the museum with other volunteers with their bare hands using artifacts that they have had to chase down across campuses and junk yards alike.

Linsay told us of the time that the state had ordered the auctioning of a room filled with some of the most precious artifacts of their school which even included pictures and trophies that held no monetary value but was priceless in sentiment. After fighting with the state, the state refused to allow the NSDAA to even buy the lot themselves. They had to go to the auction and bid on the lot just like anyone else. In a panic, Linsay and Daniel used every possible connection they had in the state legislature and finally won a victory. The lot would not be advertised as required in different publications, and on the morning of the auction, Linsay Darnall, Jr. was the sole person in the room. The auctioneer wrote on paper, “The auction is now open. The opening bid is $100.” Linsay raised his hand to bid, and wrote $101. The auctioneer looked to his left and right slowly, almost for effect, and wrote, “Sold.” A huge victory was won in retaining their precious artifacts.

Linsay also shared with us the future goals in the preservation of their history. They have been given the oldest building on campus which was severely damaged in a storm. If they can raise the money to fix up the building, they could turn it into a full museum and community center and revive for the Deaf community what was once theirs. Costs are expected to run more than $1,000,000 and it’s a distant goal that they are taking the necessary steps to begin. They hope to find help from the Nebraska Library Commission which works with the Nebraska Department of Tourism. Omaha has several cultural museums such as black history, Latino history, and Native American history museums. They hope to add a Nebraska Deaf History museum to that list as well.

When I asked if there ever was hope for reviving the school, their own strongest supporter said no. The state made it clear that it wants no business in establishing another school, and the concept of a charter school is too new for the state of Nebraska, where there are none. The only option would be to have a private school, “but finding the funding for that would be near impossible,” explains Darnall.

For now, the 500 Deaf and hard of hearing students across the state are resigned to going to public schools or attending the Iowa School for the Deaf which is just 11 miles away from the old school just across the border. “You could even see the red roof of ISD on a clear day. We used to get up on this roof and sign insults to them as loudly as we could,” reminisced Darnall, telling just one of the hundreds of stories he had of the school.