In light of the situation at Louisiana School for the Deaf, it is becoming increasingly important to preserve our Deaf institutes. Often serving as the building-bricks of a Deaf child’s security and identity, suspending a school for the Deaf could very well be considered equivalent to rendering that very child homeless.

That is why it broke my heart when the DeafNation crew visited the Nebraska School for the Deaf. Founded in 1869, the school was forced to close its doors in 1998 due to the rising cost per pupil. Despite local and nationwide protests from the Deaf community, the legislation stuck with their decision, later on selling the school and its 23-acre property to the Genesis Foundation for a dirt-cheap $2.5 million.

Walking onto campus to meet up with our tour guides – Nebraska Association of the Deaf Vice-President Jonathan Scherling, Nebraska School for the Deaf Alumni Association President Linsay Darnall, Jr., and NSDAA Historian/NSD museum Curator Daniel Darnall – it did not take long to sense the enormous investment the three men have made to preserve the 129-year history of NSD.

But it was perhaps the younger Darnall brother that struck me the most. Seemingly more audacious of the two, he spoke fervently of the tireless efforts of all the Deaf organizations in Nebraska to keep the institute open, the utter sadness felt by the community that followed when the school shut its doors, and his own personal unyielding efforts to collect and preserve all that defined NSD. Leading the DeafNation crew downstairs to the basement of what were formerly the NSD boys’ dormitories, Darnall unlocked a door and turned the light on.

I was immediately greeted with the familiar library scent – the combination of dust settled on worn leather and aged ink on paper greeted me. Running my fingertips over a desk from the early 1900s, I looked around the room in awe. Boxes upon boxes of schoolbooks sat atop each other, with mountains of paper – presumably student records, statistics, annual reviews – stacked on wooden furniture and a majority of the shelves. Ancient athlete uniforms spilled out of creates, which sat on top of circa-1970s filing cabinets. The shelves also held plaques and trophies, framed certifications and vintage electronic equipment.

“You’re standing in the middle of 100+ years of history,” Daniel grinned. “And that’s not all we have….we have more – much more.”

He led us to another storage room, which held the more heavy items belonging to NSD, such as a first superintendent’s rocking chair, a jukebox purchased by the younger Darnall’s graduating class, movie reels, a barber’s chair, a handful of large trophies, early 1900 blankets with special embroidery of the school name – “…which I found in the bottom of a garbage can – surely to be used as rags!,” exclaimed Darnall, shaking his head in utter disgust.

“So, all this stuff just sits here, in these rooms…?,” I asked.

Daniel nodded. “We don’t have the room – or the resources – to build a bigger museum other than the one we have upstairs,” he sighed, but then brightened up. “Perhaps through more help from alumni and donations, that may be feasible one day.”

Darnall lead us upstairs to the NSD museum. Simply put, the museum is the direct result of labor and of love, and it cannot be put into words how spectacular the museum is. Everyone should go see the museum for themselves, but not before ensuring that Daniel Darnall as your tour guide!

To find out how you can donate or to get a museum tour, you can go to www.nsdmuseum.org!

Related posts:

1. Love Thy Neighbor – Iowa School for the Deaf
2. Our Columbus Colony Visit!
3. Wisconsin By Your Side
4. And All the World’s a Stage…at The Rose with Linsay Darnall, Jr.
5. Helping Hands in Nebraska
6. NASRA 2008 Conference
7. In Hot Water: Hot Springs in Northern California!
8. RIT Campus Tour, an Interview with NTID President Dr. Hurwitz, and Social Night with RRCD!
9. Visiting Rochester School for the Deaf
10. Deaf History through Art: De'VIA Revisited after 15 Years!