The Sanderson Community
Center Museum
Compiled & Written By Jodi Becker Kinner
Edited by Valerie G. Kinney
Published in 2013
Updated in 2024
Edited by Valerie G. Kinney
Published in 2013
Updated in 2024
Kenneth C. Burdett, who graduated from the Utah School for the Deaf in 1929 and became a teacher there, worked tirelessly to preserve the school's history in preparation for the first Utah School for the Deaf reunion in 1976. He and his team covered eight 4 x 8-foot bulletin boards with historical photos of USD on both sides, using a special Mod Podge to prevent them from deteriorating. The goal was to allow USD alums to reminisce about the school's past and appreciate its history for years to come.
The photos on the bulletin boards showcased a wide range of activities and settings, including academics, athletics, commencements, vocational programs, buildings and grounds, support services, student activities, houseparents/supervisors, and deaf groups. Thanks to Kenneth's efforts, much of the school's history was saved from being lost. Unfortunately, the bulletin boards are now stored in a warehouse, where they are left unattended at the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind in Ogden, Utah.
In 2005, Bobby Giles, who graduated from the Utah School for the Deaf in 1983, produced a video called "Utah School for the Deaf (USD) in Ogden, Utah: Summer 2005." The video features interviews with Ron Burdett, Kenneth's son and a 1965 graduate of the school, and Darlene Stewart Cochran, who share their memories and experiences as USD students. Julio Diaz and Jim Harper helped Bobby make the film a success.
The photos on the bulletin boards showcased a wide range of activities and settings, including academics, athletics, commencements, vocational programs, buildings and grounds, support services, student activities, houseparents/supervisors, and deaf groups. Thanks to Kenneth's efforts, much of the school's history was saved from being lost. Unfortunately, the bulletin boards are now stored in a warehouse, where they are left unattended at the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind in Ogden, Utah.
In 2005, Bobby Giles, who graduated from the Utah School for the Deaf in 1983, produced a video called "Utah School for the Deaf (USD) in Ogden, Utah: Summer 2005." The video features interviews with Ron Burdett, Kenneth's son and a 1965 graduate of the school, and Darlene Stewart Cochran, who share their memories and experiences as USD students. Julio Diaz and Jim Harper helped Bobby make the film a success.
A Slideshow of
Kenneth C. Burdett's Bulletin Boards
Kenneth C. Burdett's Bulletin Boards
Photograph by Duane L. Kinner
George Wilding, a member of the Utah Deaf community, expressed the desire to establish a museum at the superintendent's residence on the Utah School for the Deaf campus during Harlan Fulmer's administration (1978-1983) as the superintendent of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB). The Deaf community considered the superintendent's home on 20th Street a historic site in Utah. George requested that the museum receive photographs from the early 1900s, books written with a feather pen, trophies, and accolades. Several older deaf individuals expressed interest in contributing their belongings to the museum.
According to George, one of the alums possessed an old leather basketball from the 1920s, and another woman wanted to donate a dress she had made in the 1920s while working at USD. However, the state of Utah did not fund the museum, and the plan eventually fell through. Nevertheless, the Parent-Infant Program was established in the superintendent's home in 1979.
According to George, one of the alums possessed an old leather basketball from the 1920s, and another woman wanted to donate a dress she had made in the 1920s while working at USD. However, the state of Utah did not fund the museum, and the plan eventually fell through. Nevertheless, the Parent-Infant Program was established in the superintendent's home in 1979.
In 1981, Ned C. Wheeler, an alumnus of Utah School for the Deaf from the class of 1933 and a member of the Advisory Council for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, was working on setting up a museum for the school. Unfortunately, he passed away that same year. In the late 1980s, the school's rich heritage began to decline due to mainstreaming, and when the new USDB Administration building was constructed in 1993, there was no space for the museum. This was a huge disappointment for the Utah Deaf community, mainly because the school's sports trophies were lost during the move.
The UAD Museum Committee was chaired by Rob Kerr, a 1959 alumnus of the Utah School for the Deaf and a board member of the Utah Association of the Deaf. He envisioned the Robert G. Sanderson Community Center as a perfect location for the museum. The Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing provided $5,000 in state funds for the museum in 2012, thanks to the efforts of Philippe Montalette, UAD President, and Marilyn Call, Director of the Sanderson Community Center. Prisoners built the museum shelves. Rob Kerr, Julio Enriquez, Nancy Christensen Li, and Jodi Becker Kinner, the UAD Museum Committee members, collaborated to make the museum a reality.
David "Jerry" Wilding, an Idaho Deaf Historian and brother of George Wilding, founded a museum at the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind in 1975. The museum is still operational.