Donated the Utah Deaf Material Collection to Utah Valley University's George Sutherland Archives
Written by Jodi Becker Kinner
Published in 2023
Updated in 2024
Published in 2023
Updated in 2024
Author’s Note
On October 18, 2012, Philippe Montalette, President of the Utah Association of the Deaf, Marilyn Call, Director of the Robert G. Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and I were honored to be invited to the George Sutherland Archives at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Our visit was a profound experience, made even more memorable by the generosity of Catherine McIntyre, the archivist who has since retired, and her two colleagues, Aimee Bastarache, and Brent Seavers. They graciously shared their knowledge, expertise, and passion with us, which was instrumental in our understanding of the materials we were donating. Following our visit, we donated our Utah Deaf-related historical materials, including those listed below, to the George Sutherland Archives for digitization for research and historic preservation.
Thank you for preserving our Utah Deaf History collection!
Jodi Becker Kinner
Thank you for preserving our Utah Deaf History collection!
Jodi Becker Kinner
Catherine Mclntyre
In 2016, the George Sutherland Archives digitally scanned and uploaded the scrapbook and minutes of the Utah Association of the Deaf Conventions to their digital collections. This long-awaited project was made possible by Catherine McIntyre, the archivist and digitization librarian at the George Sutherland Archives.
Dr. Bryan Eldredge, a Professor and Program Director of ASL and Deaf Studies, also contributed to the success of this archival project by collaborating with the Sutherland Archives. They both deserve recognition for their valuable contributions.
Dr. Bryan Eldredge, a Professor and Program Director of ASL and Deaf Studies, also contributed to the success of this archival project by collaborating with the Sutherland Archives. They both deserve recognition for their valuable contributions.
Dr. Bryan Eldredge
Utah Association of the Deaf
Conventions Minutes Books, 1909-1952
Conventions Minutes Books, 1909-1952
Valerie G. Kinney, a long-serving UAD officer and member, safeguarded the two books containing minutes from the triennial and biennial of the Utah Association of the Deaf Conventions between 1909 and 1952.
The Utah Association of the Deaf Conventions Minutes, 1909-1952
Valerie G. Kinney, a long-serving UAD officer and member, preserved the two books containing minutes from the triennial and biennial Utah Association of the Deaf Conventions held between 1909 and 1952.
Valerie G. Kinney, 2014
The Scrapbook of the
Utah Association of the Deaf
Conventions, 1931-1984
Utah Association of the Deaf
Conventions, 1931-1984
Georgia Henricks Walker, a 1930 graduate of the Utah School for the Deaf, served as the secretary for the organization. She is credited with collecting, preserving, and compiling the Utah Association of the Deaf Conventions scrapbook from 1931 to 1984. This scrapbook contains clippings from Utah newspapers that are related to the Deaf community in Utah, UAD convention programs, and associated memorabilia.
Gerogia Henricks Walker's Utah Association of the Deaf conventions scrapbook, 1931-1984
Valerie G. Kinney preserved the scrapbook and later handed it over to me when I started working on the history of the Utah Association of the Deaf. With the scrapbook's help, I expanded the history. Once the history was completed, we donated it to the Sutherland Archives at UVU.
Gerogia Henricks Walker
The Large Scrapbook of the
Utah Deaf Community, 1940s-1980s
Utah Deaf Community, 1940s-1980s
Valerie G. Kinney was also responsible for maintaining a large brown scrapbook that Dr. Robert G. Sanderson, a prominent Deaf leader in Utah between the 1940s and the 1980s, compiled. The scrapbook is filled with newspaper clippings covering controversies between oral and sign language, the activism of the Utah Association of the Deaf, and updates on the Utah School for the Deaf. The newspaper clippings proved to be invaluable in filling historical gaps. After completing the "Deaf Education History in Utah" manuscript, we donated the scrapbook to the UVU Sutherland Archives.
A Large Scrapbook of the Utah Deaf Community, 1940s-1980s
The UAD Bulletins, 1960s-1970s
LaVern Petersen Burnett, who graduated from the Utah School for the Deaf in 1943 and was married to Joseph Ball Burnett, one of the leaders of the Utah Deaf community, provided The UAD Bulletins from the 1960s to the 1970s while working on Utah Deaf History.
The UAD Bulletin, Summer 1963, Vol 2 No 10
LaVern's contributions were invaluable in helping me fill in the gaps as I researched Utah Deaf History. After completing the project, I donated The UAD Bulletins to the UVU Sutherland Archives.
LaVern Petersen Burnett, a 1943 Senior of the Utah School for the Deaf
Dr. Jay J. Campbell's 1977
Comprehensive Study
of Deaf Education in Utah
Comprehensive Study
of Deaf Education in Utah
In 1977, Dr. Jay J. Campbell, who was then serving as the Deputy Superintendent of the Utah State Office of Education and a supporter of the Utah Deaf community, conducted his "Education of the Deaf in Utah: Comprehensive Study." The main objective of this study was to resolve the ongoing controversy between oral and sign language. Dr. Campbell completed his research on February 15, 1977, and submitted it to the Utah State Board of Education on April 14, 1977. He presented his findings and recommendations to improve the education system of the Utah School for the Deaf, which included more equitable evaluation and placement systems. However, the advocates of the oral method rejected his findings.
Dr. Jay J. Campbell's 1977 Comprehensive Study of Deaf Education in Utah
Dr. Campbell's strategy to improve education through fair assessment and placement procedures crumbled, and his two-year study was buried and forgotten. After thirty years, in 2007, his comprehensive study resurfaced and was recognized as a valuable source of information.
Dr. Jay J. Campbell. UAD Bulletin, June 1973
Dr. Campbell's book was brought out of the dust by my father-in-law, Kenneth L. Kinner, a 1954 graduate of the Utah School for the Deaf and Deaf father of two Deaf children, Deanne and Duane. After I became interested in Deaf Education History in Utah, he gave me the book. Once I had completed my research for the history website, I donated the book to the UVU Sutherland Archives. More information about Dr. Campbell's book can be found in the 'Dr. Jay J. Campbell's 1977 Comprehensive Study of Deaf Education in Utah' webpage.
Kenneth L. Kinner
The Collection of Don Curtis Jacobs'
The Utah Eagle Magazines
The Utah Eagle Magazines
On May 19, 2016, I paid $50 to an individual named Jeff Buhler for a collection of The Utah Eagle publications, which were issued by the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind from the 1900s to the 1940s. Jeff had discovered and bought these magazines at an estate sale, and he found my contact information on the Utah Deaf History website. When he asked if I was interested in buying the publications, I responded immediately and purchased them. I'm so thankful Jeff bought them, as they would have likely been lost or thrown away otherwise. The collection originally belonged to Don Curtis Jacobs, who graduated from the Utah School for the Deaf in 1942. I later donated his collection to the UVU Sutherland Archives.
Don Curtis Jacobs, The Utahan, 1942
Don Curtis Jacobs' Utah School for the Deaf Magazines
The Photo of the 1909
Utah Association of the Deaf Convention
Utah Association of the Deaf Convention
On August 1, 2022, I received an unexpected email from Julie Lowry. She offered to give me the original 1909 Utah Association of the Deaf photograph. I was thrilled and replied with a quick "Yes!" Julie explained that she found the photo at a garage sale in her neighborhood, where people were raising funds to pay for their granddaughter's medical bills. She discovered the photo in one of the books that were donated for the sale. The photo had the date 1909 inscribed on it in pencil. Julie did not know who the previous owner was or how the photo ended up at the sale. She bought it and kindly mailed it to me. I'm incredibly grateful to Julie for finding and sharing this over-100-year-old piece of history with me!!
The 1909 Utah Association of the Deaf Convention, Ogden, Utah
The Publications of the
Utah School for the Deaf
Utah School for the Deaf
For many years, the Utah School for the Deaf has published "The Utahan," "Utahn," and "The Utah Eagle." The Robert G. Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing displayed these magazines on its lounge shelves. However, after the renovation in 2023, the center needed more space for these publications. So, they gave them to me, intending to donate them to the George Sutherland Archives at Utah Valley University for digital and historical preservation.
The Utah Association of the Deaf published The UAD Bulletin, "Utah Deaf People in Business and Industry...In the Space Age," in the summer of 1968. This bulletin provides information on the career opportunities available to Deaf Utahns in the 1960s.
From 1932 to 1978, the Utah School for the Deaf published The Utah Eagle. These publications featured student-written stories, student news, deaf education research, school programs, classes, clubs, sports, and activities, among other things. The Utah School for the Deaf also published "Utahan" and "Utahn" yearbooks. On October 20, 2023, the UVU Sutherland Archives received all these publications, including The UAD Bulletin, Summer 1968, for preservation.
The Utah Association of the Deaf published The UAD Bulletin, "Utah Deaf People in Business and Industry...In the Space Age," in the summer of 1968. This bulletin provides information on the career opportunities available to Deaf Utahns in the 1960s.
From 1932 to 1978, the Utah School for the Deaf published The Utah Eagle. These publications featured student-written stories, student news, deaf education research, school programs, classes, clubs, sports, and activities, among other things. The Utah School for the Deaf also published "Utahan" and "Utahn" yearbooks. On October 20, 2023, the UVU Sutherland Archives received all these publications, including The UAD Bulletin, Summer 1968, for preservation.
The Utah School for the Deaf's periodicals, 2023
The Deaf Periodicals Donated to the Museum of Deaf History, Arts, and Culture
Brooke Budzinski Grossinger
As previously mentioned above, for years, the lounge of the Robert G. Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing displayed periodicals such as "The Silent Worker," "The Deaf American," "The Deaf Life," "American Annals of the Deaf," Gallaudet's "The Buff & Blue," "Volta Voice," and others. However, the renovation in 2023 limited space, so I donated them to the George Sutherland Archives at Utah Valley University for preservation. Unfortunately, the archives did not have space for them, so I donated them to the Museum of Deaf History, Arts, and Culture in Olathe, Kansas.
I am grateful to Brooke Budzinski Grossinger, the Deaf Senior Community Relationship Manager of Sorenson Communications, and Sorenson Communications for covering the shipping costs to the Museum of Deaf History, Arts, and Culture. Knowing that the periodicals are in good hands is a huge relief. When I learned that the Gallaudet University Archives already had the original and digitized copies, I would recycle them. I didn't have the means to ship them to the Museum of Deaf History, Arts, and Culture for preservation. Thankfully, Brooke stepped in and helped out with the shipping costs!
I am grateful to Brooke Budzinski Grossinger, the Deaf Senior Community Relationship Manager of Sorenson Communications, and Sorenson Communications for covering the shipping costs to the Museum of Deaf History, Arts, and Culture. Knowing that the periodicals are in good hands is a huge relief. When I learned that the Gallaudet University Archives already had the original and digitized copies, I would recycle them. I didn't have the means to ship them to the Museum of Deaf History, Arts, and Culture for preservation. Thankfully, Brooke stepped in and helped out with the shipping costs!
The Deaf American Publications
The American Annals of the Deaf and Gallaudet's Buff & Blue Publications
The Deaf Americans publications featured Deaf Utahns, Robert J. Welsh, Dr. Robert G. Sanderson, Ray G. & Arthur W. Wenger, and Ned C. Wheeler
