Gerald Burstein, who went by his nickname “Bummy”. He was an ardent fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1940s. The MLB team later moved to Los Angeles in 1959. The Brooklyn fans were called “bums,” which explains why Bummy adopted his modified nickname. Many people didn't know his real name. His nickname took precedence over his legal name for social interaction.
Bummy spent 37 years working at CSDR, starting in 1965 and retiring in 2002. Bummy explained that Dr. Brill stole him from the Minnesota School for the Deaf, where he had taught math for 15 years. Bummy went to CSUN for a master’s degree in administration and supervision. Dr. Brill was a visiting professor for the now-defunct National Leadership Training Program for Deaf Education.
Upon completing his studies, Bummy obtained a teaching position at CSDR, teaching math in JrHS, and was promoted to supervisor of the newly formed Media Services Center in 1969. The Media Center provided various services, including TV technology, visual equipment loan, yearbook production, paper duplication, rolls of large-sized paper, library, film strips, 16-mm films, and VHS videos. In 2002, Bummy finally called it quits after 52 years at MASD and CSDR in the field of deaf education.
Besides his work at CSDR, Bummy remained active in the Deaf community at the local, state, national, and international levels for several decades.
Bummy served on the boards of the California Association of the Deaf, the Gallaudet University Alumni Association, the National Congress of Jewish Deaf, and the California Public Utilities Commission for equal access for people with disabilities.
With Bummy’s expertise in parliamentary procedure, he led 200 workshops to train deaf organizations and schools across the country on running smooth meetings. He shared his knowledge as the author of “Basic Parliamentary Procedure,” “Bummy’s Successful Meeting Procedures,” as well as through an ASL video, “Bummy’s Basic Parliamentary Workshop.”
In a nutshell, for his educational background, as a Brooklyn resident, Bummy graduated in 1943 from the oral deaf program at PS 47 and in 1946 from Charles Evans Hughes High School. He attended City College of New York and then transferred to Gallaudet University, where he graduated in 1950. Lastly, he earned a master’s degree from CSU Northridge.
In 1985, through the California Association of the Deaf, Bummy was credited for working with State Senator Robert Presley to establish the Inland Service Center for the Deaf (ISC), the forerunner of today’s Center on Deafness-Inland Empire (CODIE) for providing advocacy, interpreter, health, social, employment and other services to deaf residents in the Inland Empire region.
Bummy holds credit for establishing the Mayor’s Model Deaf Community Committee under Mayor Ronald Loveridge. The committee continues to stand and makes Riverside a more deaf friendly town.
For his extensive involvement with many organizations for decades, Bummy has received numerous awards, including an honorary Doctor of Laws from Gallaudet in 1986.
Bummy lived a simple life and built his investments over decades so he could share his wealth with the deaf community. His favorite quote is "It is better to give than to receive." He donated his legacy funds to CSDR and Gallaudet University.
Bummy was characterized by vision, professionalism, wisdom, diplomacy and humor with both the deaf and hearing alike.
At 91 of age, Bummy departed from Earth on August 31, 2018. He is buried at the Olivewood Cemetery, a mile from CSDR.
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