The life journey of the school’s first graduating class (the Class of 1956) ended when the last surviving class member, Joni Macfadden, died at 88 in Fall 2024.
The Class of 1957 is the next oldest class with few surviving members: Rae Etta Marquis Gamache in Arizona, Bob Powers in Utah, Lillian Quartermus in Murrieta, California, and Alice Hazelbaker in ?? Their ages range between 87 and 88 now.
I am honored to write this column on Janelle Johnson, known as Jan, a proud CSDR Class of 1957 member. She represents the first generation of four-family generations to enroll at CSDR. She came as a freshman in Fall 1953 and stayed four years until she completed the requirements for a high school diploma.
Jan had a rough start as a six-year-old deaf girl because she went to the John Tracy Clinic in 1943. She was among the first pupils for oral training that opened that year at JTC (as true for many deaf toddlers, including myself after her), oral education was not Jan's best communication method. Alas, her mother insisted on oralism as the family choice of communication at home and school.
Jan soon transferred to the Mary E Bennett (MEB) School for the Deaf in downtown Los Angeles. MEB opened in 1912 for the DHH from grades K through 6 under the Los Angeles Unified School District and eventually closed in 1967. Although MEB was an oral school, Jan made a friend with Etta Smith, ‘61, four years her junior. Etta had deaf parents and preferred ASL. Jan learned ASL in secrecy from her parents.
Once Jan completed her K-6 grades at MEB, she transferred to Foshay Junior High School with the DHH program in LA, where she remained for two years, staying on the track for oral communication. When approaching the completion of her intermediate education studies, Jan and her parents took a tour at CSDR in early Fall 1953 for possible enrollment. Her parents took satisfaction in knowing that CSDR emphasized oral training and lipreading. During the campus tour, Jan was surprised to see some friends she knew from MEB and Foshay. That was enough for Jan to know she would enjoy the new school life at CSDR, which was far from home. Below are two junior class friends at the swimming pool: Jan and Rae Etta Marquis Gamache.
The next four years at CSDR were a learning curve for Jan. Although CSDR was advertised as an oral school, her new friends used signing in both the classroom and the dorm. Her ASL skills took off. She was shocked her first-year high school teacher was deaf. Jan had never seen a deaf adult before. The teacher was Miss Madeline Musmanno, a member of the Gallaudet Class of 1935. Having her and Larry Newman, also a member of Gallaudet Class of 1948, as her math teacher helped nurture Jan’s Deaf identity development.
The abundance of extra-curricular activities at CSDR was mind-blowing for her. Education was not confined only to the classroom. Incidental learning outside the classroom made an essential part of her education growth. See below Jan’s busy high school life.
Below Jan is sitting on the floor with her arm on the coffee table. Dorms were a significant adjustment for Jan, and she learned to adapt to the new home life with 30 girls in each dorm. Dorm life was structured with activities to keep girls busy from 3:00 to light out.
Jan learned to enjoy the dorm away from home and made many friends. She adds that most of her friends and she chose to stay at CSDR three weekends a month and go home to see their family once a month. Dorms from K to 12 grades opened 24 hours, 7 days a week, from 1953 to 1973. Many dorm residents found CSDR more fun than at home, where most families didn't sign, and there were no closed captions on black-and-white TVs until 1980.
During her senior year, Jan was selected to help with office work in the Superintendent’s office. She reported to the office under Secretary Virginia Firth’s supervision for one period every day until graduation.
In 1955, Jan learned how to drive a state-issued vehicle with PE Teacher Bill Thornton for her teacher. CSDR offered a driver’s education program until 2005 when the last teacher (Dean Russell) retired with 30 years of service on the road. Since then, CSDR students have had to take driver’s education classes and driving practice under their parents’ responsibility. The State Department of Education discontinued the program at Riverside and Fremont for liability reasons.
Jan was invited to give a presentation to the younger high school students in the Social Hall. In the time of speech and fingerspelling as communication philosophy at CSDR, Miss Musmanno unexpectedly dared Jan to sign openly on the stage instead. At first, Jan was hesitant since the school emphasized speech training. Yet, she looked up to her teacher as a role model and complied with her request. Surprisingly, Jan saw how the audience responded positively to her courage to sign—a sigh of relief. Dr Brill rose, walked up to the stage, and signed to the audience. At that point, Jan and the students saw Dr Brill sign for the first time.
After Jan completed her compulsory education for a high school diploma in June 1957, she returned to LA and found employment as an office clerk. Jan later had two deaf children, Jeff and Wendy. They followed her education path at CSDR but at a much earlier age. In 1969, Wendy arrived at the Lower School and stayed there for the next 13 years until 1982 for a diploma. Because of her experience with CSDR, Jan knew the residential school would be an excellent placement for Wendy’s K-12 education.
Jan made an interesting remark that Dr Brill articulated on his mouth and fingerspelling concurrently (called the Rochester Method) during her enrollment years. Years later, as a mother with two deaf children enrolled at CSDR, Dr Brill signed with her. An important symbol of change for communication at CSDR. Jan was thrilled that Dr Brill finally relented and allowed sign language on campus in 1968 at the height of the nationwide Total Communication movement with a combination of speech and sign language.
Later, Jan moved to Utah for a second marriage and found employment as a procurement clerk at an Air Force installation, where she worked for 16 years. After the divorce, Jan moved back to California once again. Currently, Jan lives with Wendy Calhoun Korn, ‘82, in Riverside. Wendy is currently a residential hall counselor at CSDR.
Jan will be 88 next month in March and continues to live one day at a time with a positive outlook on life. She looks forward to the following alumni reunion in 2028 for the school’s 75th anniversary. CSDR opened as a new school in 1953 when she was a freshman. And she will be 91 at the school anniversary reunion in 2028!
Kevin Struxness, ‘76, MA
Editor, CSDR Old Times
4 February 2025
Comments