Club of the Deaf

"Hello, my name is Mary Campbell. I'd like to tell you about my father, Virgil Kirkland. My dad was deaf and was a tire builder for Firestone Rubber Company from 1943 to 1960. Before 1943, my dad was living in Jackson, Mississippi, with with my family and heard about the jobs in Akron, Ohio, and decided to move my family from Mississippi to Akron. At that time, many people were coming to Akron, Ohio, for jobs and many deaf people were coming. And what was wonderful about the large number of deaf population here in Akron was the start of the Akron Club of the Deaf, and it was a very active club. They had many things to offer deaf people. One, it was social. There were sports. There was card playing. There were different activities. In the summertime, we would have picnics. In the wintertime or holiday would be Halloween parties, Christmas parties. It was [a] really wonderful place for kids to grow up."