Dear Reader,
When I began brainstorming this story and realized I wanted to include a deaf child as a main character, I researched historic deaf schools in the western states and territories. I was pleasantly surprised to discover the California Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and Blind in San Francisco.
The school opened in 1860 due to the efforts of twenty-three influential ladies who wanted to ensure that deaf and blind children of California were not left to sleep and beg on the streets. Instead, these children were given a healthy environment in which to live and learn.
The day the school opened, they had three students—two deaf and one blind. Within months, their numbers grew to double digits. By 1865, the school building and property had become cramped, and they searched for a new, larger location. It took until 1869 before they opened a new facility in Berkeley, California, where the school continued to grow. In the early 1900s, they separated the school into two—one for the deaf and one for the blind. Both schools live on today. They are now known as the California School for the Deaf and the California School for the Blind.
I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I did! Thanks for reading.
Jennifer Uhlarik