Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 21, 1994 TAG: 9407220079
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NANCY GLEINER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
This year's Virginia Deaf Mother of the Year recipient took shovel in hand at Hotel Roanoke's ground-breaking ceremonies to secure an early reservation for the 1995 Southeast Athletic Association of the Deaf's basketball tournament, for which she is on the planning committee. She has been chairman of the competition in the past.
The Mother of the Year award is given by the Virginia Association of the Deaf, a cooperating member of the National Association of the Deaf. Houchins has been a member of the regional Piedmont Chapter for many years.
Even at the picnic honoring her, Houchins continuously moved from cluster to cluster, like a bee quickly gathering nectar. Rather than collecting accolades, she was raising funds for the state association, selling tickets for door prizes and magnets she needlepointed bearing the sign ``I love you.''
``Montana is dedicated to the deaf, to the continuing heritage of the deaf community,'' said Randy Buckland, president of the Piedmont Chapter. ``She never sits down.''
As a member of the Roanoke Valley Club for the Deaf for more than 30 years, Houchins has served on various committees, organizing social events and raising money for the annual basketball and softball tournaments. These competitions draw deaf athletes from the entire southeastern United States.
She has helped her husband, Charles, run the Annual Shooting Match, the club's major fund-raiser, for more than 20 years. Both recently received a plaque in recognition of their contributions to the event.
Houchins always has been involved in not only volunteer work on behalf of the deaf community, but also in improving communication between the deaf and the hearing. HANDS - Hearing-Impaired And Signers - a local group she helped initiate, teaches hearing people American Sign Language and serves as a forum for discussion of issues concerning the deaf culture.
The group includes doctors, police officers, firefighters and rescue squad members - all skilled practitioners who may, at some point, need to communicate with the deaf during life-threatening situations. Some HANDS members serve as interpreters for the deaf in the community.
``Montana`s outstanding quality is her willingness to help other people who may not have the same resources and assistance [she has],'' said Cecil Prillaman, outreach specialist for the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Houchins' deafness at the age of 2 was the result of a serious flu episode. At 7, she entered the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind in Staunton, where she became head cheerleader and the first homecoming queen in the school's history. She was also valedictorian of her graduating class. It was there she met Charles, who had lost his hearing at 3 from spinal meningitis. Houchins would watch for Charles in the window as she walked by his room. She sign ``I love you'' with her hand by placing her thumb and index finger at right angles while raising her little finger.
No one at the school had seen this sign before and research is being done in hopes of crediting Houchins as its originator. A photograph of Houchins making the sign at age 12 - she is now in her 60s - has been sent to the National Association of the Deaf. No other trace of the sign has been found in a search of the past 50 years. The ``I love you'' sign is now known internationally and has been featured on everything from postage stamps to key rings.
When their daughter, Mickey, was an infant, Montana and Charles were taken to court by the welfare department, which had been contacted by some ``busybody'' next-door neighbors. Because they could not hear, they could not always respond quickly to their baby's cries, and the neighbors accused them of abuse.
Charles, always the handyman, rigged up a flashing-light system on Mickey's crib, activated by her kicking feet. When the couple brought the crib to court, the judge dismissed the case.
Mickey tagged along behind her parents everywhere, acting as their interpreter. She helped them buy their first home when she was 6. ``I felt I was important to my parents,'' she said, ``and it definitely made me closer to them.''
Growing up with deaf parents wasn't hard for Mickey because ``you just learn the signs for words from your parents and the spoken words from relatives.'' But her parents' childhood was more difficult. No one wanted to take the time to explain what was taking place or to learn sign language. Every family invented its own signs, but communication often was limited.
``When it came time for school, the deaf children were happy to go so they could communicate with their own people,'' Mickey said. To this day, Montana and Charles speak fondly of their school and are active supporters. Montana has received the school's outstanding alumna award.
When the government, in its efforts to mainstream deaf children into public schools, threatened to close the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind, the Houchinses were vocal opponents. Officers of the Virginia Association of the Deaf fought Congress and won. The school remains open.
Houchins has served as a teacher's aide and taught sign language at Virginia Western Community College and at Lakeside Baptist Church. She also acts as an interpreter and teaches sign language privately.
``She's done so much for so many years,'' said her husband. ``She should have won this award 10 years ago.''
Despite all of her activities linking the hearing and deaf communities, she believes there is a place for separatism.
``Mainstreamed deaf children are naturally left out of some activities,'' she said, because they cannot participate in all aspects of school. A deaf child needs to be taught as a nonhearing person, not as a deaf child attempting to learn a hearing activity from the hearing. She believes the deaf benefit more from their own activities, where participation can be total and equal.
``We don't mind the hearing coming to our events,'' said Charles, ``but we don't want them to destroy our culture.''
As campaigners for closed-captioned television in this area, they are pleased with the inroads made but hope for extended coverage in the future. Because captions take longer to appear on the screen than the audio portions, the image and captions disappear when the audio is through, often before the captions are completed, particularly in news broadcasts.
The Roanoke Deaf Missionary Church, held at Bonsack Baptist Church, was established recently, fulfilling one of Houchins' many dreams. At the moment, she is the sole member of the choir. She is not without experience, having sung in the choir at Oak Grove Church of the Brethren, using sign language.
Houchins, now retired for several years, was a seamstress at Kenrose and Halmode Apparel for 40 years. Her basement sewing area, designed and built by her husband, is filled with works in progress, from needlepointed tissue-box covers - to sell for fund-raising - to a hand-stitched quilt.
Charles, also retired, worked as an offset printer at Toler Printing Company for 34 years. The woodworking he learned at school has served as his avocation, helping him to transform his basement into part living space, part sewing room, part barnboard-covered laundry area.
A modern bathroom looks from the outside like an outhouse in the woods, complete with crescent moon on the door, a testimony to Charles' sense of humor.
Houchins' next vision is a retirement home for the deaf in the Roanoke Valley. ``She always says she's going to win the lottery and build one,'' her daughter said. In the meantime, she is, as always, tirelessly raising funds and seeking donations from area individuals, businesses and organizations.
Although she has never felt limited by her deafness, Houchins has felt the sting of discrimination. Her wish for the hearing community is to ``be kind and understanding of the deaf and their culture.''
by CNB