Deaf ESL Students - Gallaudet University

With Jankowski’s approval, Turk
proposed the idea to officials of the
Potomac Appalachian Trail Club
(PATC). It took some persuasion for
him to alleviate their concerns about
issues related to communication and
safety with minors who were deaf and
hard of hearing. A little serendipity
helped. About the time Turk made his
proposal, a Maryland couple, David
and Cynthia Cowall, offered PATC
funding to build a shelter in memory
of their son. Philip Cowall, an ensign
in the U.S. Navy, was a devoted hiker
who had wanted to walk the entire
Appalachian Trail but who died in a
tragic motorcycle accident before he
could. “Since his dream was never realized,
we hoped to make that journey
easier for others,” the Cowalls said.
With Turk’s persuasive words and
the Cowalls’ finances, the PATC agreed
to support the shelter. Then Turk
turned his attention to the site, which
also presented challenges. Almost 85
miles from the Gallaudet campus, it
was too far away for students to get
there regularly. A place was needed
where students could do initial
preparatory work—an intensive process
that involved stripping bark from enormous
logs with hand tools, then notching
the wood like Lincoln logs so that
they could be assembled by joining
them at their corners, much the way
When you have eight people maneuvering
a 19-foot log weighing approximately
600 pounds into place, you need clear
communication and planning.
early colonials would have done.
Turk approached the Maryland
National Park and Planning Commission
and secured a site in nearby Bowie,
Maryland. Work got underway last winter.
The first day on site, the students
met Charlie Graf, PATC’s Maryland
Appalachian Trail Management committee
chairperson. Graf shared his
experiences as both a shelter builder
and as a hiker who had walked the
entire Appalachian Trail in 1994. The
students peppered Graf with questions.
“How many miles did you hike a day?”
they wanted to know. “How did you
find food?” “Where did you sleep?”
They were inspired when Graf said he
often slept in shelters—exactly like the
one they were planning to build.
PHOTO: FRANK TURK, SR. PHOTO: FRANK TURK PHOTO: FRANK TURK
“The students were involved with
just about everything,” Turk said.
“They made numerous day and weekend
work trips to the site. They also
handled related tasks at school that
included bookkeeping and making
tools—such as log dogs and scribes for
marking and holding logs in place during
construction. They kept the tools
sharpened and well maintained.”
The going was often tough, the
weather often cold, and much of the
work was with hand tools and strong
backs. While the adults used chain
saws, the students used hand axes for
the hewing work. After the logs were
prepared, they were moved to the site
on the trail and assembled into the 15foot
by 10-foot shelter. As they worked
together, the hearing and deaf volunteers
learned how to communicate
with each other.
“When you have eight people
maneuvering a 19-foot log weighing
approximately 600 pounds into place,
you need clear communication and
planning,” said Turk with a grin.
Everyone made his or her own creative
efforts to communicate; some
people used paper and pencil and
some used homemade signs. “In fact,
42 Spring 2000