The Celebration of Paul Forgeron's Life

The Celebration of Joseph Paul Stanley Forgeron's Life
Kathern G. Lawrence


On Friday, December 30, 2011, Paul Forgeron (birth name: Joseph Paul Stanley Forgeron) passed away unexpectedly at his home in Little Anse on the southeast island in Richmond County of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, surviving a loving family: wife of 44 years, Mary Barbara Samson; two daughters: Connie (Forgeron) Samson and Wendy (Forgeron) Turple; two sons: Dean and Ricky Forgeron; and eight adorable grandchildren: Mandy Forgeron, Tony Forgeron, Sophie Samson, Ben Samson, Ava Turple, Leah Turple, Seth Forgeron, and Jaxon Paul Forgeron. About 20 Deaf people travelled to the hometown as far as 4 hours drive each way to pay respects to Paul at C.H. Boudreau Funeral Home in Arichat on the island. The Deaf Community knew him well since we attended the Halifax School for the Deaf. The school was a residential school in which many Deaf children from all over the Atlantic provinces stayed for 10 months for education for 8 - 10 years. After our graduation at closing exercises, we kept in touch with Barbara, his wife, and him at social Deaf functions.

Front row: Sons Ricky & Dean
Back row: Barbara, Paul, daughters

Mandy

Front row: grandchildren Seth, Ava, Sophie, Ben
Back row: Barbara holding Leah, Paul

Tony

Grandbaby Jaxon Paul

In celebration of Paul Forgeron's life, I want to share a special story about him with you, the readers; something I remember, and the other friends of his would share experiences with him in different ways. Upon my vacation from Edmonton, Alberta, to visit my family in New Brunswick in 1999, I grabbed a perfect opportunity to visit my Deaf friends in Nova Scotia. In the meantime, Barbara thoughtfully invited me over to visit with Paul and her at their bi-levelled home. During the visit, I appreciated recognizing the talents that Paul showed through the furniture pieces he had made and also the house he had built with the help of his relatives. I also enjoyed viewing the exhibition of two sets of model train layouts he had set in the basement. I remember Barbara narrating memories of our old days at the schools in Halifax and Amherst, Nova Scotia while showing me some treasured photos. After Paul's passing, I looked up my album "Friends and Events in the Maritimes" in which I kept most photos. The hospitality was one of the most reminiscing experiences I had ever enjoyed.


A Lifetime Partner

Paul and Barbara knew each other from the Halifax school, but they had never chatted with each other, and they hung out in different circles of friends. Paul left the school in June, 1959 to enter a working world in West Arichat, a small Acadian community, on the southwest island of Richmond County where he had been born. Like other handsome, young fellows who were wowed by very pretty or beautiful ladies, Paul had eyes on Barbara during social gatherings among the Deaf friends and inquired about her through his late schoolmate, Luke Boudreau. Knowing where she lived, he had the courage to knock the door of the Samson house in Little Anse and ask her parents for permission to take her out. Barbara had matured as an attractive, lean lady with brown, wavy short hair. She nodded smilingly and her mother granted him the permission. He took her to a baseball game. The next time they dated at Pondville Beach, blossoming into romance. They had courted for 6 years before they tied the knot at St. Joseph Church in Petit de Grat on July 22nd, 1967.

Lifetime marriage vow

Photo taken in 2005

New Home

In 1973, Paul built the house with the help of Barbara's brother, Omer Samson; her father, Joseph Samson, and her uncle, Vander Samson. They helped set up the wooden studs on the foundation and trusses upon the stud frames, brush tar for roof shingles, and install the windows and doors. The wiring and plumbing jobs were done by the hired professionals. The rest of the work, Paul did to complete the house which Barbara and he dreamed about and designed. It was built to be a cozy and cheerful house for their children to grow up in. It has been remaining occupied.











Passion for Woodworking

Originally, when woodworking was offered to boys at the Halifax School for the Deaf, Paul got a knack for it; he made a lamp and end table. Years later, he was so keen to pursue the woodworking hobby that he learned further from his boss, Joe Murry, at Richmond School where he worked for the maintenance department. Joe invited him to his home basement to teach him advanced skills. Afterwards, he professionally made beautiful furniture pieces for the Forgeron house.

Furniture Pieces Paul made

 



Paul also made many wooden toys. As I am a collector of Deaf crafts, I bought from him, a lamp with a San Francisco trolley train made of varied-grain wood. It has been moved from one room to another room at my home, and now it is standing in the living room. It is a sentimental treasure that I admire so much that I believe God gave Paul a gift of craftsmanship.

 San Francisco trolley train lamp

Model Train Hobby

When Paul was young and small, his parents gave him a metal train set, probably for his Christmas present. He put it away in the attic of his parent's home in West Arichat. He had not played with it for some time since he stayed at the residential school most of the year. When he came home, he thought about the set and searched it, but it had been missing. He inquired about it with his mother, and she told him that it had been given to his cousin, Bobby. Disappointed, he responded that he wanted to keep it, but he let go.


However, throughout the phase of adulthood, Paul mused about owning metal model train sets; yet, he had to wait until his second son, Ricky, to move out of his home and to live on his own. Finally, the basement was left unoccupied that he set up two sets of train layouts with many sets of trains, one layout in the middle of the room and the other one up on the circular tracks by the four walls. Endlessly his friends and family members had a great pleasure to watch the trains chugging and hooting along the tracks when operated electronically.

Friends watching the metal model trains chugging:
Anne Martell, Leon Martell, Amrose Martell, Purdy Killam

Work

Paul was fortunate to be able to work full time at several employers all his life before his retirement. He exerted manual skills that he could contribute to all the employers. He was definitely a jack of all trades. His first job in 1959 was at Raymond Gerrior's Woodworking Shop in West Arichat where he made wooden windows. He worked there until 1964 (5 years).


The next employer in Halifax was Russo Windows and Doors. He repaired old steel windows or doors, and also measured, welded, and paint-sprayed them. He worked there in 1964-1971 (7 years).


For Richmond Board in West Arichat, Paul worked at 17 different schools in 1971-1999 (27 years), and for Strait Board, at 7 big schools in Mulgrave in 1999-2004 (4 years). As a maintenance, he repaired broken things; made furniture pieces like shelves and cabinets; installed new windows, doors, and boiler furnace; painted walls; and connected electrical wires.


Retirement


Finally at the age of 62, he retired on November 27, 2004 that he enjoyed more time with his wife at home. During his retirement, he was still known to pass his time making more wooden toys and even trains operated with motors for his children. He followed instructions of models to make those. As compared to the products he made simply 20 years ago, he passionately challenged a higher level of difficulty in making the trains, remote-control boats, and a remote-control plane. He did not use nails to put pieces together to make something; the nails would split some wood pieces, and it would be difficult not to split the pieces. He had a brilliant plan to glue a piece by a piece together and clamped a small portion of the pieces together at a time for a couple of hours before adding another portion until it was a complete set. During the period of chemo therapy, he would not slow down himself to continue with his project. Tackling the challenges successfully was his happiness. Upon his passing,  he left his last project unfinished: a remote control plane. His family expressed much pride of his amazing work and so did he of their personal accomplishments in their lives.

Different kinds of vehicles

Wooden model trains Paul passionately made

Two kinds of model trains: modern & antique

Tug boat

Fisherman boat

Unfinished project: plane

All of his hand-made toys and trains remain as admirable memorabilia; they would be nice to be seen in a museum such as an existing centre called Deaf Culture Centre in Toronto which currently displays the arts and artifacts of Deaf people.


Acknowledgement


For this journal on my blog: Deaf Journaling, Barbara cared to fill me with details about Paul and also the couple when asked. Furthermore, she sent me more photos of the family and crafts Paul had recently made since my visit. To her, I am extending my warmest gratitude to her, and; therefore, this credit goes to her for this mini-biography.



Proverbs 10: 4 - Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.

Communicate with Deaf Persons - How?

Communicate with Deaf Persons - How?
Kathern G. Lawrence


In this world, the hearing meet Deaf persons face to face in different settings, recognizing that they are deaf or they cannot hear. Shortly, they decide how to communicate with them. Commonly, they choose the most convenient way to communicate with them -of course, by speaking as they assume the Deaf can lipread and speak well. Beside written language, speaking is the hearing's vocal language, a part of their culture, they grow with all their lives to chat with one another so they speak with them. In some cases, they find out that some Deaf individuals cannot speak nor lipread well. Often, the hearing don't bother to alter to another way of communication to get messages across. For example, when I don't follow what a female cashier says, she realizes that I am deaf, and she doesn't try to speak again nor switch to writing a note. She simply says, "Never mind" that I have often lipread in other settings. I frown or beckon, hesitating that she tells me what she has said. Sometimes, she gives in and scribbles something, and her willingness to communicate with me another way usually makes me feel good.  In appreciation for her gesture of understanding the needs of Deaf persons, I respond to the lady, writing back, nodding, or shaking my head.


The administration at schools for the deaf, day schools, intergrated (inclusion) school programs decides which mode of communication Deaf children are educated through: speaking or sign language. In some cases, they choose an oral-approach education for them. With hearing aids or cochlear implants, they learn to lipread and listen to spoken sounds and gross sounds. Good speaking is preferably more focused than quality education. The intention of the program is to have Deaf persons interact normally in a hearing society, but oftentimes they miss important messages in conversations in group settings. They can speak well enough, but when lipreading, they usually get lost as to what contexts are about. They may just nod and smile, saying nothing or saying something off the point. The Deaf persons should not bluff around with the hearing because they don't realize how much they have missed in the conversation. They may want to act like the hearing, but they don't get as much information as the hearing.


A very small number of Deaf people succeed in lipreading;yet, lipreading accuracy rates at a very low percentage in a group setting, a class setting, or a conference setting. They may become social bluffs; they get by as they pretend what the hearing people say and the hearing assume they understand what they have said. They often get by with the hearing they interact, but it is not always the best way for us to get whole messages. The best way to chat by lipreading is when a Deaf person chats with only one hearing person who can understand her /his speech, and it often works efficiently in an one-to-one setting.


Another issue is that not every Deaf person can learn to speak as well as other Deaf people. For example, I don't speak intelligibly. Only a few people who know me well through our upbringing can understand my Deaf voice enough to carry on our conversation.  My younger sister, Rosemary Boudreau, whom I grew closely with during our childhood, can follow my conversation. Many hearing people in the public have trouble following me. As a result, I always write down notes to chat with the people.


Even my 97- years- old mom, Eva Geldart, has never understood my Deaf voice; she can only understand a few statements that I say: "I know", "I love you", "No". Now nearly 60 years have passed that my mother never understands me even though I vocally talk to her. She shakes her head and keeps saying, "Write down." I always write notes to talk with her; meanwhile, she speaks and I lipread her. I understand her most of the time when I know what we are talking about. This is how my mother and I always communicate.



When I started the first year at the Halifax School for the Deaf, the principal, Mr. Karl Van Allen who emigrated from England, suggested to my parents (Dad Everette Geldart and Mom) that they should practice the oral method (speaking), not sign language to communicate. They agreed to abide by the superior authority who thought the oral method was the best answer for Deaf children to learn. He explained that when we graduated from school, we would succeed vocally in the hearing society. However, it didn't work for some Deaf persons. Every time I came home from the school, my parents always had trouble following me so they depended on my sister, Rosemary, or my niece Claudette Perron, to interpret what I had said. They regretted not learning sign language. Rosemary learned fingerspelling; every time she doesn't understand what word I speak, she asks me to fingerspell it, and also, vice versa.


My cousin, Lorna McMullin, living near Hampton, N.B., probably the youngest relative, and I became close since we met each other at Mom's birthday celebration several years ago. I had lived in the west for many years, and I rarely saw Lorna during our younger years ago, but we are about 15 years different in ages. I yearned to know her better because I always admired her late mother, Gloria Jones (Aunt Gloria), the youngest of 8 siblings, with whom I had close contact in the past. Lorna realized that I spoke unintelligibly, and also, I could not understand what she had said so we chatted with each other, writing notes back and forth. Another way, her husband used a word processor on his laptop to chat with me.



Writing notes and signing are my strongest foundation of receptive and expressive language for communication purposes with which I am most comfortable, and I apply them all my life since I learned to sign and write. I consider lipreading an ineffective venue of communciation because it can create misunderstanding and the lack of information which I avoid. I know I would miss a lot of information through lipreading. Moreover, I don't speak well, and I don't want any misunderstanding and misinformation. Thanks to the Lord for the greatest gift - sign language and writing abilities I have been using contendedly.