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New dorm, old memories | The News Leader | newsleader.com
It's been a long time since Angel Negron and Don Brown were kids sneaking into the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind and running around campus.
But when they visit, it feels like yesterday.
Although they were never students, but kids growing up down the block from the Staunton campus on North Coalter Street, they consider it home.
"We used to play baseball right over there," Brown said, he and Negron each extending an arm, pointing at the exact same spot on the lower side of campus.
"There used to be a footbridge right there over the creek that we'd use if we needed to make a quick getaway," Brown said with a laugh.
The campus has changed drastically since the '50s when Brown and Negron would sneak in to play ball with then-coach Ralph Kiser. It's also been a long time since the pair have been to the school, even though they still live in town.
"I'm so glad we came," Brown said, as he pat Negron on the shoulder.
"This is truly wonderful," he replied.
The event that brought them, and a handful of VSDB alumni and former teachers together, was the dedication Wednesday of the new deaf dorm, Kiser Hall.
"He allowed us to come here and play on the grounds," Brown said of Ralph Kiser, a former student, teacher and lifelong member of the VSDB community.
"He was a great man," Brown said.
The new dorm, which has been open since the start of the school year, is among the eight buildings that have and will be renovated and rebuilt as part of the school's $71 million project to consolidate the school with School for the Deaf, Blind and Multi-Disabled in Hampton.
School administrators and the board of visitors decide to name the school after one of their own. Kiser was the clear favorite.
He spent 70 years of his life at VSDB, arriving as a seven-year-old in 1926, and staying on as a dorm supervisor, teacher and coach. When he retired, he continued to volunteer at the school until he died in 2009.
VSDB wasn't just home to Kiser, but also to his children Jim and Charlie who grew up in Darden Hall, which was until this year the deaf dorm.
"There are a lot of stories in Darden Hall, some can't be told," Jim Kiser told VSDB students, teachers, alumni and friends Wednesday. "Our father would hope this new dorm, years from now, will have the same stories."
Fighting tears, Charlie Kiser added, "We loved him and he loved this school."
A portrait of Kiser was presented and now hangs in Kiser Hall.
"He has always been such a part of the environment," said VSDB Superintendent Nancy Armstrong.
After the dedication guests toured the new building, stopping to talk with old friends and tell stories about Kiser.
Brown and Negron recalled how Kiser was always trying to get them to sign.
"You've got to sign when you're here," Brown said with a laugh, imitating Kiser. Brown never got the hang of it but Kiser would keep a notebook in his pocket, speaking through notes, many of which urged Brown to learn sign language.
For Kiser's sons, seeing the demolition of their old home, Darden Hall, was tough.
"But things have to change," Jim said.
Mary Murray, director of the dorm program at the school, said now Kiser will always be at VSDB.
"He'll never need a pass," Murray said.
It's been a long time since Angel Negron and Don Brown were kids sneaking into the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind and running around campus.
But when they visit, it feels like yesterday.
Although they were never students, but kids growing up down the block from the Staunton campus on North Coalter Street, they consider it home.
"We used to play baseball right over there," Brown said, he and Negron each extending an arm, pointing at the exact same spot on the lower side of campus.
"There used to be a footbridge right there over the creek that we'd use if we needed to make a quick getaway," Brown said with a laugh.
The campus has changed drastically since the '50s when Brown and Negron would sneak in to play ball with then-coach Ralph Kiser. It's also been a long time since the pair have been to the school, even though they still live in town.
"I'm so glad we came," Brown said, as he pat Negron on the shoulder.
"This is truly wonderful," he replied.
The event that brought them, and a handful of VSDB alumni and former teachers together, was the dedication Wednesday of the new deaf dorm, Kiser Hall.
"He allowed us to come here and play on the grounds," Brown said of Ralph Kiser, a former student, teacher and lifelong member of the VSDB community.
"He was a great man," Brown said.
The new dorm, which has been open since the start of the school year, is among the eight buildings that have and will be renovated and rebuilt as part of the school's $71 million project to consolidate the school with School for the Deaf, Blind and Multi-Disabled in Hampton.
School administrators and the board of visitors decide to name the school after one of their own. Kiser was the clear favorite.
He spent 70 years of his life at VSDB, arriving as a seven-year-old in 1926, and staying on as a dorm supervisor, teacher and coach. When he retired, he continued to volunteer at the school until he died in 2009.
VSDB wasn't just home to Kiser, but also to his children Jim and Charlie who grew up in Darden Hall, which was until this year the deaf dorm.
"There are a lot of stories in Darden Hall, some can't be told," Jim Kiser told VSDB students, teachers, alumni and friends Wednesday. "Our father would hope this new dorm, years from now, will have the same stories."
Fighting tears, Charlie Kiser added, "We loved him and he loved this school."
A portrait of Kiser was presented and now hangs in Kiser Hall.
"He has always been such a part of the environment," said VSDB Superintendent Nancy Armstrong.
After the dedication guests toured the new building, stopping to talk with old friends and tell stories about Kiser.
Brown and Negron recalled how Kiser was always trying to get them to sign.
"You've got to sign when you're here," Brown said with a laugh, imitating Kiser. Brown never got the hang of it but Kiser would keep a notebook in his pocket, speaking through notes, many of which urged Brown to learn sign language.
For Kiser's sons, seeing the demolition of their old home, Darden Hall, was tough.
"But things have to change," Jim said.
Mary Murray, director of the dorm program at the school, said now Kiser will always be at VSDB.
"He'll never need a pass," Murray said.