Gogebic Range Deaf Club to Hold Second Meeting

IRONWOOD, MI - Thursday, December 24, 2009 - The Gogebic Range Deaf Club (GRDC) will be holding it's second monthly meeting at the Knight Club Pool Hall at 133-135 West Aurora Street in Downtown Ironwood on Saturday, January 2, 2010, at 6:00 PM. All deaf, hearing-impaired or interested people are invited to attend.

Last month's meeting was the Club's first meeting, after remaining dormant for nearly a decade. Recently several new deaf families have moved into the area; some former deaf families have moved back;  and the idea of re-establishing the club was suggested by the club's oldest member, Inez Sisko (Pictured Above).

In previous years, many out-of-town members joined the club. The club hopes to have out-of-town participants this time around as well.

Matt Leasure, one of the organizers of the new club, (Also Pictured Above) told the Chronicle that several events are in the works -- including a snowmobile trip through the Upper Peninsula and Northern Wisconsin.

"We love hosting the Deaf Club! " Steve Frank, manager of the Knight Club, explained. "Many of the club members are regular customers and it's great the way our hearing patrons are putting in the effort to learn basic sign. We were also hosting a fundraiser tournament during the Club's first meeting and most of the club members signed up. They had a great time, and the tournament was able to raise some money to help the high school band take a field trip to Chicago."

"In the coming months, many deaf people will be visiting Ironwood." Matt Leasure explained to this report using American Sign Language (ASL). "I've been told that several have plans to move here."

Living in the U.P. can be very isolated. Being deaf and not being able to freely communicate with your neighbors and other members of the community, make it even more isolated. Having a venue that allows the deaf community to interact is a good thing.

Whether you're deaf, hearing-impaired, or simply interested in learning sign language and meeting some great people, feel free to stop in and participate in January's meeting. If you know somebody who is deaf or hearing-impaired please let the know about the meeting.