Club’s hobby is on the money

Who hasn’t looked through their loose change from time to time looking for interesting coins? Maybe you’ve found a “double die” Lincoln cent, a pure silver Kennedy half dollar, or a Mercury dime. The men and women of the Fremont Coin Club share your interest, and then some.

The Club, founded in 1971, meets at the Elks Club on Farwell Drive. If you ask most members why they belong, the answer is consistent: As 17-year member Herb Miles notes, “It’s a way of meeting like minded people.” Collectors share a basic interest in coins and currency, but usually develop specialties, which they enjoy sharing.

Miles, for instance, collects “good fors,” tokens popular from the 1890s to the 1940s produced by merchants to entice return customers. Tokens could be ‘good for’ five cents off a cigar, a free drink, or in one case, a free stick of dynamite.

Miles also collects an obscure bit of Americana: KKK tokens, coins specially created by the group to raise funds.  Says Miles, “I go around to all the shows and they know what I collect, so they’ll set something aside for me. In the past, though, they didn’t know me; I’d say, ‘you got any KKK tokens?’ and they’d look at me as if I’d lost my mind.” Incidentally, Herb Miles is African-American.

People have collected coins for the value of their metals for as long as coins have been minted; collecting them for their aesthetic value came later. From Mesopotamia to Ancient Rome, scholars and state treasuries collected and catalogued coins. From the middle-ages through the eighteenth century, the hobby was mainly for the well-to-do. Today’s hobby is rooted in the nineteenth century when the new middle class adopted the leisure activities of the wealthy.

Coin collecting is accessible in some form or another to nearly everyone. The wide variety of denominations, conditions, materials, and origins mean that collectors have an enormous spectrum from which to choose. Values run from a few cents to the astronomical. An excellent specimen of one of the first coins to come from the first US mint in Philadelphia, a rare “chain cent,” is worth $750,000!

One of the problems facing the Fremont Coin Club and clubs around the country is the difficulty of finding new members. While the Internet and eBay have seemingly made it easy for less social collectors to enjoy their hobby alone, according to a 2008 article in the Numismatic News by Jim Majoros, clubs were even in decline before the Web. His calculations suggest that in the years between 1975 and 2008, there was a 60 percent loss of coin club membership. California alone went from 173 to 59 recognized clubs. As a result, most clubs are finding ways of getting youth interested early.

Roger Lyles, a charter member of the Fremont club, describes the life cycle of the collector thus: “Kids get introduced to the hobby by an elder, usually someone from the family. As a kid, the young collector might chase a few coins, but then life happens. Only when that person achieves middle-age and attains some discretionary income (and time), the collecting flame is rekindled. Then that collector passes on the interest to a child, or grandchild, thus completing the cycle.” Lyles’ version would account for the preponderance of seniors in the club, as well as the presence of a few kids who act as auction runners or give show and tell talks about their favorite coins.

Visitors to Fremont Coin Club meeting can peruse member displays, participate in a show and tell, listen to a short talk, and bid on items consigned by members, who may keep the proceeds or designate them for club activities such as annual dinners and shows.

A sample of the sort of items auctioned off appears in the club’s May/June 2012 newsletter: 1914 Australian Florin; Eisenhower dollar varieties; tokens from the Western Token Jamboree and Alameda County; Indian cents; uncirculated silver half-dollars; a mint 1910 Liberty nickel; a ten ounce silver bar, and more.

At the January 23rd meeting, Lyles, a retired a real estate broker of 46 years, related his own story: “My father was a collector,” said Lyles, “and in 1952 he gave me a penny that was the size of a half dollar. I said, ‘this is a penny?’ He saw I had an interest.” Roger’s father owned a grocery store, where young Roger would find interesting coins and buy them with his $1.50 an hour wage.

Four years ago he sold the business and devoted himself to his hobby. He’s doing well. “Stuff that I may have paid five bucks for back in 1960,” says Lyles, “I get maybe seventy-five bucks today.” Is that a profit after inflation? “Well, that’s a matter for debate. The risks you take as a coin seller today are substantial.”

Roger spends 2 or 3 days a week involved in coin activities, “visiting different coin shops, buying this and that.” Of course, for any collector, there’s no selling without a little buying. “I tell my wife,” says Lyles, “If I can’t have it to sell, I can’t sell it! If I sell one thing and I do good, I’ll buy another and try again.”

Aside from guest speakers, the Club often hosts other special and fun activities, such as hot dog night, ice cream socials, and their our annual barbeque, to name a few. One of the most interesting meetings is “other hobbies” night when everyone is encouraged to bring a sample or two and talk about what else they collect, aside from coins and currency. “It’s amazing what people collect,” says the Club website (http://www.fremontcoinclub.org/), “and we love hearing about it. And let’s face it, the more people who know you collect it, the faster your collection can grow—coin or otherwise!”

For more information on club dues, meetings, and links to important coin related sites, visit http://www.fremontcoinclub.org/

After 350 years, nobody ‘board’ by this card game

Every Wednesday from the beginning of September to the end of May, if you visit the Round Table Pizza in Centerville, you might wonder what those people in the back are doing. People are playing some sort of card game that also involves moving pegs around a wooden board. Congratulations, you have stumbled upon the Fremont Cribbage Club.

The Club of approximately 25 members began meeting in May of 1987. One of more than 200 “Grass Roots Clubs” under the jurisdiction of the Western Region of the American Cribbage Congress (ACC), the official Club name is Christopher’s Crusader’s, named in honor of departed long-time club member, Bob Christopher.

The game itself is more than 350 years old. According to biographer, natural philosopher, and pioneer archaeologist John Aubrey (1626-1697), English poet Sir John Suckling (1609-1641) invented cribbage in the early 17th century. It is derived from the game ‘noddy’ which gets its name from the noddy, or knave, also known as the jack, which bears an important role in both games. The objective of cribbage (one of the most popular card games in the English-speaking world) is to be the first player to score a target number of points, typically 61 or 121. Points are scored for card combinations that add up to fifteen, and for pairs, triples, quadruples, runs and flushes. The board itself is simply a point-tallying device.

The ACC supports local, or ‘Grass Roots,’ clubs all across the country. These clubs meet once a week or every other week and conduct 6-game or 9-game tournaments that last between 2 and 3 hours. It’s a great way to meet new people and play cribbage without needing to travel very far. Playing in a local club “is a way for us to enjoy a game that many of learned playing with our families when we were young,” says current club president Craig Rothbach. He moved into his role a few years ago when the previous president resigned. “Someone had to do it,” he says. “I’m retired so I figured I had the time.”

One of Craig’s jobs is to transmit to the American Cribbage Congress’s website points tallies for the players. The ACC keeps track of points and statistics, and players are awarded prizes and honors according to the point tallies they accumulate over the years. Annually, the Fremont Club holds a dinner and award ceremony (spouses invited) to honor the high scoring players. Each club crowns its own local champion who is then eligible to play in a Tournament of Champions at the yearly ACC gathering in Reno. Though the ACC sanctions dozens if not hundreds of tournaments across the country every year, Reno is the big one where the National Champion—the player who earns the most points in a season—is crowned.

Cribbage holds a special place among American submariners, serving as an ‘official’ pastime. The wardroom of the oldest active submarine in the United States Pacific Fleet carries the personal cribbage board of World War II submarine commander and Medal of Honor recipient Rear Admiral Dick O'Kane on board. Today, the honor of carrying the cribbage board belongs to the nuclear-powered attack submarine, USS Los Angeles (SSN 688).

The story is that while aboard the USS Wahoo patrolling in the shallow waters of the Yellow Sea during WWII, O'Kane was dealt a perfect 29, the highest possible score for a single cribbage deal. The crew felt that it was a lucky omen and indeed they sank two Japanese freighters that night. Three days later, while patrolling off the Korean coast south of Chinnampo, O'Kane received a 28-hand, the second best possible score. When the crew sank two freighters that day and another one the following day, the cribbage board became a talisman of good luck.

In Theodore H. Sweester’s memoirs, published as ‘Cribbage in the Dugout,’ by Richard E. Hage and‎ Anna M. Meleney, the WWI physician recounts that while on the front near Ypres, he spent a year tending to the wounded as shells burst overhead, even surviving a gas attack. For relief he and his fellow officers played cribbage. A search for ‘trench art’ on eBay turned up a couple cribbage boards, including a rifle with a cribbage board inlaid into the stock.

Cribbage finds it way into English literature by way of Charles Dickens’ ‘Old Curiosity Shop’ character Richard Swiveller, who teaches a young lady cribbage, guaranteeing thereby his ticket to everlasting marital bliss. Speaking of the English and cribbage, it is the only game that can be played in a pub for money.

To ensure that new and would-be members are welcomed, the ACC has devised a Code of Congeniality, which, among other pledges, promises to

• Welcome new players warmly and make them feel wanted.

• Not make new players feel inferior if or when they miss points or make a bad play. (They will, instead, let them know that all cribbage players do this and that it is part of the learning process.)

Those interested in learning to play have a variety of books to choose from: Titles such as ‘Cribbage Made Easy’ by George Walker, ‘Play Winning Cribbage’ by DeLynn Colvert, and ‘Hand Book of Cribbage’ players of all levels instructions, strategies, and caveats. The tongue-in-cheek guide, ‘How to Cheat at Cribbage: With Quotations from William Shakespeare’ by Jeffrey O. Haseltine seems a promising read for those interested in cribbage’s mischievous side.

Anyone wishing to learn on their own can find rules and online gameplay at https://cardgames.io/cribbage/

How much of cribbage is skill, and how much is luck? “That’s always a good question,” Rohrbach laughs. “When you’re winning, it’s skill, when you’re losing it’s luck. I have learned tricks from players that I never would have thought of. Skill is definitely involved, and some players are clearly better than others.”

In February 2017, The ACC announced that Sir John Suckling's birthday, February 10, is the official date of National Cribbage Day. “Take the day to celebrate,” reads the ACC website, “take time off work, be with family, make a cake, organize a local parade, but most of all play cribbage!

If you’d like to contact the Fremont cribbage club Christopher’s Crusaders, ACC Grass Roots club #43, email accgr43@gmail.com.

Martin Luther King, Jr. – A leader in both substance and style.

On April 12, 1963, Birmingham police arrested the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and threw him in jail. Seizing the moment, King responded to his critics with a lengthy defense of non-violence and the urgent need to act—now known as the ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail.’ (https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html)

Against decades of Jim Crow and in the wake of broken promises of change from Birmingham’s civic and business leaders, on April 3, 1963, the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR) and King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) began a series of non-violent marches and sit-ins against racism and racial segregation, defying Circuit Judge W. A. Jenkins’ provocative injunction against “parading, demonstrating, boycotting, trespassing and picketing.”

Someone managed to smuggle into the King’s cell a copy of the April 12 newspaper where King read “A Call for Unity,” a statement drafted by eight white clergymen railing against King and his demonstrations.

King responded to his critics with patience, though there is a certain pedagogical tone. He compares his work to that of the biblical prophets and Paul, not to raise himself to their height, but to demonstrate that the need to preach is still present. His particular message is an indictment of the South’s long-standing injustice toward African-Americans, but he universalizes the message by way of aphorism, stating “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

When King points out that those church leaders who deplored the demonstrations failed to “express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstration,” he flatly but respectfully reveals their hypocrisy. Certainly, King knew the clergy would feel the sting of that observation, as surely as when Jesus accused the Pharisees of the same.

The marches and demonstrations were further criticized in the newspaper for creating “tension.” This was, King notes unapologetically, the intended effect. Negotiations and working through political channels had so far accomplished nothing. It was the ‘constructive nonviolent tension’ of direct action that gave the movement leverage. For King, tension created dialogue and transcended the white monologue. “We have not made a single gain in civil rights,” stated King, “without determined and legal nonviolent pressure.”

There are other themes in the letter, as well, including the moral necessity to disobey unjust laws, the false mythology that time will heal all, and the obstacles presented not by extremists such as the Ku Klux Klan, but by white moderates who are “more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice.”

What emerges from the letter most clearly is King’s patience and dedication to both the contemporary struggle and a vision of the future. Perhaps as important is his respect for his audience and his patient point-by-point consideration of his opponents’ views. This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it is worth considering not only King’s purpose and intention, but, in today’s volatile political arena, his thoughtful, intelligent, and considered style.

You can celebrate King’s life on Sunday, January 14 at the Afro-American Cultural and Historical Society’s 41st annual Commemoration program. The Rev. Carol Henry is the Keynote Speaker. This year’s theme is “King: His voice, his teaching, his love for humanity.” Also attending are: Rev. Garrett Yamada, Host Pastor; Mission 24 Church; Mrs. Rita Duncan; Harpist Hannah Chew, Harpist, Angel Hearts; Mrs. Hong and the Newark Memorial Choral Group, Mrs. Zilli and the Music for Minors Choir, the Vukani Mawethu Choir, a display of student artwork, and more.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration

Sunday, Jan 14

3:00 p.m.

First Presbyterian Church of Newark

35450 Newark Blvd (Corner of Cedar Blvd)

For more information 510-793-8181

www.aachsi.com

Free

Four-legged weed-whackers provide essential services

If you were recently surprised by a herd of goats near Lake Elizabeth, rest easy—the weed-munching ruminants have not escaped the wild to feast on our park. No, what you saw were 650 hard-working members of Living Systems Land Management’s (LSLM) weed abatement team.

Goats and sheep have been used for years as agents of land management and are popular alternative to labor-intensive mowing, herbicides, and biological interventions such as insects and fungi. For the last five years, the city of Fremont has contracted with LSLM to manage Lake Elizabeth and Sabrecat Park.

Mike and Jan Canaday run LSLM from their base in Coalinga, where they own about a hundred acres of land—but it takes a lot more than that to run LSLM. “We have about 4000 goats and 3000 sheep,” Says Mike Canaday. “In the off-season, we graze about 4500 acres in the Central Valley.” The Canadays bring the pregnant goats to their modest ranch, but for the majority of the year, his herds and flocks can be found all over California reducing invasive plants in order to restore native populations, or creating firebreaks.

“We have one group of animals up in Santa Rosa,” says Canaday, “one or two groups that hang out in the Bay Area, and we we usually have one in San Jose . There’s another bunch in Southern California below LA. The groups stay in their areas for the season; we don’t truck them from one end of the state to the other.”

LSLM’s goats are “Boer crosses,” introduced to the US from South Africa in the 1990s. According to Canaday, compared to other goats, they are “just a little more civilized. They aren’t so spooky and they’re easier to get a long with.” The choice of whether to use goats or sheep at a particular location is usually decided by the plants that need management and the type of site. In vineyards and orchards, for instance, sheep, which are selective in their diet, only eat the targeted plants. Goats, on the other hand, “can tear up a vineyard,” says Canaday. Goats can also grow tired of certain plants, so long-term management often includes switching between sheep and goats every couple of seasons.

Goats are used especially where noxious weeds need abatement. They eat the flower heads and leave the stalks, preventing the plants from going to seed. They also eat the leaves, and without the attendant photosynthesis, the plants die out without building a strong root system.

Some of the plants that goats have managed successfully include Yellow and Purple Star thistles, French, Spanish, and Scotch brooms, European annual grasses and a list of other noxious plants that degrade both plant and animal habitats.

In California there are over 30 grazing businesses, but, according to Canaday, “for the size of operation like ours, there are only four or five.” There are no universally adopted standards for the grazing business, but because protection of both the environment and the animals is of paramount importance, LSLM adheres to essential management practices outlined on its website (http://www.livingsystemslandmanagement.com/Standards.html) which cover herd density, animal choice, humane treatment of the animals, plant identification, fuel reduction (for firebreaks), fire hazards, and more.

Onsite shepherds (the term covers goats and sheep) monitor the herds at the worksite 24/7. Additionally, portable electric fences keep the herds in precisely the area under treatment. Canaday says that the fences do not constitute a physical barrier, per se. Rather, they constitute a “psychological barrier.” Since LSLM never buys animals, but only uses what the herd breeds, every animal is brought up in the neighborhood of such fences. The goats have created a culture of fence avoidance, which the young animals adopt. More importantly, the fences protect the goats from predators, anything from dogs to mountain lions, depending on the setting. The most common problem is coyotes. “Coyotes won’t jump a fence,” says Canaday, “they’ll try to go under it, and if they do, the fence bites them a little and keeps them away.”

Border collies are essential to moving the herds into place and getting them on and off the trucks. “We couldn’t do this without them,” says Canaday. In fact, raising border collies was how he got into the business. Canaday is a former president of the United States Border Collie Handlers Association, and as such knew a lot of people in the livestock business, providing trained cattle- and sheep-dogs to many of them. Through contacts made around that time, the Canadays took the opportunity to purchase LSLM when the opportunity arose in 2002.

“The reason there aren’t a lot of people in this business,” says Canaday. “is that you spend all the money you made in the grazing season cutting firebreaks [in the off season] and just trying to hang on until next year. “We have to buy a lot of other feed, like alfalfa hay, and it’s expensive, but once you get it figured out, it works; it’s not a get rich quick scheme—it’s a lot of work.”

Cutting firebreaks is a significant part of LSLM’s business, and the recent wildfires have touched the Canadays: “Our off-season grazing area is about a mile from where 70,000 acres burned up in the Thomas fire.” It was close enough to make Canaday take to heart the trauma faced by so many. “I can’t imagine having to load up a truck with as much as I could take and get out of town with my wife and a few dogs—that’s just shattering to me.”

The fires became personal for Canaday, though, in another way. Firebreaks made by LSLM animals in Santa Rosa were responsible for saving an entire homowners association neighborhood, even when two adjacent ones were leveled. Cal Fire credited the weed abatement managed by LSLM for denying crucial fuel to the fires, which swept around, but not through the area. In a nearby wooded area, jobs at a medical instrument company were saved because firebreak maintenance under LSLM helped preserve the building.

Canaday feels quite fortunate that his business could have such a positive impact and “change the destiny” of people’s lives.

Does he have a plan for the future? “I’ll probably do this until I die.” Retirement plan? “Absolutely not,” he replies with a laugh. “If we didn’t like doing this,” he says, “we wouldn’t do it; but, we like it—we like the people, we like the animals, we like going to different places. You get see places that many people don’t get access to. It keeps us young and we love it; it’s just a good way to live.”

Kwanzaa celebrates core values, fosters community

This year, for the seven days spanning December 26 through January 1, millions of people of African descent here in the US and worldwide will celebrate the holiday of Kwanzaa, created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga of Cal State Long Beach.

According to Karenga, the name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase ‘matunda ya kwanza,’ meaning ‘first fruits of the harvest,’ or simply ‘first fruits.’ Swahili was chosen as the language of Kwanzaa because it is something of a pan-African lingua franca and because the acceptance of Swahili as an international language acknowledged the decolonization of numerous African nations in the 1950s and 60s.

Kwanzaa is a value-centered holiday with roots in the Black Nationalist movement of the 1960s. Karenga believed that the African-American community in the US needed a positive identity and fundamental set of values that were based on the moral and ethical ideals of its home and parent culture, both of which had been stripped from the men and women forcibly brought to the New World.

By annually uniting in meditation and study of the African traditions of Nguzo Saba, the “Seven Principles” which Karenga called “a communitarian African Philosophy,” a cultural renewal is effected capable of sustaining the spiritual energy needed to make progress in the face of racism, disenfranchisement, and social inequality. Speaking at the height of the Civil Rights movement, Karenga noted that the fight for social justice before anything needed a spiritual focus: “The cultural revolution,” said Karenga, “gives identity, purpose and direction.”

The celebration neither promotes nor reflects any particular religion, and while the Seven Principles on the surface feel universal, a reflection on the history of African-descended people here and abroad helps understand why Karenga chose these particular values, and the resonance they have within the communities of the African Diaspora.

The Nguzo Saba are celebrated one per day in the order given below:

Umoja (Unity): The focus here is to think about unity on several fronts, including family, community, nation, and race. Unity values what people have in common while recognizing the contributions made by their differences.

Kujichagulia (Self-determination): Here the point is that people should have the right to give themselves a name, take credit for their own ideas and contributions to society, and use their own voices in forming their society and deciding on what is ethical and right.

Ujima (Collective work and responsibility): The form of a community is the right and responsibility of all members. No one should suffer alone, and neither should any one person receive the spoils of work that is the result of community effort.

Ujamaa (Cooperative economics): Businesses, shops, and professions need to understand that while competition improves the quality of goods and services, the needs of human beings and the maintenance of a level playing field creates the healthiest environment for all community members.

Nia (Purpose): The collective vocation of a community is the building and development of the community in order to restore people of African descent to “traditional greatness.” This value recognizes that beyond the mission of individual business and practitioners, the greater purpose of the community should be replace worn-out stereotypes held even by the most well-meaning (non-African) people regarding African peoples. Africa has a rich history of sophisticated societies and intellectual development, but the impoverishment of the African Diaspora, most often the result of institutional racism, negatively informs public discourse about Africans and African-Americans in particular. African-Americans’ views of themselves have not entirely escaped the debilitating effects of the negative images held by non-Africans. The ‘traditional greatness” sought, therefore is as much about African-descended communities resuscitating their own self-esteem as it is about positively changing the worldview of non-Africans.

Kuumba (Creativity): All the community is encouraged to participate fully, using the particular strengths and talents bestowed upon individuals. Every generation should strive to leave the community more beautiful and better working than they found it. Whether it be through the arts, engineering, economics, professional development, or any other endeavor, individuals either alone or on cooperation should understand the role their indispensible efforts play. Community is not a concept, but a living organism that requires conscious and deliberate effort; moreover, everyone has something to bring to the table, and should.

Imani (Faith): This is about faith in people—about parents, teachers, and leaders. Implied also is that respect is due to those who have come before, who have learned the hard lessons, and who desire to pass on their knowledge. It is also about faith in the ultimate victory against inequality. If there is no hope that the world will someday value all beings equally and without prejudice, everything else is just going through the motions. For some reason, people the world over and throughout history have invented ways to be better than someone else. A world where that is no longer true is a vision truly to be sought.

On any given evening of Kwanzaa, a Karamu, or feast, is held. Gifts can be given, though mainly to children, but must always include a book and a heritage symbol. The book is to emphasize the African value and tradition of learning stressed since ancient Egypt, and the heritage symbol to reaffirm and reinforce the African commitment to tradition and history.

The colors of Kwanzaa are black, red and green. Decorations should include traditional African items, for example, African baskets, cloth patterns, art objects, harvest symbols, and such. The greeting for each day of Kwanzaa is ‘Habari Gani?’ which is Swahili for “How are you?”

This year’s Kwanzaa theme is “Practicing the Principles of Kwanzaa: Repairing, Renewing, and Remaking Our World.” Every year the Afro-American Cultural and Historical Society, a cultural and historical society based in the Hayward and Tri-Cities area, sponsors a Kwanzaa celebration. This year it will take place on Friday December 9 at Palma Ceia Baptist Church in Hayward. There will be displays of crafts and a program of drumming and poetry, followed by a Karamu Feast.

Kwanzaa Celebration

Friday, Dec 9, 2017

6:00 – 6:30 p.m. Displays and Crafts

6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Program

Palma Ceia Baptist Church –Bennett Hall

28605 Rufus Rd, Hayward

For more information: (510) 471-9040 or www.aachsi.com

Free

Tech solution benefits deaf and speech impaired

In September of 2017, a mountain lion chased two deer onto the athletic field of the California School for the Deaf. An unusual occurrence to be sure, but a potentially dangerous one for anyone considering going outside. In an institution where audible alerts are of little use, how best to warn members of the danger and to stay indoors?

Believe it or not, up until just a few years ago, the answer would be to send a runner to each of CSD’s classrooms and sign the news in American Sign Language (ASL). Obviously, that’s an inefficient system that puts one or more individuals at risk. In the case of more serious threats like armed shooters, the potential for disaster is huge.

“One time, a few years ago,” says CSD’s Dean of Students, Ethan Bernstein, “a guy was shooting up into the air with a gun down at the corner, and Fremont PD came here and said we should shelter in place. We had no real electronic communication then—people had to walk to each building and inform them to shelter in place, which is a sketchy solution to be sure.”

In 2014, CSD went about looking for a partner that would develop an emergency alert system for the school. Ultimately, the video relay service provider Convo agreed to work with CSD, and during the summer of 2015, Convo engineers and designers developed an alert system from the ground up.

“This wasn’t an off-the-shelf product,” says Bernstein, “Convo and CSD worked together to develop it. It had never been done before. This school was a pilot, but the system is now being implemented in other deaf schools. It was a pilot and now it’s a model.”

The ConvoAnnounce system that resulted from the collaboration puts a large video screen in every classroom, office, and dorm room at the school. Not only is it good for signed announcements and public address situations, it uses flashing red screens and large block text announcements that indicate the type of danger, whether the school is in lockdown, whether evacuation is necessary, and much more. Any staff member supervisor can access the system at any screen to deliver a preset announcement of create a new one to fit the situation.

Most hearing people have probably not heard of a Video Relay System (VRS) of the kind that Convo operates. A VRS allows deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired people to use a video terminal to use sign language, which an interpreter then communicates verbally with the hearing party. Convo was in a unique position to provide a solution, not only because of its experience as a VRS, but also because it is a deaf-owned and signing-centric company. As brand coordinator Leila Hanaumi explains, “Who knows the deaf community and it’s challenges better than people who live the experience everyday?”

Convo develops its technology based on the core concept of the deaf ‘ecosystem.’ That is, in any natural system, individuals, populations, and communities benefit from the existing mechanisms of resource procurement and usage. For the deaf, hard of hearing, and speech impaired people that Convo serves, an environment—an ecosystem—that helps those people as individuals, populations, and communities find resources, find each other, and find fulfillment, best assists its constituents in being self-reliant. “We know firsthand what a positive deaf ecosystem can do for our community,” says Hanaumi, “It creates opportunities, increases choices, encourages collaboration, and fosters connection.”

In that vein, the company has recently introduced an app (for iOS and Android) that not only makes it easy for signers to communicate with each other and to the hearing via VRS, but also provides videomail and an extensive directory of deaf-owned and deaf-friendly services. As Hanaumi says, “what makes this directory so special—and there have been other efforts to do the same thing—is that we consider regular maintenance and updating of it part of our job description.”

Another of Convo’s success stories  Mozzeria, a deaf-owned pizzeria belonging to Melody and Russ Stein in SF. Even though they used an online reservation service, people were calling the restaurant, and the VRS and visual alert system in place wasn’t working well—50% of calls were lost.

In response, Convo developed Convo Lights. The alert system uses Philips Hue LED colored lights placed strategically throughout out the store along the ceiling, under the shelving, by the oven, and in the kitchen to signal when call is coming in, or, has been missed. Not only did Mozzeria’s answered-call rate shoot to 95%, the overall effect is visually appealing as well.

*   *   *

Looking back, an emergency alert system for the deaf seems pretty common sense. But as Hanaumi explains: “Prior to [ConvoAnnounce] there just wasn’t enough of a market out there to foster the development of technology.”

“If you look at the history of technology,” she continues, “it always is based on auditory culture—Alexa and Siri, for example—so there is a barrier to the deaf community’s access to those technologies. Then, a company like ours invents a sort of equivalent tech before the next round of innovation and equivalency development begins again.”

In 2009, Convo was a start-up with less than 10 employees. Today, it is one of the largest deaf-owned companies in the world with around 250 employees. The company’s success represents the unique alchemy that occurs when a company and its clients share both a similar culture and a ‘can-do’ attitude.

Incidentally, the mountain lion was never found and the deer, presumably are still living peacefully somewhere in the foothills of Fremont.