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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 5, 1960)
STOPPMN INSTANTLY COMBAT INFECTION PROMOTE HEALING WITH ANTISEPTIC Campho Phenique ( PmONQUNCtO CAM-fO-flN-tt ) 1 USE IT FOR j u i linn Dimiip pirrn f SCRATCHES, ABRASIONS Camohi ftenlqui Quick ! Apply Campho-rhenique at once to minor hums from hot cooking utensils, hot water or steam . . . stops pain inatantlv, promotes ra p i il healing. The same thing hapitens when you use It on minor cuts, scratches ant) abrasions. 'amplio-l'henlque Is highly antiseptic. Wonderful for fever blisters, cold sores, gum holls ; to relieve Itching and to guard against Infecting in sect hltes. Used on pimples. I'unipho-l'henique helps pre vent their spread and reinfection. Jean's rmiwz PERIODIC PAIN It's downright fool ish to suffer in Silence everv month, iifcr J Let Midol's 3 way action bung you complete relief from functional men strual distress. Just take a Miclol tablet with a glass of water . . . that's all. Midol quickly relieves cramps, eases headache and chases "blues." 1 5 0 Deaf Chester Dobson reads comics in sign language to his four-year-old son Dennis who can hear but also understands signs. THESE CHILDREN DON'T CRY In this unusual family of deaf parents and normal youngsters, there are problems and blessings unlike those of any other household With the aid of signs, deaf Bertha Dobson "tells" her daughters Libby and Pat how to mend a hem. By BOB LISTON A guest at the home of Chester and Bertha Dobson watched in amazement as their infant played for hours without uttering a sound. "I've never seen a baby who never cried," the guest said. Mrs. Dobson smiled. "What good would it do him? He realizes already that his parents can't hear him." The incident illustrates the unusual relationships in a family whose children are normal but whose parents are deaf. The Dobsons, who live outside Washington, D.C., have seven children. Three are Chester Dobson's by a previous marriage Chester, Jr., 23, and Frank, 19, both away at col lege, and Terry, 15. Bertha also has children by a previous marriage Patsy, 17, and Alan, 14. The children of their present marriage are Libbie, 8, and Denny, 4. The day I arrived at the Dobson home, Patsy, a radiant teen-ager, answered tile door. She introduced me to her parents and herded her younger brothers and sisters into another room to watch television. Denny wanted to stay with the grownups and threw a tantrum. I watched fascinated while Patsy expertly calmed him and sent him on his way. Anticipating my thoughts, Bertha Dobson said, "In many ways Patsy is the mother here. She's been helping me since she was three. It has to be that way she can hear trouble." Unlike her husband who knows only signs, Bertha can lip-read and has some voice, a thin monotone which can be readily understood once you are used to it. She is a petite woman of 45 who went deaf overnight when she was 14. Doctors believe rickets caused a breakdown of the vital bones in the middle ear. Her first husband, also deaf, died. Since her marriage to Chester, she has worked as a qualifications analyst for the U.S. Public Health Service. Chester Dobson is a tall, wiry man of 51, exuding quiet strength and patience. He teaches graphic arts at Gallaudet College in Washington, the only college for the deaf in the world. He was born deaf. His first wife, also deaf, was killed in an automobile accident. Mutual friends introduced him to Bertha, and after court ing largely by mail, they were married in 1950. Bertha's children knew no sign language and had to adjust to a step father with whom they couldn't communicate. There was a religious problem, too, since Bertha is Catholic and Chester, Presbyterian. Despite all this, Bertha and Chester have reared a happy, harmonious family. The most serious difficulties of deaf parents center on the first-born. "Since you can't hear, you have to be certain you can always see the child," Bertha explained. "I took Patsy, my eldest, everywhere while doing housework. When she napped, I peeked in at her every five minutes. A hearing mother doesn't have to do that. She can listen for the cry. By the time the second child arrives, there is one child in the house who can hear and speak. The mother no longer has to supervise constantly. She has ears to listen for warnings of danger. The older the child the more respon sibility, and each new child of deaf parents becomes aware quickly of how much he is needed to help out in the home. Assuming so much responsibility at an early age creates disconcertingly mature "youngsters." Patsy, for example, is as poised as a woman twice her ago As her mother points out, "She's going to make someone a fine wife. Patsy knows what it means to have a large family. She's already talking about having four children." Patsy's role as "mother" was constantly brought home to (Cuniiiiiiwl i Familu Wffklu. June S. I960
