Jane Slater The Chilmark Deaf

When she was a child, Jane Slater spent much of her time in Chilmark’s combined post office and general store, recalling “there wasn’t much else to do except go to the store and talk to people.” Many of those people were a part of the town’s Deaf community, and she remembered how everyone - both Deaf and hearing - were a part of the group, “just sitting around and talking.” Jane Slater’s family included members of Chilmark’s Deaf community, some of whom, like Lucy Vincent whose father was deaf, made the decision to not have children in order to avoid the possibility of passing on the gene. From an interview with Linsey Lee in 2022 and '23.
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