Gale Huntington Our Neighbors in Chilmark

For a few decades when he was first married, Gale Huntington (1902-1993) and his wife Mildred lived in Chilmark on Rumpus Ridge; an area where many of the Chilmark Deaf lived. They became well acquainted with their neighbors and in this clip from a 1982 interview with Linsey Lee, Gale speaks of his deaf neighbors and their work and personalities.
Families that came from England to the Vineyard in the late 17th century carried a recessive gene for deafness. Their descendants settled in Chilmark, where isolation reinforced the effects of the gene, causing rates of hereditary deafness far higher than on the mainland. Deafness became part of everyday life in Chilmark, with a unique local sign language used by deaf and hearing residents alike. As Chilmark grew more connected to the outside world, the effect of the gene diminished and deaf culture faded. The last native speaker of Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language died in 1952.
For more information about the oral history collection at the Martha's Vineyard Museum visit mvmuseum.org