Bridging Two Counties
The Shared Signing Community of Shenandoah and Rockingham
January 15, 2026, 7:00 pm, (online only)
A shared signing community once linked the rural neighborhoods of Lantz Mills in Shenandoah County and nearby Rockingham County, where deaf and hearing residents used locally-evolved sign languages to communicate. This interconnected community preserved a distinct visual heritage that shaped daily life, kinship networks, and regional cultural identity.
One Deaf descendant traced her lineage back through Lantz Mills and Rockingham County, uncovering generations of Deaf ancestors whose stories were hidden in local archives, cemeteries, and family artifacts. Her pursuit affirms the deep cultural roots and identity of this shared signing community.
Kathleen L. Brockway is a Deaf historian and educator, and she is currently a doctoral student at Lamar University in Texas, where she focuses on Deaf communities, cultural sustainability, and ethical preservation practices. She is the author of Baltimore’s Deaf Heritage (2014) and Detroit’s Deaf Heritage (2016), as well as an online Virginia Encyclopedia entry on the shared signing community of Shenandoah County, Virginia. She also has a forthcoming entry for the Oregon Encyclopedia on the shared signing community in Harrisburg, Oregon.
With a Master’s Degree in Cultural Sustainability from Goucher College and a graduate certificate in Deaf Cultural Studies from Gallaudet University, Kathleen integrates academic research with public-facing work. Through her Heritage ASL platforms on Instagram and Facebook, she continues to educate and inspire by uncovering and sharing untold stories within Deaf history.
Based on past inclement weather frustrations, this program will be online only.