The history of Pilot Institute for the Deaf unofficially began in 1938 when the Pilot Club of Dallas provided a 6 week summer term to teach the young deaf children speech reading. The club was a small group of business women who wanted to dedicate their heart to the deaf children. Miss Louise Hillyer taught the class for five summers. In 1943 she met Miss Ruth Orenbaum and asked her to come to Dallas to help start a school.
Officially the school's history began in June 1943 when it was established at the James W. Fannin Elementary School. The reason for starting this school was because the club realized there was no training facilities for the pre-school deaf children. Their goal was to establish a permanent school. The school was located on Ross and Fitzhugh Avenues and a tuition of $15 per month per child was charged. The club helped raise funds to make up the difference between the parent's fees and the operating expenses, as well as scholarships for those children whose parents were unable to pay.
The first teachers were Miss Orenbaum and Miss Mary Belle Searight. Miss Orenbaum was the supervising teacher. The first students were Charles Randolph, Virginia Climer, Eileen Rogers, Deana Cunningham, Martha Roberts, and Kenneth Durham.
Soon there was no room available to accommodate the growing number of deaf children and staff. By 1947 there were 43 in total. In the summer of 1947, a generous gift, a mansion, from the Bradfords was a much needed miracle.
Mr. and Mrs. T. Leonard Bradford, Jr. and their two daughters gave their twenty-room home with almost eight acres of the extensive grounds at 4909 Cedar Springs to the Dallas Pilot Institute. The $300,000 estate was described as a rambling red brick mansion, with three stories and basement and was elaborately embraced by tall climbing vines and secluded by trees. Lavishly landscaped lawns surrounded the house and sloped down to a creek. The backyard provided an ideal location for the playground.
After the Bradfords moved to their new completed home across the creek, the Pilot Institute moved to their new location in April 1948. They had a school dedication program on 16 May 1948.
The North Dallas-Park Cities Kiwanis Club helped pay for the building repairs, improvements and the caretaker's salary. The Roy Munger family donated the funds for an auditorium, Munger Hall, which was built in the spring of 1949 and available by September 1949. A testing clinic was established to provide facilities for testing the hearing of children a few months old and up.
The institute was an oral school and provided speech and lip reading. It had a home-like atmosphere and many mothers worked closely with their children and the teachers in and out of classrooms. The beginning age was three years. The objective of the institute was to provide the deaf child with a well-rounded oral education, to the end that he may lead a useful, happy life among normal-speaking and hearing people. The classes were small in order to provide each child an individual attention. In 1950's the staff consisted of a principal, about seven teachers, secretary, dietitian, maid and caretaker.
The formal name of the school was "Pilot Institute for the Deaf" but many people affectionately referred to the school as "Pilot School" or "Pilot School for the Deaf."
By mid 1960s few portable buildings were added and the garage apartment was converted into additional classrooms to accommodate the growing number of students and advanced technology. The plans for a new school building started in 1964 when the estate of Mrs. Callier, a deaf lady, established a trust fund, and when the Pilot School staff and supporters finally accepted the offer after refusing it for several years.
The old school and the Dallas Speech and Hearing Center were joined together in the new school which was built during 1966 to 1968 at 1966 Inwood Road and named Callier Hearing and Speech Center in honor of Mrs. Lena E. Callier. Pilot Institute for the Deaf moved into the new school on 27 December 1967 and the classes resumed at the new location in January 1968. An open house was held in February 1968.
To the disappointment of many people, especially the students, the old school was sold and demolished by its new owner to make room for apartments. Today River Oaks Condominiums, built in 1968, still sit on the old property with Cedar Springs creek as its boundary. Many staff members and former students have fond memories of this institute and the property.
SOURCES:Newspapers - The Dallas Morning News. 29 Jun 1947; The Daily Times Herald,
29 Jun 1947; Dallas Education, 16 Apr 1948; Dallas Times Herald, 9 Oct 1969.
The Dallas Pilot Insitute for the Deaf brochures, 1944-1956.
Voice of Science, Vol. 4, No. 3, Aug 1969.
The Porthole (newsletters), 1948-1951, 1954.
(above) the back of the house [from PS brochure]
(left) Munger Hall [photo courtesy of Callier Center for
(now Callier Center for Communication Disorders)
[photo courtesy of Callier Center
for Communication Disorders]
History of
Dallas Pilot Institute
for the Deaf
(Pilot School for the Deaf),
Dallas, Texas
1943 to 1967
by Nova A. Lemons, copyright 2005
