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MSS 223

Bates, Joan M. (Joan Macaluso), 1930-2006

The Joan M. Bates Papers, 1938-2005

Gallaudet University Archives

Descriptive Summary

Repository: Gallaudet University Archives

Call No.: MSS 223

Creators: Bates, Joan M. (Joan Macaluso), 1930-2006

Title: The Joan M. Bates Papers, 1938-2005

Quantity: 11 boxes (6 linear feet).

Abstract: Papers of Joan M. Bates, a deaf cataloger in the Government Printing Office and

cofounder of Gallaudet’s Delta Epsilon sorority. Includes correspondence, job reports, program books, Catholic religious materials, plaques, and more.

Note: This document last updated May 2018.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information: Donated by Randy and Roger Bates, 2010, along with some materials donated by Joan Bates in 1999.

Processed By: Begun by Corinne Palaia and Michael J. Olson, 2017, and completed by Christopher Shea, May 2018.

Processing Note:

Conditions on Use and Access: This collection is open to the public with no restrictions with the exception of series 7 (see series listing for details).

Biographical Sketch

Born in New Orleans in 1930, Joan Macaluso received an oral education at the Chinchuba Elementary School for the Deaf and the Sacred Heart High School. She spent two years at Notre Dame Junior College in St. Louis before entering Gallaudet in 1952. She graduated with a BS degree in education in 1955. While a sophomore at Gallaudet in 1953, she became one of the founding members of the Delta Epsilon sorority, and was its first secretary. She remained closely involved in Delta Epsilon and its alumnae organization for the rest of her life.

Joan met Robert Bates, a graduate of the Indiana School for the Deaf, at Gallaudet, and they were married in 1955, moving to northern Virginia. She spent one year in the graduate program at Catholic University learning library science and then began a career with the federal government. Starting in 1955 as a typist and library assistant in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare’s library, she moved through positions at the Office of Personnel Management, the Naval Supply Systems Command, and the law library of the Navy’s Office of the Judge Advocate General. Finally, in 1982 she became a cataloger in the Government Printing Office and remained in that position until her retirement in 1997.

A devout Catholic, Ms. Bates was closely involved in the US chapter of the International Catholic Deaf Association (ICDA-US), including helping set up its first office. She was also a member of the Daughters of St. Francis de Sales and taught sign language classes at her church. Joan M. Bates passed away in 2006.

Scope and Content

The emphasis in these papers is on Ms. Bates’s professional work at the GPO and her religious work with the ICDA-US and other organizations, and her religious studies and beliefs. In particular, the GPO material includes an in-depth study of some complaints that helps show the challenges faced by deaf employees in the federal workforce. There is relatively little about Ms. Bates’s family, but the papers do include a small amount of material on Robert Bates. Series 7 also includes a great deal of material from the founding and early years of the Delta Epsilon sorority that may be of interest to current or former DE members. However, access requires permission from Delta Epsilon officers (see series seven listing).

Series Descriptions

Series 1. Correspondence and personal documents, 1938-2000

Box 1

A small collection of miscellaneous personal correspondence, photographs, clippings, and notes. Of particular interest are two notebooks that Ms. Bates wrote as a child, one with a list of books she’d read and the other a list of places visited. It also includes some household budget books from her early married life.

Series 2. Education, 1931-2004

Boxes 1-2

Covers Ms. Bates’s education, including the Chinchuba Institute, Sacred Heart High School, and Gallaudet. Includes some papers and stories that Ms. Bates wrote in high school and college, her Gallaudet report cards, reports and histories of the Chinchuba Institute, and more.

See series 8 for a videotape from Ms. Bates’s 50th high school reunion.

Series 3. Religion, 1946-2005

Boxes 2-4

Materials from Ms. Bates’s religious activities, including notebooks she compiled at workshops and education programs, flyers and programs from church events, and minutes and publications from her work with the International Catholic Deaf Association. Of particular interest is a report/travelogue on her trip to Europe to perform the St. Francis de Sales pilgrimage in 1999.

Series 4. GPO employment and EEOC cases, 1982-1997

Boxes 4-6

This series covers documents from Ms. Bates’s time as a cataloging librarian at the Government Printing Office. It includes her resume and federal Personal Qualifications Statements forms, some correspondence and job assessments, and reports on her work at the GPO. Besides these records, this series also covers two Equal Employment Opportunity Commission cases that Ms. Bates was a part of while working at the GPO. In the first one, from 1993-1994, a group of deaf GPO employees complained that the GPO provided them with an unqualified interpreter, impairing their ability to participate in meetings, workshops, and other events. In the second, circa 1992-1994, Ms. Bates was passed over for a promotion and felt that she had lost out to a less qualified applicant based on her age and disability. Documents include
correspondence,
complaint forms,
legal filings (including material from the National Center for Law and Deafness), and
An investigator’s report on Ms. Bates’s discrimination claim.

Series 5. Deaf organizations, 1983-1999

Box 6

A small collection of materials from deaf organizations that the Bateses were involved in, such as the Virginia Association of the Deaf, the American Society for Deaf Children, and others. It includes brochures, publications, event programs, and more.

Series 6. Robert Bates papers, 1936-1997

Box 6

A small collection of materials related to Ms. Bates’s husband, Robert Bates (1930-1996). A graduate of the Indiana School for the Deaf and Gallaudet, Bates was a mathematician and the first deaf computer programmer to work for the federal government in the Navy Department. He was an active member of the Virginia Association of the Deaf, including serving a term as its president, and also the Northern Virginia Association of the Deaf. He sat on Gallaudet’s Research Board and the Navy’s Handicapped Advisory Board. This series includes some articles and obituaries about Bates, material from the Indiana School for the Deaf, and newsletters from the Association of Computing Machinery, where Bates was the chair of the deaf special interest group (SIGDEAF).

Series 7. Closed files, 1953-2004

Boxes 7-8

These files require special permission to view. One of them consists of records of Ms. Bates’s audiology, including an audiogram; laws regarding medical records disclosure govern access to this file. The remainder of this series consists of files regarding Ms. Bates’s involvement in the founding and growth of the Delta Epsilon sorority, including correspondence, event programs, pins, photographs, documentation, and more. Access to these records requires written permission from the officers of either Delta Epsilon or its alumnae society.

Series 8. Artifacts, 1970-1999

Box 9

Most of this series is award plaques given to Joan and Robert Bates by various groups they were involved in, such as the International Catholic Deaf Association, the Government Printing Office, the Association for Computing Machinery, and the Indiana School for the Deaf Alumni Association. There is also a box of badges, keychains, a hat, and other items from conventions of groups that Joan and Robert attended, mostly from the ICDA and the Lions International service club. It also includes a 1999 videotape of the Sacred Heart High School Class of 1949 50th reunion and a couple of Gallaudet University memorabilia pieces.

Series 9. Additional materials, 1931-1969

Box 11

A small collection donated by Joan Bates herself in 1999. Includes a library textbook she used while at CUA, a collection of business cards (mostly Robert Bates’s), some NFSD window decals, and a group photo from the 1951 International Catholic Deaf Congress in Buffalo.

Table
BOX FOLDER TITLE YEAR(S)
1 1 Budget books and ledgers 1955-1958
1 2 Certificates 1970-2000
1 3 Correspondence 1924-1996
1 4 List of books read Undated
1 5 Newspaper clippings 1938-1986
1 6 Notebook of places visited 1950s
1 7 Notes Undated
1 8 Photos from Venice Undated
1 9 Photographs Undated
1 10 Articles on history of Chinchuba Institute 1931-2004
1 11 Chinchuba Institute alumni directories 1990-1993
1 12 Chinchuba Institute booklet: The Reality Child II 1983
1 13 Chinchuba Institute history 1955
1 14 Chinchuba Institute reports and correspondence 1986
1 15 Lois Landry paper on reading and writing education at Chinchuba Undated
2 1 High school and college work 1950-1955
2 2 Sacred Heart High School alumni newsletters and programs 1994-1999
2 3 Sacred Heart High School newspaper 1948-1949
2 4 Composition book from junior college Undated
2 5 Alpha Sigma Pi history of Gallaudet 1953
2 6 Certificates and invitations 1968-1992
2 7 Gallaudet College report cards 1952-1955
2 8 G Book 1949-1950
2 9 Programs from graduations 1945-1955
2 10 Women’s Governing Council rules and regulations 1951
2 11 Articles on religious teaching Undated
2 12 Booklet: The Great Week 1946
2 13 Camp Mark 7 Dedication Day program book 1982
2 14 Cards and brochures on St. Francis de Sales Undated
2 15 Church flyer: Ears That Do Not Hear 1982
2 16 Correspondence and articles on St. Francis de Sales pilgrimage 1999-2000
2 17 Daily Devotions for the Deaf 1990
2 18 De Sales Seminary Association correspondence 1975-1981
3 1 Epiphany Catholic School newsletters and reports 1999-2003
3 2 Funeral program and obituaries for Julia Byrne 1989
3 3 Gabriel Richard Institute diploma 1975
3 4 History of Cursillo movement Undated
3 5 International Catholic Deaf Association newsletters and minutes 1999-2002
3 6 International Catholic Deaf Association program books 1974-2003
3 7 International Catholic Deaf Association publications and correspondence 1991-2005
3 8 Louisville Catholic Deaf Society booklet 1997
3 9 Notebook and cards on religious issues ca. 1986
4 1 Notebooks on religious issues ca. 1981
4 2 Papers on religious education for the deaf Undated
4 3 Participant list for World Cursillo of the Deaf 1981
4 4 Reports and correspondence on Christian workshops 1980-1981
4 5 St. Mary’s Catholic Deaf Society program book 1949
4 6 Sign-Board newsletter 1948-1949
4 7 Article and reports on cataloging performance 1989-1993
4 8 Cards for retirement 1997
4 9 Correspondence and reports on GPO 1982-1990
4 10 Job performance and retirement forms 1966-1997
4 11 Personal Qualifications Statements 1982
4 12 Resume Undated
4 13 Work schedules and transmittal slips 1984-1990
4 14 Correspondence and complaints on interpreter case 1993
5 1 Correspondence on interpreting and job schedule 1992-1993
5 2 Correspondence with GPO and Congress on interpreters 1992-1993
5 3 Incident notes and correspondence on interpreter case 1989-1994
5 4 National Center for Law and Deafness correspondence on interpreter case 1992-1993
5 5 Requirements for interpreters 1989
5 6 Classification review and promotion application 1980-1991
5 7 Complaint of discrimination 1991
5 8 GPO union correspondence and forms 1980-1987
5 9 Investigator’s report on employment discrimination (1/2) 1992
5 10 Investigator’s report on employment discrimination (2/2) 1992
6 1 National Center for Law and Deafness correspondence on promotion 1991-1994
6 2 Response to objections in promotion case 1993-1994
6 3 American Association of the Deaf-Blind directory 1997
6 4 American Society for Deaf Children newsletter 1992
6 5 Brochures from deaf groups Undated
6 6 Colonial Williamsburg guide for deaf and hearing impaired visitors 1983
6 7 Fact sheets on deaf groups ca. 1993
6 8 National Employ the Handicapped Week program book 1985
6 9 VAD and NVAD program books 1998-1999
6 10 VASLTA bylaws and certificate 1999
6 11 Virginia Association of the Deaf directory of services 1993
6 12 Certificates for Robert Bates 1944-1997
6 13 Class notebook: The Science of Health Undated
6 14 Computopics magazine 1967-1969
6 15 ID and membership cards for Robert Bates 1948-1994
6 16 Indiana School for the Deaf 150th reunion banquet program 1994
6 17 Indiana School for the Deaf alumni questionnaire ca. 1996
6 18 Indiana School for the Deaf diploma for Robert Bates 1950
6 19 Indiana School for the Deaf general information booklet 1936
6 20 Newsletter with article on Robert Bates 1968
6 21 Obituaries for Robert Bates 1996
7 1 Audiology forms 1999-2000
7 2 50th anniversary program book 2003
7 3 Alumnae chapter bylaws 1994-1998
7 4 Alumnae chapter letterhead Undated
7 5 Articles on founding of Delta Epsilon ca. 2001
7 6 Attendee lists for workshop/debate 1990
7 7 Basics of Parliamentary Procedure Undated
7 8 Biography and photos of Margery Black Hall Undated
7 9 Buff and Blue with article on founding of Delta Epsilon 1953
7 10 Cards from presentation [1979]
7 11 Constitution Undated
7 12 Copied articles Undated
7 13 Correspondence 1990
7 14 Hoke’s Sign Inn certificate 2004
7 15 International Alumnae of Delta Epsilon Sorority bylaws 2001
7 16 International Alumnae of Delta Epsilon Sorority handbook 1990
7 17 Jubilee flyers 1978-2003
7 18 Letterhead Undated
7 19 Meeting minutes 2002
7 20 Membership cards ca. 1953
7 21 Membership certificate 1953
7 22 National alumnae letterhead Undated
7 23 National alumnae name lists 1980-1988
7 24 Newspaper clipping 2000
7 25 Notes 1992
7 26 Photographs 1953-1993
8 1 Program book for ruby anniversary 1993
8 2 Program books for banquets 1978-1986
8 3 Programs and reports on silver and golden jubilees 1978-2003
8 4 Silver jubilee history book 1978
8 5 Sorority correspondence 1968-2002
8 6 Sorority e-mail correspondence 1999-2003
8 7 Sorority newsletters 1998-2004
8 8 Sorority records 1955-2002
8 9 Sorority rules and initiation ceremony Undated
8 10 Ticket to formal dance 1954
8 Sorority pins Undated
9 I Graduated from Gallaudet University car sign Undated
9 Gallaudet College button with blue and white felt ribbons Undated
9 Sacred Heart High School Class of 1949 reunion VHS 1999
9 Association for Computing Machinery plaque for Robert Bates 1970
9 The Three Musketeers hollow book Undated
9 Indiana School for the Deaf Alumni Association plaque for Robert Bates 1990
9 GPO plaque of appreciation for Joan M. Bates 1997
9 International Catholic Deaf Association recognition award for Robert Bates 1982
10 Convention badges and other memorabilia Undated
11 1 ABCs of Public Relations 1969
11 2 Book: Technical Libraries, Their Organization and Maintenance 1931
11 3 Business cards Undated
11 4 International Catholic Deaf Congress group photo 1951
11 5 Manual alphabet cards Undated
11 6 NFSD decals Undated

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