Beating the obstacles

Newport Beach’s Sahara Cookson, 85, teaches American Sign Language at

the Costa Mesa Senior Center every Monday afternoon. She learned sign

language at age 13 -- 10 years after spinal meningitis and scarlet

fever left her deaf.

The oldest of 10 children, Cookson often looked after all her

brothers and sisters, as her mother was often sick.

She moved to California from her home state of Arizona after her

first husband died of cancer. She later married Valentino “Val”

Cookson.

Sahara Cookson has held many jobs -- mostly production-line jobs

during and after World War II. She developed an interest in

photography and took classes at Long Beach State to learn how to

clean, tint and retouch negatives.

Despite having what some might consider a disability, Sahara

Cookson has gone through life with a drive and the ability to

persevere.

The Daily Pilot’s Lindsay Sandham sat down with Sahara Cookson,

sharing a written conversation, and learned about her life.

You went to a school for the deaf and blind in Tucson. Is that

where you learned American Sign Language?

Yes, I learned sign language at 13 years old ... [I] learned

quickly and graduated with the deaf class from high school at 16.

What did you want to do after graduation?

To go to college to be a teacher of the deaf, but there were not

any scholarships at that time in Arizona. After graduation, [I] got a

job in a Laundromat and made $15 a week.

You have an impressive work history. During World War II, you

worked at Douglas Aircraft as a line-assembly person and then as an

inspector. And later on, you worked at Hughes Aircraft. You also

worked with negatives at a photography studio. Did you ever have

difficulty or were you ever discriminated against because of your

deafness?

Yes, at times I was discriminated against, but I overcame that. I

tried hard!

Of all your jobs, which was your favorite and why?

Working in the engineering lab at Hughes Aircraft, that was a very

interesting job -- putting gold wires into a circuit board, following

a detailed blueprint for missiles for the Air Force.

How did you end up in Newport Beach?

I moved to Newport Beach from Santa Ana when I was working at

Hughes Aircraft. I wanted to be closer to the plant as I wasn’t

driving at that time. I just walked to work.

And your late husband taught you to ride a motorcycle. Do you

prefer cars or motorcycles?

I prefer motorcycles, but they are too dangerous now that I’m 85.

What is it that makes your cat, Lucy, a “hearing” cat?

She trained herself; it seems that she learned of my deafness ...

and [that I] had deaf friends visiting. When [they] knock, the light

blinks on and off. She’ll call me by touching my legs with her paws

when there’s a flashing light that I didn’t notice.

And you’ve been volunteering at the senior center for five years.

How did you find out about the center?

A hearing person told me about the senior center in Costa Mesa. I

stopped by one day to see what was going on and found it was a good

place for me.

I understand you were honored as one of the top 10 volunteers at the senior center for 2004. Why do you think you were chosen and how

did it feel?

It was a surprise to me. I felt excited about it and thankful I

became a volunteer. I love to help, and that makes me happy.