Dave and Carrie Welter are profiled in the Seen & Heard column of the May/June 2015 issue of Hearing Loss Magazine, published by the Hearing Loss Association of America. I photographed Dave and Carrie in Austin at Convention 2014.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
DAVE WELTER Augusta, Georgia / Born August 7, 1936 in Lorain, Ohio
MY HEARING LOSS…I don’t have a significant hearing loss.
I FOUND OUT ABOUT HLAA…from my wife, Carrie.
SAGE ADVICE FOR SOMEONE NEWLY-DIAGNOSED WITH HEARING LOSS…Join a chapter of HLAA and learn all you can learn.
DISADVANTAGES OF HEARING LOSS…it separates you from the real world.
ADVANTAGES OF HEARING LOSS…You don’t have to sit through boring lectures.
BEST THING ABOUT HLAA…information available on the website
I LIKE BEING INVOLVED IN AN HLAA CHAPTER BECAUSE…I am able to help people with hearing loss communicate better.
FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEMORY…driving a 1935 John Deere tractor when I was five
THE BEST GIFT…my wife
THE FIRST THING I BOUGHT WITH MY OWN MONEY WAS…a college education.
THE HARDEST THING I’VE EVER DONE WAS…say good-bye to my 16-year-old brother when he died.
HOBBIES…wood-turning, fishing, vehicle restoration, historical preservation, etc.
MY LITTLE KNOWN TALENT IS…turning wood trash into treasures.
I WISH I HAD A TALENT FOR…playing the piano.
I HAVE A WEAKNESS FOR…good beer.
I COLLECT…wood stumps, burls, walnut, cherry and any other beautiful wood.
IF I HAD TO DO IT ALL OVER, I WOULD…become more focused on my family.
YOU’VE WON A $1,000 SHOPPING SPREE TO A FAVORITE STORE…I would go to Highland Woodworking in Atlanta and buy woodworking tools.
FIVE JOBS I’VE HAD…mix mud for a plasterer, dig ditches for a plumber, lay brick, cut trees, and professor of cellular biology and anatomy
MY FRIENDS SAY I AM…can’t divulge that
BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD…my one-way wood lathe
I HAVE A FEAR OF…not getting my chores done.
EVER MEET ANYONE FAMOUS?…President Eisenhower
MY LONG-TERM GOAL IS…to live to 114.
I’M CRAVING…a Red Bull.
GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT?…taught a lot of students human anatomy
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CARRIE WELTER
Augusta, Georgia / Born August 21, 1942 in Statesboro (Bulloch County) Georgia
MY HEARING LOSS…I inherited it from my father. When I was in the fourth grade a hearing test revealed a mild hearing loss, although I probably had it from birth. In my mid-thirties I got my first hearing aids and now have bilateral cochlear implants.
I FOUND OUT ABOUT HLAA…I got a notice about a chapter meeting in nearby Aiken, South Carolina, with Pat Pennington as the organizer. I truly found my place.
SAGE ADVICE FOR SOMEONE NEWLY-DIAGNOSED WITH HEARING LOSS…Acknowledge it, accept it, join HLAA and do all you can to communicate with others.
DISADVANTAGES OF HEARING LOSS…misunderstandings, loss of communication
ADVANTAGES OF HEARING LOSS…selective hearing—great excuse!
BEST THING ABOUT HLAA…meeting others with hearing loss and their families and friends
I LIKE BEING INVOLVED IN AN HLAA CHAPTER BECAUSE…I can help people with hearing loss at the local level, one-on-one.
FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEMORY…happy family gatherings eating boiled peanuts, drinking Coca-Cola® in the hot summer, swimming in the river and eating fried chicken on our river picnics
MY FIRST MEMORY OF BEING REALLY EXCITED WAS…learning to swim at the river at age four.
THE BEST GIFT…my cochlear implants
THE FIRST THING I BOUGHT WITH MY OWN MONEY WAS…a 1963 Comet.
I LOVE THE SOUND OF…birds, which I can now hear with my cochlear implants.
IN MY SPARE TIME…I never seem to have any
I MOST DEFINITELY AM NOT…an artist.
HOBBIES…scrapbooking, gardening and hiking
I WISH I HAD A TALENT FOR…playing the piano.
FAVORITE PLACE TO BE…the mountains with their splendor
FIVE PLACES I’VE LIVED…just Georgia
FIVE JOBS I’VE HAD…Christmas wrapper, 45-rpm vinyl record salesperson, library clerk, English teacher and school media specialist
MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME…about God.
MY FATHER TAUGHT ME…to be honest.
GET ANYTHING GOOD IN THE MAIL LATELY?…Hearing Loss Magazine
BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD…my cochlear implants
I HAVE A FEAR OF…the unknown.
I REALLY SHOULD…stop and smell the roses.
I SIMPLY CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT…my Dave.
THREE FAVORITE POSSESSIONS…my sight, my hearing, and my mind
MY MOTTO IS…serve others.
GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT? learning that I am not defined by my hearing loss—my hearing loss has made me stronger
GIVE ‘EM SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT