The Illinois School for the Deaf celebrates 185 years of educating and serving members of the deaf community.

The school invites alumni to return to the school June 21-23 to participate in a variety of activities, including an induction ceremony for the Illinois School for the Deaf Hall of Fame.

Bob Dramin, chairman of the Illinois School for the Deaf Alumni Association's Hall of Fame committee, said the inductions are held every five years and this time coincides with the 185th anniversary of the school's founding.

“The school was founded in 1839 when a law was signed to establish a school for the deaf,” Dramin said. “The first class opened on January 26, 1846, with four students. Abraham Lincoln was one of the legislators who supported the establishment of the school. From then on, the school grew.”

The school's founding and anniversary will be celebrated on June 22 from 5 to 11 p.m. at Hamilton's, 110 N. East St.

More than 250 people are expected to attend the anniversary and introductory event, Dramin said.

Throughout the weekend, the club will host various activities, such as painting, presentations on the school's history and an ISD school quiz contest, Dramin said.

The Alumni Association will induct 10 individuals from among the school's alumni or faculty into the hall during ceremonies beginning at 6 p.m. on June 21 in the school's Marshall Gym. These individuals are:

• Julia Anderson of Tinley Park, class of 1988: Anderson is being honored for her work as a civic leader with the West Suburban Association of the Deaf, Deaf Women of Chicago, Deaf Women United and other organizations.

• Angela Botz of Pontoon Beach, class of 1985: Botz is the founder and president of Show-Me Accessible Health Care, served as president of the Illinois Association of the Deaf from 2011 to 2015, and has been involved in several other organizations, including the National Association of the Deaf, Deaf Women of Chicago, and the St. Louis DEAFestival.

• Andy Cherry of Pleasant Plains, class of 1959: Cherry played football, track and baseball for three years at ISD. He also played basketball for four years. He was the football team's leading scorer in 1958, scoring 44 points in six games.

• Earl Claussen, deceased, class of 1963: Claussen played football and basketball for three years at ISD and was also a track athlete for four years.

• David Dean of Champaign, class of 1985: Dean is honored for his participation on the 1981 football team and his selection to the Western Area All-Conference team. He was a three-year member of the team. He was also a three-year member of the wrestling and track teams. He still holds the record in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 40.2 seconds set in 1982 and in the 4×400-meter relay.

• Bob Dramin of Jacksonville, class of 1988: Dramin is being honored for his work in the community. He is a member of the Illinois School for the Deaf Alumni Association and is the association's museum curator. He has worked with several organizations, including the Illinois Foundation for Deaf Children, the ISD Advisory Council, the Midwest Deaf Golfers Association and the Central Illinois Deaf Golfers Association, of which he is the founder and chairman. He is a co-author of the ISD history book.

• Dudley Webster George, deceased, faculty member: George was a faculty member of the school from 1880 to 1922.

• Steve Murphy of Rogersville, Missouri, class of 1978: Murphy was a four-year member of the ISD football team, two years of basketball and two years of track. He was a first-team all-Western Area Conference tackle and punter in 1976 and a member of the 1976 conference basketball champions.

• Eric Smith deceased, class of 1992: Smith was a four-year member of the school's football, track and field and wrestling teams. He was named ISD's Most Valuable Defensive Player in football in 1991. He was a member of the wrestling team that won the national championship in deaf wrestling, gold medalist in freestyle wrestling at the 1993 Deaflympics in Sofia, Bulgaria, and silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling that same year.

• The 1944 Illinois School for the Deaf Archery Team: The team took first place in the state archery competition in April 1944.

Marion Dramin of The Villages, Florida, was named an honorary member of the Hall of Fame. She served on the school advisory board, helped found a TTY organization in Central Illinois in 1974, and advocated for free TTY services in the 1980s.