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Copyright 2000
Oregon Live ®

About 2,000 dwarfs will attend their national conference in early July at the Portland Marriott

Thursday, July 1, 1999

Up to 2,000 dwarfs will descend on downtown Portland July 2-10 when Little People of America holds its annual national conference at the Portland Marriott.

Most activities will be held at the hotel, but sporting events, field trips and social outings will take little people to locations throughout the city during the nine-day event.

"Participants will have lots of choices, both of serious and fun things to do," said Matt Roloff, conference publicity chairman, adding that the convention is open only to registered participants.

Workshops focusing on issues of importance to the little-people community are planned. One workshop, for instance, addresses how to raise a dwarf child, a subject of particular interest to average-size parents of dwarf children.

Doctors who specialize in dwarf medicine also will be at the conference, sharing their expertise and advice. Patients come from all over the world to see these doctors, said the 4-foot-tall Roloff.

"The doctors often can make a diagnosis on the spot," he explained, "whereas a doctor who didn't specialize in dwarf medicine would have to make a referral. It cuts down on time spent finding the right doctor."

Little people look forward to their conventions because they normally see only a handful of other dwarfs during the year. Single people especially anticipate the weeklong get-together.

"If it weren't for the convention, it would have taken a lot longer to find a girlfriend," said 3-foot-9-inch Bill Bradford, the convention's co-chairman. The Portland writer met his girlfriend -- Tina Gawatz, who lives in Oklahoma -- at last year's convention in Los Angeles.

The Dwarf Athletic Association of America also holds its national games during convention week. Hundreds of athletes compete in events ranging from basketball to weight lifting to boccie ball.

Field trips to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Washington Park and the Columbia River Gorge are on the agenda. And nightly dances will be held at the Marriott, culminating with the Little People Ball on July 8.

"The ball's a really big event," said Amy Roloff. "Everybody dresses up in ballgowns, suits and tuxedos. It's very exciting, and sort of sad, because it's the last night of the convention."

Roloff and her husband will be the hosts of a field trip for teen-agers to their Helvetia farm during the convention

Little People of America is a nonprofit organization that provides support and information to people of short stature and their families. Short stature is generally caused by one of the more than 200 medical conditions known as dwarfism.

Actor Billy Barty started the group in 1957 with about 20 people. Today the association is the largest organization in the world devoted to people of short stature, with more than 5,000 members worldwide.

Not all little people like to be asked questions about their size, but many dwarfs gladly answer questions from the curious public. Both Roloff and Bradford said Portlanders should not be afraid to approach a little person during the convention. Or any other time.

"We're trying to educate the public about little people," Roloff said. "And people won't learn if they don't ask."

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