Experiencing The Polio Epidemic

Experiencing The Polio Epidemic

It was in the middle of September; the height of summer and the temperature was somewhere in the high eighties, and under normal circumstances there would be a long line of people, especially kids waiting to dive into the huge indoor pool at the Mission Beach Plunge. However, these were not ordinary times, the only people anywhere near the pool were there to forlornly gaze at the crystal clear water and wonder what deadly monster might be lurking in its depth. It was in the middle of the summer of 1952, and it was in the middle of the polio epidemic that would strike more than 60,000 people and kill more than 3,000 of them in the United States alone.1

As a young boy I did not know what caused the paralyzing epidemic, in fact I am sure the adults did not know the cause either. But, we had been told to stay away from swimming pools and drinking fountains because it seemed that anyone who did not heed the warning was sure to come down with the deadly disease. At school and in stores there were posters of children and young adults on crutches with heavy metal braces wrapped around their lower legs. Next to these posters, an organization called the March of Dimes placed a clear plastic canister for people to put money in for finding a cure for the deadly illness.

Fear and guilt seemed to hang in the atmosphere, because although no one knew what caused the virus, everyone seemed to feel it was something they did that caused them to get sick. Parents especially, felt guilty because they were overwhelmed with the unknown, and the thought of one of their children becoming paralyzed or worse, dying, always led to almost daily admonitions to stay away from the drinking fountains and away from pools where groups of strangers swam. There seemed to be a general consensus that the disease was water borne.

Waking up with flu like symptoms such as a mild upper respiratory infection, diarrhea, fever, sore throat or just generally not feeling well, would cause instant concern. My brothers and sisters and I inherited our father's sinus problems and allergies and we regularly had some type of symptom of an oncoming cold or flu. Even knowing we had hereditary respiratory problems, my mother would fall into a deep silence of concern whenever we showed signs of not feeling well.