COVID 19 has prompted more than a few commentators to quote
Franklin Roosevelt by saying, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” The
line was in FDR’s first inaugural address. He took office in the depth of the
Depression and the quote was seen as a “rebuke of the psychological paralysis”
gripping the country. Roosevelt spoke in terms of the economic crisis. Gone was
the Spanish Flu pandemic of World War l. That flu spread like wildfire because
of the war. Twenty-five years later, polio was spreading.
FDR’s quote might well be words he lived by. At age 39, in
1921, he was vacationing with his family when he was stricken with infantile
paralysis, more often called polio by future generations. Polio affected FDR
for the rest of his life. As president, he was protected by the press and his
limited mobility was largely unnoticed by the American public. In an age before
TV, who’d guess the man with the firm, but calm, voice addressing them on the
radio was a man in a wheelchair, one who could barely walk? Any public appearance
was carefully choreographed to showcase the president as strong and healthy. His
voice surely was. It wasn’t until after his death, in his 4th term
as president, that the general public learned about the polio that ruled
Roosevelt’s life for more than 20 years.
Polio struck fear in the hearts of parents. Each summer
folks heard of those in iron lungs, unable to breathe on their own. They heard
of healthy, active children who lost muscle control and whose arms and legs
were crippled by the disease. It seemed as if children were most at risk, but plenty
of adults were also stricken. There were deaths.
Nobody knew where polio would strike but if it struck in
Kewaunee County in 1948, the local chapter of the National Foundation of
Infantile Paralysis said it was ready for it. Chairman Richard Seidl said the
chapter was better prepared than ever. He reassured folks when he said polio
patients in the county would not go without treatment for lack of money. Polio
fundraising dances took place throughout the year.
State Board of Health Epidemiologist Dr. Arthur Zintek said
in August 1949 that fear of polio as an individual risk was almost always blown
out of proportion. He said many had/have had polio and weren’t aware of it.
Polio with paralysis was an uncommon form of the disease while a summer cold or
upset stomach might mean the virus was carried and not developed. Zintek said
that the more serious cases could be helped with corrective surgery or the use
of mechanical devices. Tell that to already worried parents!
During August 1951, the Red Cross was recruiting nurses for
work in polio outbreak areas. The nurses would work for two months, receiving a
salary, transportation and maintenance
paid by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. In 1953 Kewaunee
County resident JoAnn Peot was a young graduate nurse recruited by Brown County
Red Cross to serve at Port Huron, Michigan.
Algoma Record Herald carried an article in January
1951 about collecting money for the March of Dimes and iron lungs. Miniature
iron lungs were set around town to serve as coin collecting containers. When
Sheriff Alvin Kuehl opened the March of Dimes drive in 1951, he said the
funding drive would last a little over two weeks but in that short time, the
county could help thousands and thousands of patients that included children
for whom recovery would take 10-12 weeks or more.
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| Polio insurance information |
Ann Birdsall’s Algoma
insurance agency and Schmitz in Forestville were offering polio insurance that
included other diseases.
In addition to the Dug-Out fundraising dance, a dance was
planned at Aude’s Triangle in Kewaunee. Tavern League president Alex Mura said
the League was handling ticket sales and tickets could be purchased at just
about every tavern in the county. Campaigns were also carried on in Kewaunee,
Casco, Luxemburg and each of the ten towns.
During July 1953 Algoma Plywood and Veneer presented Bellin
Hospital with an iron lung made at the plant. The paper said the lung, made of
rich mahogany, was to have been given to Algoma hospital but the hospital was
too small to deal with the disease. Plans came from Popular Mechanics
after the maintenance crew developed the idea. Nick Gombler hand tooled a
copper plaque that was attached to the lung, noting that the lung came from the
plant and its employees.
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| Algoma Plywood iron lung 1953 |
June 1954 saw Gamma Globulin restricted due to shortages.
Factored in were Wisconsin’s late start of a polio season and because eight
counties had been taking part in field trials which, it was felt, would interfere with
vaccine effectiveness. Early September brought attention to two Door Co. to two
more cases in Door Co., bringing their total to 4, and 2 more cases in Algoma.
Two days after a national announcement in early April 1955 told
U.S. populace the Salk vaccine was about 90% effective in the prevention of
polio, School Supt. Arnold Chada said county first and second graders would get
the vaccine soon. Centers were set up in Algoma, Kewaunee and Luxemburg, and
because the county was without a nurse for a year, Mrs. Arnold Wochos, a
registered nurse, was hired on a temporary basis.
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| Salk injections given at St. Mary's School, Algoma |
In late May 1955, Carlton Graded School first grader Roger
Ihlenfeld was the first county kid to get the Salk polio injection. The paper
said he took the shot “like a brave boy,” thus earning a lollipop compliments
of the State Bank of Kewaunee. The youngsters who followed him also got the
treat. Three hundred twenty-nine first and second graders were inoculated,
however 721 consent forms had been signed. Where were the others? A center was
quickly established when it was learned that one school in southern Kewaunee
County had not been aware of the events so its kids didn’t get the injections. As with other injections, children with colds, recovering
from a contagious disease or recent illness were advised not to have the
injections. If there were adverse effects from the inoculations, it didn’t make
the paper.
When June saw the county with enough medication for first and
second shots for a second round of injections, plans were made for additional inoculations.
Nurse Wochos kept tabs on each child’s name and school attended. Then a Carlton
man died at the end of the month.
Situations changed quickly, often from day to day. Disseminated
information changed daily. To read the old papers is to notice the similarities
with COVID 19 today even though communication in 1955 was almost primitive when
compared with 2020. Did leadership’s
right hand know what the left hand was doing? Sanitation was stressed, but in
1955 there wasn’t an internet site plugging hand washing with vodka as the way
to go!
Pastor Wians of St. John’s at Rankin let it be known near
the end of July 1955 that he was indefinitely postponing the Sunday School
picnic, saying it would be foolish to take chances with health. When the City
of Kewaunee had five cases, the city council suspended recreation department
activities in addition to closing the beach. Kewaunee’s cases and two from
Casco were isolated at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Green Bay. By then there were
two deaths in the county, one a 6-year old boy from Algoma.
Kewaunee street superintendent Lee Jirtle was ordered by the
council to begin spraying the insides of all garbage cans with insecticide at
each pick-up Fire chief James Drab was asked to have his department begin
spraying the public dump.
While Kewaunee was adding to the precaution list, Algoma
said there was no epidemic in town and activities would continue. Swimming
lessons would continue and the pool and beach would remain open, although
activities would be curtailed on the advice of local physicians. Parents were
encouraged to do or not do what was in the best interests of their family. It
was the social distancing of 1955.
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| Published polio precautions |
The same paper said extra caution was advised, and that
extreme fatigue, sudden chilling and the avoidance of large crowds was in
order. Early diagnosis was important but since symptoms included a headache,
stomach upset or vomiting, they might go unnoticed. One caveat was welcomed by
the kids: tonsil operations and tooth extractions would weaken resistance and
it was best to postpone such procedures.
Only a week later, August 4, 1955, Mayor Dick DeGuelle
ordered the pool and beach closed for two weeks due to the death of the Algoma
boy. Council planned to meet the following week to rule on the ban’s status.
Then it was learned Luxemburg sent two new patients to St. Vincent’s, an 8-year-old
and an 18-year-old. One Casco child was recovering while the other was in an
iron lung.
The weekend was hot and humid and the beach was nearly deserted
when Health Officer Richard Mraz posted signs. Council had decided to keep the
pool and beach closed for a month. It was pointed out that as soon as
restrictions were lifted, the Red Cross would give swimming tests and kids who
passed would still receive their swimming proficiency certificates.
On August 11, the paper told readership that for the first
time in 10 years there would be no Plywood picnic, a community summer highlight.
After planning for months, management, local doctors and union members agreed
that chances of exposure were too great at the picnic scheduled for August 28.
The same edition educated parents about Gamma Globulin and
induced parents to have their children inoculated. The injection took effect
after about 2 weeks and apparently offered 5 weeks of polio protection. Today’s
grandparents remember that shot which was a true pain in the butt! The paper
reported Council opened the beach but kept the pool closed in an effort to
avoid gatherings of children. Meetings were advised only for small groups. Perry
field park wasn’t closed but parents were to use their own discretion. Did
anybody know what was going on?
Algoma ladies golf league
continued their usual Wednesday outings however a day of golfing with a luncheon
planned with Kewaunee and Two Rivers clubs was cancelled due to the number of
polio cases. Then the scheduled city donkey basketball game was cancelled. The
not-to-be-missed event was another summer biggie.
To put things in perspective, R.C. Salisbury, Director of Safty Division at Wisconsin Motor Vehicle
Department, pointed out that while there was a great demand for polio vaccine, many seemed unconcerned about children and traffic. He said among
the 5-14 year olds, there was a far greater chance of dying in traffic than
there was with polio.
To prove his point, Salisbury said that 13 children within
the age group died of polio in 1954, while 43 kids in the same age group were
killed as a result of traffic. Thirty-one were pedestrians. Salisbury said he
was aware of the crippling effects of polio but traffic too resulted in death
and permanent crippling injuries. He went on to say there were 33 injuries for
every traffic death. How would Salisbury’s comments resonate today?
Algoma’s August 18 headline all but screamed about new polio
restrictions, restrictions changing on the heels of the last change a few days
earlier. Today’s grandparents know about quarantines. They were kids kept in
their own yards and homes to stop the polio spread. In 1955 most mothers weren’t
in the paid workforce so childcare and nutrition weren’t huge problems. City
kids sneaked across back lots to play with friends, but sneaking was dicey. By
August 18, nine Algoma kids had polio and one died. A 34- year-old county
mother also died and one of the town chairmen was hospitalized. The young woman
was completely paralyzed and in an iron lung at St. Vincent’s Hospital. The
chairman was more fortunate. It was not only kids in danger.
Mayor Dick DeGuelle, Health Officer Dick Mraz, Fred Braun,
chair of the health committee, and member Ludwig Wichman signed an order
declaring Algoma to be in a state of emergency.
The declaration outlawed all public gatherings (entertainment or
social), including religious or fraternal societies and forbid all sporting
events. The pool and beach had been closed but then the beach was reopened and
then closed. It was said new signage was swiftly posted.
The new order quarantined those 16 or younger. If one in the age group had a job, a special work permit was required to
permit the youth to travel to and from the job. It was again stressed that
church services be kept to a minimum and as short as possible. Attending
services without the traditional 30- or 40-minute sermons seemed like a
blessing to some. People were again cautioned to stay out of crowds and get
plenty of rest to prevent fatigue and exhaustion. But no sooner than the city
took drastic action, five new patients from Algoma were sent to St. Vincent’s. One
was a young man on the highway improvement project in Algoma who had been
boarding with a local resident. He was in an iron lung for 9 days before dying
of bulbar polio, the worst kind.
Those who were kids in Algoma in 1955 can tell it like it
was. Stock markets and the economy were not part of our young lives: friends
and family were. All of us knew somebody hospitalized at St. Vincent’s. We knew
kids in iron lungs were in very serious condition. It was bad enough when it
happened to a neighbor or classmate’s family, but the terror of polio striking
one’s own family is something this wordsmith can’t describe so many years
later. My brother was in St. Vincent’s while Dad and my sibs were in bed with
fevers. The severe headaches kept them down. Doctors were run ragged with house
calls and parents making what was then a long trek to Green Bay were exhausted
themselves. Hospitalized youngsters were isolated and cared for but the kids needed to see a parent’s face.
There
were ambulances, but things were different so many years ago. When Dad floored the Chevy to its limits on the old Highway 54, an officer pulled him
over. As soon as the officer knew a polio was being transported, he told Dad to follow him. With
lights flashing and sirens blaring, the road was cleared to St. Vincent’s. The
day my brother was released was the best day in our family’s history. Other
kids also began coming home. Some had life challenges and some are grandparents as
they are beginning to experience the effects of polio – even the mild cases -
so long ago.
Algoma restrictions included ashes, garbage and rubbish
which needed to be kept in regulation cans with handles and tight fitting covers.
Garbage had to be wrapped and fluids were not permitted to be disposed of in
cans. Homeowners failing to keep their garbage cans clean and dry would be
charged for disinfection by the city. If rules were not complied with, garbage
would be left at the home. It was pointed out that such rules were always in
effect, not just during the polio epidemic.
The paper continued pointing out the polio caseload while
stressing assistance. Algoma rarely dealt with something of 1955’s scope and it
was felt that complacency would add to the problems. Editor Harry Heidmann was
always a man ahead of his time, and used the paper to educate rather than to
spread fear. He said those who gave least in time and effort during fund drives
expected the most in times of stress, but felt everybody should know what was
available. Gamma Globulin shots were available free for those in contact with a
polio victim, however there was a $2 clinic fee for Algoma doctors. Others, who
got the shot as a preventative, would be charged more.
Heidmann noticed what he felt
was a bit disconcerting. Algoma had taken so many precautions and yet polio
cases weren’t showing patterns – they were springing up throughout the
city. Kewaunee’s known cases were
clustered in the downtown area.
At the end of August, despite Algoma’s rigid precautions, there
were 12 polio cases at St. Vincent’s. Who
knows how many were in bed at home? In late August it was said the polio
epidemic was the worst in Kewaunee County history. By then the county had been
in existence in a little over 150 years and had seen the Spanish flu of World
War l and countless outbreaks of diphtheria and more.
The September 8, 1955 paper said the ban would be lifted the
following Monday, September 12, when school would start and life would resume.
The county still had polio cases and a Luxemburg girl died, however Algoma didn’t
see a single case in the previous 10 days, the incubation period. Still, county
schools opened. Brussels announced it was waiting another week. Luxemburg
village schools and Gregorville rural school opened one day and closed again
the next because of new cases, opening for good on the 19th.
While closings were happening in Algoma and around Kewaunee
County, Door County had only one polio case, but the county was pro-active in
cancelling the long-awaited fair. The Door County resident had lived in Algoma
until a week before diagnosis. Mishicot Lions Club cancelled their fair because
the event attracted so many from southern Kewaunee County. Polio was sweeping
northeastern Wisconsin and who knew where it would be the following day? Algoma
was even sprayed by plane in an effort to stop the spread.
Senior citizens remember polio and epidemics that followed. We
learned about FDR and “fear itself” in another context. We learned to be
cautious and even learned patience, which was hard. Our parents followed the
admonitions of our local leaders even when conditions were rapidly changing. If
politicians were trying to score points, we didn’t know it. We were kids. We
thought we were lucky when school opening was delayed, but then were overjoyed when
schools reopened.
As life got back to normal, Health Officer Mraz thanked the
city doctors, leaders, parents and even the children themselves. There are
those who later said that Algoma came back from the brink of hell.
Sources and photos are from Algoma Record Herald.
