Operation Ouch: Transylvanians Get Vaccinated for Polio, Part II

Last week’s “Picturing the Past”, Transylvanians Organize in the Fight Against Polio, Part I, recounted the fight against polio and the fundraising efforts and search for a vaccine. 

Advertisement for polio vaccine by
The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis

It is little wonder that the world celebrated when Dr. Jonas Salk announced in 1953 that he had developed a vaccine to prevent polio.  In 1954, clinical trials of the Salk vaccine were carried out on over 2 million children throughout the United States.  It wasn’t until April 12, 1955 that it was announced the vaccine was effective.  Shipments began immediately across the country. 

Transylvania County did not waste any time and made plans to vaccinate 1st and 2nd graders.  County health officers Dr. Charles Gunn and Martha Choate were in charge of the complex planning.  Mrs. J.F. Leete and Mrs. Paul Lollis spearheaded the recruiting of the dozens of volunteers needed to facilitate the process.The vaccine was free of charge and voluntary.  Teachers spent the weeks preceding the vaccination instructing the children on the purpose of the vaccine and what to expect. 

A series of three shots were required.  The second dose was four weeks after the first, followed by a third shot seven months later.  Private physicians and pharmacies were also provided with the vaccine. A Transylvania Times editorial encouraged parents to take any of their children not in 1st and 2nd grade to a physician for the shots, gently reminding them that the smallpox vaccine was once looked upon with distrust and fear by a prior generation.

It was determined that the first doses of the vaccine would be administered at Transylvania Community hospital on Thursday, April 28th.  The Times called this historic undertaking “Operation Ouch”. 700 children were bused to the hospital with four doctors giving the first shots at 9:15 a.m.  Mothers who could attend the event met their children when they arrived.  Activities, including majorettes from the high schools, were provided for the children as they waited. Volunteers’, doctors’, and nurses’ “faces shown with happiness and joy for the occasion”, according to the Times.  Many young girls arrived wearing their “Sunday frocks.” One mother said she “felt like crying from sheer happiness.”  725 students received their shot in three hours.

Photo of Operation Ouch patient from The Transylvania Times, April 28, 1955

The second inoculation took place on May 5 and went smoothly.  51 children who did not receive the first vaccine in April due to absence from school or whose parents were originally fearful of the shots, received their first dose at this time.  In November, the health department announced that parents should bring any children between the ages of 1-18 to the clinic to receive the first and second shots free of charge since enough serum stockpiles remained to offer it.

Two years after the introduction of the Salk vaccine, polio cases dropped 85-90 percent.  More good news arrived wh

en a second vaccine, developed by Dr. Albert Sabin, was approved in 1962.  The Salk vaccine required injections while the Sabin vaccine was administered in a sugar cube, a much simpler delivery system that became favored for years. 

While the polio vaccine was originally voluntary, North Carolina ordered that all children in the state receive the vaccine in 1959.  Today, polio remains endemic in only three countries.  There is still no cure, only prevention.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Joe Russo. For more information, comments, or suggestions contact NC Room staff at ncroom@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.

Transylvanians Organize in the Fight Against Polio, Part I

This article is the first in a two-part “Picturing the Past” series on Transylvania County’s fight against polio in the first half of the 20^th century.  

During the mid-twentieth century, March of Dimes fundraisers were a regular occurrence in every community, large and small, throughout the United States.  This charity’s strategy was to collect small change to fund research to prevent or cure the dreaded polio virus.  In Transylvania County, local businesses joined together with schools, clubs, and social organizations to support these fundraising efforts. 

 

Mother's March on Polio ad from The Transylvania Times, February 1, 1951

One creative fundraiser held every year was the Mother’s March on Polio.  Women from all over the county would go door to door in the early evening collecting donations.  Various churches and organizations participated including the Dunn’s Rock Club.  Churches and summer camps rang their bells to signal the beginning of the march.  All residents were encouraged to light up their homes to indicate they wanted to make a donation.   

Dunn’s Rock Mother’s March on Polio Committee, January 28, 1955

These fundraisers were important in a world desperate to find a cure for polio, a disease whose primary target is children. Sporadic polio outbreaks were frequent throughout the first half of the twentieth century.  Images of afflicted children using crutches, in wheelchairs, and inside iron lung machines were common in the media.   

Polio, the common name for the poliomyelitis virus, affects the central nervous system.  It spreads through contact with fecal matter or droplets emitted during talking, coughing, and sneezing. Similar to Covid-19, most individuals who contract polio are asymptomatic and can infect others. A small number have symptoms that include fever, headaches, and muscle stiffness, while a tragic few are permanently paralyzed or even die.    

 

The virus thrived during the summer, known as polio season.  Health officials recommended parents quarantine their children at home or to practice a form of social distancing we know so well today.   Swimming pools and beaches were often closed.  Summer camps, picnics, bowling alleys, movie theaters, restaurants, and church, any place people gathered in crowds, were all to be avoided by children. Fall and winter was not as dangerous, but rare winter outbreaks could occur. 

 

North Carolina experienced devastating polio pandemics between 1930 and 1955.  The closest treatment center for people in the western mountain counties was Charlotte Memorial Hospital’s polio ward. Due to the need for more facilities, the city of Hickory actually constructed a polio center in three days in 1944 by remodeling a summer camp, a feat that caused Life Magazine to do a photo story.   

 

In Transylvania County, polio was often on people’s minds.  Summer camps lost business whenever there was a polio scare.  In 1939, visitors from polio-affected areas in Georgia and South Carolina were forced to quarantine for two weeks if they entered the county.  Schools closed during some outbreaks.  Polio cases in the community caused Ecusta to cancel its Christmas children’s party in 1946, some baseball games, and its annual Sapphire picnic in 1948.  The personal columns in the Transylvania Times often listed children who were sick or recovering from polio.  One local mentioned how strange it was to sit in church without any children.  

 

Next week's “Picturing the Past” will recount how Transylvania’s health officials carried out the first mass vaccination of our county’s first and second grade children. 

 

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Joe Russo. For more information, comments, or suggestions contact NC Room staff at ncroom@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820. 

 

Capturing Oral History: In Their Own Words

Picture of James Morris- Courtesy of Mary Galyon

We cannot dismiss the value of the oral history that still fills these mountains, if we dare to ask, dare to listen.  As my father, Keith Parker, and I wrote to Stand on Solid Ground: A Civil War Novel Based on Real People and Events, we not only based the story on historical documents and records, but a wealth of the story’s personal touches are reflections of oral history.  Personal interactions and interviews with descendants of individuals whose ancestors founded and built this community helped paint a more vivid picture.  Mary Galyon, now 93, whose genealogical research offered deep insight into facts, also added oral history tid-bits.  She was adamant about the vivid red color of James Morris’ hair, as she handed me the black and white picture of him.  And her description of Cagle-Blue eyes is a tid-bit that a genealogical record does not readily reveal.  The oral history does not stop short of personal descriptions, but helps paint physical pictures of the environment.  She remembers hearing the whippoorwills at night and how the Old Neill place sat up on top of a hill, held back by a rock wall.  On a drive Mary pointed out the very rock wall that still stands along Lambs Creek Road.  What a delight for her to discover that the wall still stands, even if the house is long gone. 

Picture of Lewis Smith-Courtesy of Kimberly S. Howell and Ian Sanders

The importance of oral history did not only help us in building a vivid picture of our people and community, but it also helped affirm some choices we made.  In particular, I struggled with the authenticity of my approach to the character, Pink, a young slave in the novel.  Although I had done a lot of research and spoken with several descendants, I still worried if the way I portrayed Pink’s personality was realistic or not. I wrote Pink’s personality full of mischievousness, strength and brightness; someone who embraced the simple joy of life in spite of the hardships.  My worries washed away when I saw the picture of Lewis Smith, Pink’s son, in the fall of 2019 after the plot was written and finished. Hattie Sanders, Pinks’ granddaughter, explained that this was a picture of her father and that he loved those shoes, always wore those shining shoes and he didn’t want anyone standing on them or messing them up.  She laughed at her own memory. What I love about this picture is the look on Lewis’ face. His eyes are so mischievous and joyful.  I very much felt that this picture and my time with Hattie Sanders before she passed away in August, at age 92, was an affirmation to me for writing Pink’s personality the way I did. 

Oral history, unfortunately, are gems that will be lost unless we ask those who hold those precious memories to share them.  We must listen to those stories, maybe some have been shared over and over again and may feel “old-hat” to you.  But remember, unless you record it, either in writing or tape it, that old story Grandpa or Grandma told a million times, will be a story lost forever.

Oral History offers glimpses into our past.  If you or someone you know has oral history that has not been recorded yet, please consider writing it down or recording it for future generations.  This article was written by Leslie Parker Borhaug.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. For more information, comments, or suggestions contact NC Room staff at ncroom@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.