//- e- z*
History of Polio in Greensboro
by S. Dubose Ravenel, M.D.
Some of you may have lived through "polio in Greensboro". If
so you may have been, like myself, a child at the time - and therefor have a memory that is reflective of the emotional end-result
impact on people. On the other hand you may be currently an adult
with great wisdom of years and retain from your experience a vivid
recollection of many of the events and anecdotes, that were part of
that fascinating time in Greensboro in 19^8. You may be completely
unfamiliar with the story. I would like to share with you my own
perceptions of the great polio epidemic of 19^8 from two perspectives -
one from that of a young boy of 10 years age - and the other from
reviewing the experience by a trip back through news accounts of
the period on a day to day basis. The story is fascinating, extraordinarily unusual, and I think can be inspiring in representing the
best in human nature brought out in response to great need and tragedy.
First, from the point of view of a ten year old boy in Greensboro
in 19^8i my personal memory of that time is that of some dreaded
disease that seemed to strike previously normal, healthy people of
any age causing a terrifying illness witn paralysis and even death.
The disease seemed not treatable in the sense of being curable, but
was managed witn prolonged stay in some "hospital" that was filled
with people with the disease, located somewhere out in "the ORD" - and
of course later in the summer down-town in Greensboro in the old paper
building, and finally another "convalescent" hospital, whatever that
meant, in the ORD. This involved having to live in some kind of
//- e- z*
History of Polio in Greensboro
by S. Dubose Ravenel, M.D.
Some of you may have lived through "polio in Greensboro". If
so you may have been, like myself, a child at the time - and therefor have a memory that is reflective of the emotional end-result
impact on people. On the other hand you may be currently an adult
with great wisdom of years and retain from your experience a vivid
recollection of many of the events and anecdotes, that were part of
that fascinating time in Greensboro in 19^8. You may be completely
unfamiliar with the story. I would like to share with you my own
perceptions of the great polio epidemic of 19^8 from two perspectives -
one from that of a young boy of 10 years age - and the other from
reviewing the experience by a trip back through news accounts of
the period on a day to day basis. The story is fascinating, extraordinarily unusual, and I think can be inspiring in representing the
best in human nature brought out in response to great need and tragedy.
First, from the point of view of a ten year old boy in Greensboro
in 19^8i my personal memory of that time is that of some dreaded
disease that seemed to strike previously normal, healthy people of
any age causing a terrifying illness witn paralysis and even death.
The disease seemed not treatable in the sense of being curable, but
was managed witn prolonged stay in some "hospital" that was filled
with people with the disease, located somewhere out in "the ORD" - and
of course later in the summer down-town in Greensboro in the old paper
building, and finally another "convalescent" hospital, whatever that
meant, in the ORD. This involved having to live in some kind of
