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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006 Summers Long Ago Project HOLD Moment in History • PROJECT HOLD MOMENT IN HISTORY • JUNE 27, 2006 • SUMMERS LONG AGO Pools, parks, play and . . . . Polio? The Perils of Polio The polio scare reached us in the sum- mer of our elementary years. In school, we had all seen the horrid movies of young children confined in iron lungs, enormous iron tubes with only their heads sticking out. The often deadly virus killed muscle cells. The fear that was instilled in us was unbelievable. At school we diligently col- lected for the March of Dimes. At home, our parents made us take naps after lunch, stay in out of the heat, and sometimes stay away from crowds or the neighborhood swimming pools. These fears were somewhat allayed with the introduction of the Salk vaccine, April 12, 1955. Children lined up at special loca- tions to be vaccinated against polio. Later, in the early 60s, Dr. Albert Sabin intro- duced the liquid form of a live vaccine. Once again we lined up only this time it was to partake of a mysterious pink liquid dropped onto a sugar cube. Children were delighted that it wasn’t the painful glass syringe of years past. Adrian Welsh, GIS Technician in P&DS, spoke with his mother, Connie (Patton) Welsh, recently about her experiences living with polio. Connie first noticed her symptoms when she was eight years old in 1947. Her parents took her to a polio specialist in Houston. Young Connie first had trouble walking and soon became paralyzed. She was later confined to bed. Summertime in College Station during the 50s could be summed up in one word: freedom. Most of our parents were at work during the week and we were free to roam the neighborhood, the campus and the woods. College Station was growing and several houses were under construction in our neighborhood. Construction sites were prime playgrounds for our neighborhood gang. If we were lucky, at least one of the sites was in between sub-contractors. We scouted out the lots with little or no activity and claimed our territory for the day. One particular site, still in the framing stage, was our favor- ite. We staked our claim early in the day and to prevent the younger kids from horning in on our territory, we invented an imaginary character, Polka Dot Pete. We petrified the younger kids with our tales of dastardly deeds committed by Polka Dot Pete. We wove wild tales about Polka Dot Pete’s peg leg and the gory way he acquired it at the hands of pirates. To enforce the legend, we borrowed my Dad’s yellow Converse high top sneaker and a broom and proceeded to make Polka Dot Pete tracks in the dirt all around the construc- tion site. Sneaker, broom handle. Sneaker, broom handle. We deftly brushed away our own tracks with a branch. See Summertime on p.2. Clockwise from left: Young boys play Little League base- ball in the summer. c. 1960. The St. Mary’s Chapel baseball team, c. 1900. Wil- lie Edmonds is all decked out to play for the Hawks. c. 1955. Dr. Jonas Salk See Polio on p.3. Polka Dot Pete left threatening notes that promised evil retaliation for anyone caught trespassing on our construction site territory. Eventually, we scared ourselves so much we had to let the legend die as we moved our territory over to a nearby park. In 1947, an area that was once a lake and a park, became the first of- ficial city park in College Station, Dexter Park. In 1980, the park was renamed Brison Park in honor of Fred Brison, a Texas A&M faculty mem- ber and Mayor pro tem. However, we called this park Billy Goats’ Gruff. We spent many an afternoon re-en- acting the fairy tale at the bridge and along the ravine, the only remaining vestige of the lake that once covered the area. A rite of passage at Billy Goats Gruff was to be able to walk the length of the ravine with our feet on the concrete sides, straddling the creek. It’s a wonder we didn’t break our ankles. In the far corner of the park was a group of trees and dense shrubs. We discovered that if we got on our hands and knees and crawled through the shrubs, we came out in the middle of a small clearing. Two tree trunks had grown together inside making a “sofa.” That tiny secluded clear- ing became our playhouse. Eleanor and Evalyn Worley, my sister Karen and I played “Ma, Pa, Archibald and Sweet Pea.” If Clay, our little brother, tagged along he was “Baby.” I played Archibald. Evalyn was Sweet Pea. Eleanor was Pa and Karen was Ma. We dug a hole in the center for our “oven.” We made brooms from tree branches and swept the floor clean. Acorns became elaborate dinners. Pa pretended to smoke a corncob pipe. Playing pretend or make believe was a favorite past time of our College Station summers. I checked recently, and the tree trunk sofa is still there awaiting the next group of imagina- tive children. From “To Get to Here” by Anne Boykin Huck Finns of the Brazos River -2- Seven Spring 1960 graduates from A&M Consolidated High School decided to undertake a Huck Finn adventure by raft- ing from College Station to Freeport on the Brazos River. The group purchased a surplus 10-man Army landing craft for $35 and set sail May 30, 1960. While other kids were spending their summers in make be- lieve, these young men opted to test their strength and endur- ance. They christened their craft and themselves the “Lord Invader and the Seven Penetrators.” Their journey took them through the Navasota locks and the Hidalgo Falls, areas of possible difficulty. Part of the trip required that they deflate the raft and carry it along the way. This was no easy task since the deflated raft weighed in at 450 pounds not counting their gear. The 284 mile trip took approximately five days. The adventurous rafters were: Steve Parker (18), Kelly Parker (18), Ben Jackson (18), Virden Smith (19), Joel Mills (18), Fred Brison (18), and Dee Smith (18). Read more about their story in Project HOLD in Domestic/Residen- tial/Human Interest/Huck Finns of the Brazos. Top: Lord Invader and the Seven Penetra- tors cast off. Left: The group in 2000. Bottom: Loading up. Eleanor Worley (middle) and friends play on the sidewalks of College View, the married student hous- ing complex on Sulphur Springs Road (University Drive). 1947. Summertime, cont. from page 1. Polio, cont. from page 1. The Patton family thought that her brother and sister had the dread disease as well but fortunately, it was only the flu. Her parents sent Connie’s siblings away to live with relatives while her mother stayed at home to care for her. Neighbors pitched in, too. She began a regi- men of treatments including hot tub sessions and leg exercises. She also wore a leg brace while at school. Connie improved somewhat after be- ing at home for a year. In 1947, the polio epidemic in Houston almost closed West Univer- sity Elementary. The theories sur- rounding the cause of polio ranged anywhere from rain, to a fly on a sandwich. The disease was more prevalent in hot, humid climates. Connie felt that she was fortunate to be in a city where she could receive good care. Many of the area hospitals had wards with rows and rows of polio patients. Many polio patients who recov- ered, developed post polio in later years. In 1963, when she was 24, Connie took a trip to the Middle East. Prior to leaving, she was re- quired to take a polio vaccine along with other immunizations. This may have contributed to her post polio. In 1971, Connie married Hugh Welsh. Like most couples, Connie and Hugh wanted a family. But it would be ten years and several miscarriages later that Adrian was born in 1981. He was considered to be their miracle baby. Adrian recalls his mother using a walker when he was only a year old. Connie’s limp, a result of the polio, made navigating the stairs difficult. Fifty percent of the polio patients from that era died. Connie feels that those who were fortunate enough to overcome the disease and survive became stronger people. Polio truly shaped their lives. Mrs. Welsh was born on August 23, 1939. She is currently 66 years old and living in the Houston area where she grew up. Hear more stories from polio survivors at: http://www.polioclinic. com/oralhist/index.htm . The Project HOLD Moment in History is a new monthly publi- cation that focuses on a particu- lar aspect of our Project HOLD online files. To learn more about this month’s feature, browse our web site in the Health\Diseases\ Polio files. Coming next month: The Milli- can Riots of July 23, 1868. Project HOLD wants your scrapbooks, photographs, yearbooks, memorabilia, church histories, organization histories, business histories, & oral histories! Contact Anne Boykin aboykin@cstx.gov 979.764.3491 Visit Project HOLD at College Station City Hall! Monday - Wednesday or by appointment. 979.764.3491 -3- March of Dimes Poster, c. 1954. U.S. Post Office Polio stamp. c. 1957 Iron lung ward. c. 1952.