It wasn’t that long ago when polio was in our local news. The Hondo Anvil Herald reported on polio frequently in the late 40s and throughout the 1950s and I am sure the Devine News as well shared many polio stories. Articles ranged from talking about local polio victims or survivors to March of Dimes campaigns, spraying DDT for flies and insects in local communities and polio insurance ads to buy health coverage. A particular article I came across talked about the “dos and don’ts of polio”. Before polio vaccine was available, information was shared on what you can do to try and avoid it. Like, staying out of swimming pools, staying out of cold water, avoiding overexertion, only play with kids you know and avoid crowds. People were trying anything. This kind of advice was common during “polio season” which happened in the summer months. Polio was terrifying for parents. Polio symptoms could be mild, like fatigue or headache, or severe with paralysis or death. Some local data from 1941-1950 showed polio cases to be very low in Medina County in the years leading up to 1949 with only a few cases per year and one year not any. 1949 was a particularly rough year. Not far from here, one of the largest polio outbreaks in U.S. history started.
San Angelo had heartbreaking bad luck. During the summer months of 1949 and before it was all over, San Angelo had 420 polio cases, of whom 84 were paralyzed and 28 died. This news certainly must have sparked fear in residents of our county and likely warranted extra precautions. That year, Medina County had 20 cases of polio, a big deal for our small communities. Remembering polio victims and survivors this month is a great way to honor them. Tell these stories about your family history, surviving and overcoming polio when there wasn’t a vaccine, and no cure was available. Pass your stories along to the younger generation that never had to think about polio “dos and don’ts” or polio season. The polio vaccine was first given in our county in 1955, the “Salk shots”, and is part of our current routine childhood immunization schedule. We can’t forget why we continue to give polio vaccine and why we need to. Polio remains in 2 countries today, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Due to misinformation surrounding the vaccine and mistrust, it has been a difficult task to get rid of it for good. Rotary International has been instrumental in the fight against polio, starting back in 1979. At that time, the U.S. had polio in the rear-view mirror and Rotary was now heading to the Philippines to start an oral polio vaccine campaign. Their efforts have not stopped to this day as they continue to work hard around the world to eradicate polio for everyone. Thanks to all the polio fighters and especially our local rotary clubs, who dedicate their time and efforts to working in our communities. A name that was repeated many times in the Hondo Anvil Herald in the 1950s was C.F. Schweers, a local resident that was the county chairman of the local March of Dimes campaign who seemed to work tirelessly asking for support and raising money for polio. Looking backward can help us trust that our experiences can lead us in the right direction moving forward. We survived polio and the polio vaccines changed our lives, we can trust that.