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ENLARGE
Beverley (Clark) Messner holds a photo of herself when she was 3, being steadied by the woman who eventually became her stepmother, Barbara Newman. The image was used to publicize a March of Dimes benefit dance held in Grass Valley in 1950.
Sixty years ago, the polio epidemic that had been traveling around the world for decades arrived in Nevada County.
As the nation now works to limit sickness and death caused by the swine flu, former Grass Valley resident Beverley Messner recalled her own bout with an epidemic that was even more feared.
Messner, born Beverley Clark, was struck with polio at age 3 and became a poster child for local efforts to fund treatment.
As far back as ancient Egypt and around the world, symptoms resembling polio have been recorded: Weakened limbs and paralysis of joints and respiratory functions.
In 1916, the poliomyelitis epidemic started in the United States. In July of that year, reports stated more than 27,000 people of all ages were sick; of these, 6,000 people died. New York City alone saw 2,000 deaths.
Polio continued to break out periodically in this country until the Sabin vaccine came into general use in 1962. Probably the most celebrated victim of the virus was the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was stricken while vacationing in 1921.
In the 1930s and 1940s, parents kept their children away from crowded places such as movie theaters, swimming pools and sporting events where infections were rumored to spread. At times, schools closed.
Nevada County residents still remember lining up at Nevada Union High School in the early 1960s for sugar cubes loaded with vaccine.
In 1949 in the United States, more than 38,000 infections were reported, according to public health figures.
In August of that year, Nevada County reported five cases of polio. Among them were two in the same family: Grass Valley residents Don Clark, 25, and his 3-year-old daughter, Beverley.
The family lived on Alta Hill with Don's parents.
At that time, treatment for polio mainly consisted of using hot packs and massage in the method perfected by Australian nurse Sister Elizabeth Kenny. A respirator, or “iron lung,” was used in severe cases that affected the patient's breathing. This machine kept the patient alive, though almost totally dependent.
The Clarks first were hospitalized in the old Nevada County Hospital on Willow Valley Road in Nevada City where doctors made their preliminary diagnosis and gave treatment.
Later, both father and daughter were attended by Barbara Newman, a 26-year-old physio-therapist at the Nevada County Polio Center in the Grass Valley Veterans Memorial Building on South Auburn Street.
Newman, working under the direction of local physicians, treated the Clarks and her other patients with massage and hot whirlpool baths.
Their symptoms of pain and paralysis in their limbs and other parts of their bodies was greatly relieved by this treatment to the extent that they each regained use of their limbs.
The Nevada County Polio Center was one of the major activities sponsored by the Nevada County Chapter for Infantile Paralysis (one of the names for polio) and was financed by contributions to the March of Dimes, the nationwide charity that raised money for research and treatment to eradicate the crippling disease. That organization remains active today.
After months of therapy, little Beverley was able to stand and take steps with help. With therapist Newman supporting her, Beverley was photographed, and her image was used locally on posters advertising fundraisers for the March of Dimes.
Both the Clarks regained their mobility, and with it, a strong bond developed between patient and practitioner. Don Clark, who was divorced, and Newman fell in love and were married.
That was 59 years ago.
Today both Don, now 85, and Beverley, 63, live relatively normal lives. Barbara Clark died in 1993.
Beverley married, is the mother of a son, 41, and a daughter, 39, and lives in Folsom.
Both Don and Beverley still suffer post-polio syndrome: recurrence of extreme fatigue, muscle cramps and overall weakness.
Bob Wyckoff is a retired Nevada County newspaper editor, publisher and local historian. Contact him at bobwyckoff@sbcglobal.net or P.O. Box 216, Nevada City, CA 95959.
As the nation now works to limit sickness and death caused by the swine flu, former Grass Valley resident Beverley Messner recalled her own bout with an epidemic that was even more feared.
Messner, born Beverley Clark, was struck with polio at age 3 and became a poster child for local efforts to fund treatment.
As far back as ancient Egypt and around the world, symptoms resembling polio have been recorded: Weakened limbs and paralysis of joints and respiratory functions.
In 1916, the poliomyelitis epidemic started in the United States. In July of that year, reports stated more than 27,000 people of all ages were sick; of these, 6,000 people died. New York City alone saw 2,000 deaths.
Polio continued to break out periodically in this country until the Sabin vaccine came into general use in 1962. Probably the most celebrated victim of the virus was the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was stricken while vacationing in 1921.
In the 1930s and 1940s, parents kept their children away from crowded places such as movie theaters, swimming pools and sporting events where infections were rumored to spread. At times, schools closed.
Nevada County residents still remember lining up at Nevada Union High School in the early 1960s for sugar cubes loaded with vaccine.
In 1949 in the United States, more than 38,000 infections were reported, according to public health figures.
In August of that year, Nevada County reported five cases of polio. Among them were two in the same family: Grass Valley residents Don Clark, 25, and his 3-year-old daughter, Beverley.
The family lived on Alta Hill with Don's parents.
At that time, treatment for polio mainly consisted of using hot packs and massage in the method perfected by Australian nurse Sister Elizabeth Kenny. A respirator, or “iron lung,” was used in severe cases that affected the patient's breathing. This machine kept the patient alive, though almost totally dependent.
The Clarks first were hospitalized in the old Nevada County Hospital on Willow Valley Road in Nevada City where doctors made their preliminary diagnosis and gave treatment.
Later, both father and daughter were attended by Barbara Newman, a 26-year-old physio-therapist at the Nevada County Polio Center in the Grass Valley Veterans Memorial Building on South Auburn Street.
Newman, working under the direction of local physicians, treated the Clarks and her other patients with massage and hot whirlpool baths.
Their symptoms of pain and paralysis in their limbs and other parts of their bodies was greatly relieved by this treatment to the extent that they each regained use of their limbs.
The Nevada County Polio Center was one of the major activities sponsored by the Nevada County Chapter for Infantile Paralysis (one of the names for polio) and was financed by contributions to the March of Dimes, the nationwide charity that raised money for research and treatment to eradicate the crippling disease. That organization remains active today.
After months of therapy, little Beverley was able to stand and take steps with help. With therapist Newman supporting her, Beverley was photographed, and her image was used locally on posters advertising fundraisers for the March of Dimes.
Both the Clarks regained their mobility, and with it, a strong bond developed between patient and practitioner. Don Clark, who was divorced, and Newman fell in love and were married.
That was 59 years ago.
Today both Don, now 85, and Beverley, 63, live relatively normal lives. Barbara Clark died in 1993.
Beverley married, is the mother of a son, 41, and a daughter, 39, and lives in Folsom.
Both Don and Beverley still suffer post-polio syndrome: recurrence of extreme fatigue, muscle cramps and overall weakness.
Bob Wyckoff is a retired Nevada County newspaper editor, publisher and local historian. Contact him at bobwyckoff@sbcglobal.net or P.O. Box 216, Nevada City, CA 95959.
