Polio in Appalachia
Scope
During the summer of 1944 an outbreak of poliomyelitis descended upon western North Carolina and Kentucky . For nearly a year both states were battling the epidemic until the spread of infection could be contained. Over the next 15 years there were several other epidemics.
A good introduction to this topic can be found in:
Sink, Alice . The Grit Behind the Miracle . Lanham , Maryland : University Press of America , 1998. APP COLL RC181.U6 N798.
LC Subject Headings
- Poliomyelitis - Hospitals - North Carolina - Hickory -- History
- Poliomyelitis - Hospitals - Kentucky -- History
Call Numbers - there are few books on the subject in a regional perspective. However, those few can be found in the following locations:
- RC.180
- RC 181
Frequently Mentioned Books - there are few books on the subject in a regional perspective. Some to start with are:
Bridges, Wake. Hickory is One Hell of a Town . Lakemount , GA : Copple House Books, c1982. NC 975.6785 BRI 113478.
Gould, Tony. A Summer Plague: Polio and its Survivors. New Haven : Yale University Press, 1995. RC 180.9.G68.
Mason, Martha. Breath: Life in the Rhythm of an Iron Lung: A Memoir . Asheboro , NC : Down Home Press, 2003. ISSN 1878086952 (no LC number available from the Catawba County Library System).
Paul, John R. A History of Poliomyelitis . New Haven : Yale University Press, 1971. RC 180.9.P38.
Sass, Edmund J., George Gottfried, and Anthony Sorem, eds. Polio's Legacy: An Oral History . Lanham MD: University Press of America , 1996. RC 181.U5 P65.
Sink, Alice . The Grit Behind the Miracle . Lanham , MD : University Press of America , 1998. APP COLL RC 181.U6 N798
Guides, Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
These epidemics are not listed in Guides, Encyclopedia's or Dictionaries.
Bibliographies
There are no bibliographies available on this subject.
Journals
Register of the Kentucky Historical Society . Vol. 87.1. Refers to the polio epidemics in Kentucky and its effects on the people of Kentucky .
Filson Club History Quarterly . Vol. 74.4. Includes an article on the Kentucky polio epidemic.
Film
Eller, Richard, Dir. Way Back When: The Miracle of Hickory - The 1944 Polio Epidemic . Prod. Richard Eller, Iron Boot Productions and Prime Cable Productions. Hickory , NC : Charter Communications, 1997. [video recording].
Compiled by Dare Cook, 30 November 2004 .
