This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Polio Fear Echoes Aids Era Across Midcentury America
Barbara Aston-Wash recounts polio’s spread fear from the 1916 to 1950s outbreaks, daily life changes, and the nation’s response. From swimming bans to Roosevelts Warm Springs Foundation, the March of Dimes fundraising surge, and Jonas Salk’s 1955 vaccine triumph, the piece links past panic to present health crises with vivid personal memories.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
America
Knoxville
Tenn
Mary Burnett
Jonas E. Salk
March of Dimes
University of Pittsburgh