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Christmas in August: Polio and Nursing in Kentucky, 1944, by Naomi Rogers
In August 1944 Louisville’s Fourth Street toy store advertised “Christmas in August” offering toys on sale for parents desperate to entertain their children who had been cooped up at home, banned from movie theaters, swimming pools and all public gatherings. The reason was polio. Kentucky’s largest epidemic had started in late June; it ended with 718 reported cases and 37 counties classified as epidemic areas. Showing how confusing polio’s transmission was, health officials in Louisville investigated cases by asking when children had gone swimming, been visited by “infected” friends, had a tonsillectomy, played with nearby animals and fowl, or eaten water, milk, butter, ice cream, candy and other foods.
