The Iowa Polio Stories Oral History Project 2007-2008
Funded through a grant from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust and the State Library of Iowa, the project was a collaborative effort between the State Library of Iowa and the State Historical Society of Iowa to document and preserve the history of polio in Iowa.
The collection includes oral history interviews with physicians, pediatricians, registered nurses, and licensed practical nurses who worked with polio patients. Most important, the collection includes the voices of the people who were most affected by polio. Through their own words, they reveal how they felt, how they coped, how their communities responded, and how they survived the anguish of the “dreaded” disease. The taped interviews, transcripts, and associated materials are accessible in Special Collections at the State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City.”
Project lead oral historian Kathleen M. Scott 2008 article “The Iowa Polio Stories Oral History Project” in The Annals of Iowa 67(2-3), 212-218) details the project.
The collection consists of 51 recorded audio interviews collected 2007-2008 from Iowans scattered across 26 counties. Currently, all interviews have transcripts available upon request. Soon, many will be digitized and available on our website. To search for specific interviews search the Iowa History Collection Catalog using the search term “Iowa Polio Stories”. The collection is available for in person research at the Iowa History Research Center in Iowa City and the collection is organized under Iowa Polio Stories, 2007-2008, OH 14, Special Collections.
Historic Polio Photos Available to View
Marsh family portrait, ca1948.
Three members of the Marsh family contracted Polio after visiting with family. Larry (far left), his father Bob (second from left), and his sister Lucy (in front). Larry, age 13, and Lucy, age 4, recovered after hospitalization, but sadly their father did not. He passed away six days later in 1949. An oral history interview was done with Larry Marsh in 2007 as part of the project where he describes his family’s experience.
Sharon Bates, age 7, with her favorite nurse at Des Moines’ Broadlawns hospital photo, 1952.
Sharon Bates discusses her experiences as a 7-year old with polio in an oral history interview done as part of the project in 2007. She also describes her post-polio symptoms and measures that Iowans took to try to avoid the disease in the early 1950s before the Salk vaccine was available.