March of Dimes: The fight against Polio
Near the end of the 19th century polio, short for poliomyelitis virus, spread around the world in epidemic proportions, and for fifty years it threatened the entire human population. In 1936 President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who suffered the lifelong effects of the disease, founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP). The foundation was responsible for meeting the high cost required for the care and rehabilitation of thousands of children. They sponsored scientific research towards the future eradication of the disease and they promoted public health education and hygiene programs. Between the years 1947-1951 Idaho received more than $1.7 million from the NFIP for financial assistance to polio patients.
The foundation created a network of care and treatment that hoped to meet the demands of the devastating disease. In 1949 the Idaho Department of Public Health found that Idaho’s polio outbreaks were much higher than the national average [1]. Indeed, child welfare had become a growing concern in Idaho during the early half of the 20th century, as the public looked for help in fighting the scourge. Fundraising was essential as the federal program relied directly on contributions from community fundraising. For years civic organizations like the rotary and fraternal organizations like the Elks took the lead in local communities, raising funds for polio.
In 1926 the Crippled and Defective Children’s Clinic opened in Boise, with the single goal of caring for children who suffered from the malformation of polio. In 1940 the Crippled Children’s Society was organized under the Easter Seal. And in 1947 the Elks Convalescent Home for Children was opened. The community had responded to this reality through fund raising and mobilization of charitable organizations.
Idaho Statesman Collection at Boise State University Special Collections
The annual March of Dimes drive received a lot of positive public attention and the community was gracious and willing to donate to the cause. Compared to other states Idaho received a large share of the funds released nationally from the NFIP, but Idaho held an even larger portion of its total funds from what it raised locally. The foundation quarters was run by the fraternal Order of the Eagles under Lloyd Killian, and was located in the historic Eastman building, once located at the corner of Ninth and Main Streets. The organization, in addition to money received from the foundation, relied on volunteer contributions from the community through mail and business solicitations, and through special events like Basque dances, the Marching Mothers annual fashion show, the “Buffalo club party”, and other public and private auctions [2]. The money went towards emergency needs and immediate care of polio victims, but also towards the long-term care that was required when children became handicapped and required extra care.
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