Ah..time to set the way back machine, and tell how we kids got vaccinated some swimming lessons.
First of all, remember that Mom was raised in dry land farming in Colorado. That meant that the farmer sowed the seed and waited to see if anything would actually grow. Sometimes yes, sometimes not so much. There was at least one flood and the whole family stayed in Fort Morgan until the creek went down. So no love of water sports engendered from that demographic.
I also remember watching Grandma Horn looking at a television show that showed someone driving along a mountain road in a severe rainstorm. The car slid off the road and she shuddered in complete horror. So no love of water sports from that side of the family.
I mention water sports because it was a commonly held belief that polio could be caught by going to the public swimming pools in the summer. This was the age of iron lung treatment for some polio victims. When the first polio vaccine came out approximately 1961 we did not participate mostly because of family fears. When the next batch came out I remember going to the Catholic Church to get a dose and it was on a sugar cube. I think it was two rounds of sugar cubes.
At that time measles, mumps and chicken pox were kids diseases that were dealt with by that kid staying home. I think I had two kinds of measles, and chicken pox for sure. Not sure about Mumps. I do remember staying in a dark room during the day and watching the radio very carefully trying to see the little people inside the radio.
MMR was given in the late 60's. I'm not sure if or when the rest of my siblings were vaccinated.
I do remember getting the shoulder prick for small pox. As a matter of fact one our cousins had visited and came in contact with one the pox and developed a similar lesion on her leg I think.
To get back to polio for a minute. Mom told me many years ago that she had spent a couple of weeks at Holy Rosary in Ontario with a case of "silent polio". Which means she had the disease but none of the nasty bits manifested for her. Of course we learned a couple decades later that there was a chance for a case of latent polio to spring up its nasty head.
So to get back to water sports. As we moved around before finally settling in Emmett, Mom did get us involved a couple of times with swimming lessons. There was a public pool right across the street from where we lived in Cascade. So that summer we learned how to use paddle boards and splash. I was very good at splashing. From what I remember Mom was not very good at paddle board.
The next time the opportunity came up the folks were camped in a park near the Hell's Canyon dams. We were acquainted with folks who lived in Haines, Oregon. Richard and I stayed a few weeks with the Barnes and took Red Cross Swimming lessons at the then called Indian Hot Springs. We became competent.
The folks did take us to Roystone Hot Springs when we lived in Emmett on a more permanent basis. It has been there for many year and when the folks took us there it was still very popular and there were dressing rooms all along both sides. Swimming suits could be rented and we did (shudder). The snack bar had candy bars where they were not made with tempered chocolate so were gray looking when they were opened. Dad had fond memories of going to the Natatorium in Boise as a youth. He swam like a duck.
That was it for the family type things. Dad always wanted a boat so he could take it to Black Canyon Dam. I think us kids would have loved it, but I think Mom would have sabotaged that plan.
As for kids swimming , we were surrounded by canals and the City Park had a public swimming pool. And of course there were numerous irrigation ditches to go mess around with. Usually with a sharpened willow stick in hand looking for frogs and water snake. God help the water snakes.
First of all, remember that Mom was raised in dry land farming in Colorado. That meant that the farmer sowed the seed and waited to see if anything would actually grow. Sometimes yes, sometimes not so much. There was at least one flood and the whole family stayed in Fort Morgan until the creek went down. So no love of water sports engendered from that demographic.
I also remember watching Grandma Horn looking at a television show that showed someone driving along a mountain road in a severe rainstorm. The car slid off the road and she shuddered in complete horror. So no love of water sports from that side of the family.
I mention water sports because it was a commonly held belief that polio could be caught by going to the public swimming pools in the summer. This was the age of iron lung treatment for some polio victims. When the first polio vaccine came out approximately 1961 we did not participate mostly because of family fears. When the next batch came out I remember going to the Catholic Church to get a dose and it was on a sugar cube. I think it was two rounds of sugar cubes.
At that time measles, mumps and chicken pox were kids diseases that were dealt with by that kid staying home. I think I had two kinds of measles, and chicken pox for sure. Not sure about Mumps. I do remember staying in a dark room during the day and watching the radio very carefully trying to see the little people inside the radio.
MMR was given in the late 60's. I'm not sure if or when the rest of my siblings were vaccinated.
I do remember getting the shoulder prick for small pox. As a matter of fact one our cousins had visited and came in contact with one the pox and developed a similar lesion on her leg I think.
To get back to polio for a minute. Mom told me many years ago that she had spent a couple of weeks at Holy Rosary in Ontario with a case of "silent polio". Which means she had the disease but none of the nasty bits manifested for her. Of course we learned a couple decades later that there was a chance for a case of latent polio to spring up its nasty head.
So to get back to water sports. As we moved around before finally settling in Emmett, Mom did get us involved a couple of times with swimming lessons. There was a public pool right across the street from where we lived in Cascade. So that summer we learned how to use paddle boards and splash. I was very good at splashing. From what I remember Mom was not very good at paddle board.
The next time the opportunity came up the folks were camped in a park near the Hell's Canyon dams. We were acquainted with folks who lived in Haines, Oregon. Richard and I stayed a few weeks with the Barnes and took Red Cross Swimming lessons at the then called Indian Hot Springs. We became competent.
The folks did take us to Roystone Hot Springs when we lived in Emmett on a more permanent basis. It has been there for many year and when the folks took us there it was still very popular and there were dressing rooms all along both sides. Swimming suits could be rented and we did (shudder). The snack bar had candy bars where they were not made with tempered chocolate so were gray looking when they were opened. Dad had fond memories of going to the Natatorium in Boise as a youth. He swam like a duck.
That was it for the family type things. Dad always wanted a boat so he could take it to Black Canyon Dam. I think us kids would have loved it, but I think Mom would have sabotaged that plan.
As for kids swimming , we were surrounded by canals and the City Park had a public swimming pool. And of course there were numerous irrigation ditches to go mess around with. Usually with a sharpened willow stick in hand looking for frogs and water snake. God help the water snakes.
No comments:
Post a Comment