80 Years Ago
The August 22, 1946 Colorado Transcript announced that opening day for Golden Public Schools would be postponed by two weeks.
Polio was epidemic, and parents were terrified that their children would fall victim to the disease. The means of communication were not fully understood, so public health officials weren't sure how to prevent polio's spread.
The school buildings have been thoroughly cleaned, and are ready for use. All rooms will be sprayed with DDT * before the opening of school, and periodically during the school year as a precautionary measure. Every effort will be made to eliminate the possibility of contagion at school.
Colorado Transcript - August 22, 1946
Many diseases (malaria, dengue fever, etc.) are spread through insects. For lack of other effective preventive measures, classrooms were sprayed with a powerful insecticide in the hopes that it would stop the spread of polio.
That was a scary time to be a parent, and in 1946, many years of anxiety were still ahead. A polio vaccine was developed in 1955. For a really impressive graph showing the difference it made, check out ourworldindata.org/polio.
* The use of DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972.
