Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1950-08-13
Wyheve Decries Ghost Town Eptoph Despite Polio Epidemic
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league standing and had a good
chance of winning the pennant.
Club Has to Disband.
But the announcement about
Jimmy Seccafice's little boy was
an ominous one for Wytheville
and the ball club. Within only
a few weeks the disease had spread
to a terrifying portion OF the
towns children and had struck
down many adults. AS for the
ball club. it had to disband be-
cause no one would play the team
from Wytheville.
The Seccaficos had come to
Wytheville from Jersey City, N. j.,
in April. Whether little Johnny
carried the virus with him from
that city or contacted it in Wythe-
vile will always be unsettled.
When his illness was diagnosed as
polio, he was sped to the Memorial
and Crippled Children's Hospital
at Roanoke, 80 miles away. Johnny
survived the disease but whether
he will escape its Gripping effects
it's doubtful. After a short period
of convalescence at home, the
SeccaficoS, with the permission of
Wythe County health officer, went
back to Jersey City with their
child.
The Wythe polio outbreak is
one of the most intense in history.
More than one out of every 100 in
the towns population has been
stricken. For time the death
rate was running at 10 per cent
of the number sick. The normal
number of fatal cases in polio
statistics is near per cent.
The figure today on the num-
Der of cases in Wythe County is
las with Is deaths. The past week
has seen a lower number of new
cases in the town and a higher
number in the county. The county
area outside Wytheville, which has
a larger population than the town,
now has So cases and the town
has 80. The population of the
town is $500 and the population
of the county Gncluding the
town. is $4,000.
The people here deeply resent
some of the things that have been
said about Wytheville in the press
and on the radio since the cpl
demic drew national attention.
The thing they resent most is the
story that Wytheville is ghost
town"
They Stick to Jobs.
BY and large the people of
Wytheville have stuck to their jobs
and have volunteered to do any,
thing additional that would help
in the emergency. The passing
tourist would note nothing differ
ent about Wytheville except that
parking space is available in front
of the stores and that CLOSED" is
the only word on the movie
marquee.
But the passing tourist is
warned. There is large sign on
every major road entering Wythe-
vile which reads: Information
for tourists-Polio outbreak in
Wytheville and Wythe County-'f
you do not stop with us this time,
we invite you to visit us on your
next vacation Courtesy of Wythe-
vile Town Council. Wythe County
Board of Supervisors, Wythe
County Health Department"
This step was not taken with
out opposition, open and covert.
All of the first signs were torn
down by unknown vandals with
in a few days after they were put
up. They were replaced and a
500 reward posted for informa-
ton as to identity of the mis-
creants. The replacement signs
have been up for some time now
without further incident.
There is no atmosphere of COM
munity fear evident here. Pos
sibly one notices the people be-