The Last Contagion
Donna Reiner, a local historian and a good friend of Get Your PHX, has written many articles over the years for the Arizona Republic and others about Phoenix history and memorials. In honor of what we all hope is the light at the end of the tunnel of this pandemic, Donna talks about the last major contagion and how her family dealt with it.
Oh, and please get the vaccine if you’ve not yet. It’s proven safe, it protects you and it protects others from this modern contagion.
Someday our younger family members may ask what was it like during the Covid-19 pandemic. And the stories will begin describing social distancing, chatting on Zoom, cooking, reading, doing school online, and working from home. Some of these things may create puzzled looks.
And some of us were quarantined many years ago.
It was the summer of 1951. I was nearly 4 ½ and my sister Ruth was just 8. I suspect that it was a rather “normal” carefree summer of playing outdoors, listening to the radio, and looking at books (we had no TV). Father went off to work and Mother took care of the three of us (we have a younger sister who was 2 ½ at the time.
And then…, thanks to the “generosity” of our next-door neighbor and babysitter, my sisters and I were exposed to the measles. Like Covid-19, measles is caused by a virus and transmitted in a similar fashion. But for some reason, only my older sister and I came down with them about the same time while my younger sister did not. So, what was the big deal?
For whatever reason, I had no recollection that our mother was pregnant that summer. Ruth knew she was going to have a baby, so it wasn’t a surprise when she went to the hospital. I don’t even remember her “disappearing,” but she was certainly gone.
Both of us were quite sick running high temperatures. The whole house was kept dark because the light hurt our eyes which must have been hard since it was July. Dad went to work every day and some couple took care of us. They must have cooked, did laundry, and cleaned the house since Dad wouldn’t know how to do those things!! Besides the traditional things of keeping up the house, this couple entertained us too keeping our youngest sister away from the “contagion” room. I distinctly remember cutting out the Sunday funnies and putting them into a scrapbook. That kept me occupied for hours or so I remember.
We would get special treats like popsicles or ice cream which was quite delightful as I’m not sure Mother would have done that. We probably didn’t stay inside for a long period of time once we felt better, but to a 4 ½ year old, being cooped up inside for any length of time seemed like an eternity.
Mom had to stay in the hospital a long time to protect the baby. When she did come home, we couldn’t touch her (yes, it was another girl).
That’s when Ruth and I decided to name her. I wanted to call her “Ancy.” Ruth thought that was okay, since she wanted to call her Nancy Ann after her Story Book dolls! Fortunately, our parents approved, and that’s what she’s been called ever since.
The memories of a 4 ½ year old are often selective and in this case, mine are totally related to that period of quarantine with a little bit of help from my older sister.
Donna Reiner is the co-author of three books on Phoenix history.
