Title

Polio in Cook County

Creation Date

October 2 2007
1950 – 2007

Description

Rosemary Smith Lamson
Narrator

Pat Zankman
Cook County Historical Society
Interviewer

October 3, 2007
Grand Marais, Minnesota



PZ: I am interviewing Rosemary Smith Lamson at her home at Homestead in Grand Marais. What I want to talk to you about basically is about your dad and polio in Cook County. There's a lot more we could talk about, but I want to focus on that today. Can you tell me a little bit of background though? Your dad was born when?

RL: August 30, 1903.

PZ: And he came to Grand Marais when?

RL: He came to Grand Marais in 1930.

PZ: I ran into Peter Frogner, the other day, and he said that your dad and he were in partnership for a while.

RL: For a short period of time. Yes. And my dad's office then was upstairs in the Leng building. Dr. Pratt was there.

PZ: Dr. Pratt. And your mother was county nurse wasn't she?

RL: No, she was a nurse. She was my dad's nurse. The county nurse, the very first one that we had, and that was in 1935, and that was Marian Curtis.

PZ: Okay. All right. Your mother's maiden name?

RL: Thompson.

PZ: Did they both go to college at the same place?

RL: At the University of Minnesota?

PZ: There have been periods of epidemics in Cook County. We've had diphtheria, we've had quite a few different epidemics. And I think the one that your dad was probably most involved with was polio. Am I correct?


Complete Oral History transcript available from the Cook County Historical Society.