Franklin D. Roosevelt (left) and lifelong friend and political advisor,
Basil O’Connor counting dimes sent in to the White House for the
March of Dimes, 1944. O’Connor helped establish the foundation.         

   

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, an adult victim of polio, established the
National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which he later renamed
the March of Dimes Foundation, on January 3, 1938. A predominantly childhood disease in the early 20th century, polio wreaked havoc
among American children every summer. The virus, which affects
the central nervous system, flourished in contaminated food and
water and was easily transmitted. Those who survived the disease usually suffered from debilitating paralysis into their adult lives. In
1921, at the relatively advanced age of 39, Roosevelt contracted
polio and lost the use of his legs. With the help of the media, his
Secret Service and careful event planning, Roosevelt managed to
keep his disease out of the public eye, yet his personal experience inspired in him an empathy with the handicapped and prompted him
to the found the March of Dimes.

Trinidad "Trini" López III (May 13, 1937 – August 11, 2020)

Trini Lopez was an American singer, guitarist, and actor. His first album
included a version of "If I Had a Hammer", which earned a Golden Disc
for him. His other hits included "Lemon Tree", "I’m Comin’ Home, Cindy"
and "Sally Was a Good Old Girl". He designed two guitars for the Gibson
Guitar Corporation, which are now collectors’ items. He died at Desert
Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California after suffering  from complications of COVID-19.

Trini Lopez as seen in the 1967 movie “The Dirty Dozen”. 

CAMILLE BOHANNON

1977

1988

During the influenza epidemic of 1918, Portland converted one of its newest
and largest buildings, the Portland Auditorium, into a temporary hospital. 

The Spanish influenza pandemic became one of the deadliest events
in history. Although the Spanish flu struck Portland, Oregon more
than a century ago, how Portlanders reacted then has an uncanny parallel to what we’re experiencing now with the Coronavirus. The
first confirmed case in Portland was a soldier, a private on his way
to Texas for training.

Just a week after Portland’s first Spanish flu diagnosis, the Oregon
State Board of Health ordered all public gathering places to shut
down statewide. Parades were canceled. Church services were
suspended. Restaurants sat empty. Dance halls silent. And
suddenly, 36,000 Portland students had nowhere to go. 

In addition to the closures, stores and businesses limited hours. Portland’s famous department store, Meier & Frank, asked
customers not to come into their store but rather to make delivery orders.

Officials urged Portland residents to wash their hands and keep
at least 4 feet apart — the prototype of “social distancing.”
(OPB)

The Oregon Statesman.