One of the things I remember as a child in the thirties was being sick with the various ailments that all children seem to suffer with, - measles, mumps, chicken-pox, and the more serious ones like scarlet fever, small pox and infantile paralysis (as it was called in those days).

We managed to avoid polio during childhood, but when I was in my mid twenties I was stricken with it, and although I was fortunate and recovered with no lasting disability through my life, now, as I age, I am afflicted with 'polio syndrome' where the nerves have died after being damaged by the disease, and the healthy nerves left have deteriorated from doing double duty for those that had been destroyed.

Health care in those early days relied mainly upon the ability of the women of the family, and my mother was a diligent and kind nurse.

Small Pox was one of the worst diseases for scarring, - it was sometimes fatal, and it was very contagious. There was a recommended vaccination, but I believe it was still not totally effective. My Brother, Tom, had a paper route in Penticton, and one of his deliveries was to a customer who had the Pox. Tom probably carried the disease home through money exchange and my sister Nonie and I contracted small pox and ended up with wool socks on our hands so we wouldn't scratch and have the ugly telltale face shell scarring. My mother cared for us meticulously throughout this time, and I have only one small pock mark which over the years has faded and disappeared.

We were quarantined for some weeks, and supplies had to be delivered to our property line. When the disease had run its course the house was fumigated with open topped coffee tins containing a sulfur like substance which burned for days.

Besides these childhood ailments I was inclined to be Croupy, and this condition I disliked with a passion. The only relief from the choking that I remember was a teaspoon of brown sugar, well soaked with kerosene. In later years my experience with Croup stood me in good stead when some of our own children would awaken in the night, panicking, coughing and unable to breath. It is most frightening for parents who are not familiar with Croup, but I could calm them until a tent of steam relieved the condition.

As a kindness, we didn't ever administer brown sugar and kerosene......