Lillian Haworth Middaugh
One of the Feilbach School’s early students was Lillian Haworth Middaugh, who kept a detailed scrapbook documenting her life at school.
Lillian Haworth was born in Ohio on November 10, 1905. In 1916, there was an epidemic of Infantile Paralysis, better known as polio, and Lillian’s mother forbid her from going to public parks or playgrounds. Despite these precautions, Lillian contracted the disease when she was just 10 years old.
From Lillian’s personal memoir: “Then I began to fall out of bed and, on the last weekend of August it really hit me, I became very ill, and when Dr. Nolle got to our house on Monday, he thought I might be getting Infantile Paralysis. It seems that he was afraid of it so, so he took for Canada with his annual attack of hay fever. He advised no medication or treatment.”
Lillian’s mother was forced to take matters into her own hands and treated Lillian with hot mustard baths. Lillian was eventually transferred to a hospital, where she was put in a cast from her waist to her toes. This cast had to be tightened once a day until her legs straightened out, which took about a year. During this time, Lillian’s only companion was her sister Harriet.
“When I was first taken with that dreaded disease, there was a large sign on the front of the house. It was a bright red and could be seen from a good distance. Neighbors were afraid to come near us and some of them, who had to go to work, would cross the street to get the streetcar and so avoid going directly past the house.”
In 1918, Lillian was offered a spot at the Toledo School for Crippled Children. As a student, Lillian took classes in arithmetic, geography, history, music appreciation, cooking, typing, and art appreciation. More importantly, Lillian was able to develop friendships and a sense of community with other children with disabilities. In 1921, she joined the Purple Pansy Troop, which was the only Girl Scout troop made entirely of people with disabilities. In 1922, Lillian became the school’s first-ever graduate.
