Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 104, No. 38, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 15, 1956 Page: 4 of 8
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BASTROP (TEXAS) ADVERTISER, NOVEMBER 15, 1956
■
Cured of Leprosy-Now Where
Can A Man Find A Plaee To live?
By KOWARI) J. LINEMAN
Condensed from
TOWN JOl'RNAL .MAGAZINE
(Not.: This is a true ac-
count of whit happened in
one small community. It could
happen here. What would we
do—as individuals? As a
community? We print this or-
tide because we believe it is
a challenge to every citizen's
conscience.—E«l.)
* * •
A stranger was waiting when
Ernest Becnel. a leading citizen
of Vacheric, La., returned from
church one Sunday nearly two
years ago. The man, in his
early forties, was friendly-look-
ing, with a square, frank face.
He gave his name as John Har-
mon, and asked to see a small
frame building Becnel had to
rent. "I'm a photographer," he
explained. "I'd like to settle here
and open up a shop."
The two came to terms eas-
ily. "Before we settle this,
there's something you should
know about me," said the stran-
ger. "1 cpme from Carville."
Carville At the U. S. Public
Health Service Hospital in Car-
ville, La., dwell more than 300
victims of history's most feared,
and perhaps le&st understood, ill-
ness: Hansen's disease, or lep-
rosy.
Ordinarily, a patient released
from Carville goes to great
lengths to conceal that fact. Yet
here was a man notifying his in-
tended neighbors beforehand.
After a moment's thought,
Ernest Becnel asked simply:
"Are you discharged?" Harmon
showed him a medical certifi-
cate that hi;:- illness was con-
sidered not communicable.
"That" said Becnel, "is good
enough for me. 1 -<*t me talk to
the others first."
In the next few days Becnel
visited dozens of his neighbors.
With e&ch he used a persuasive
argument. "The doctors at Car-
; ville say it is afe for him to
live with us. Are we to lose our
faith in doctors?"
Not one of Vacherie's citizens
demurred.
The cruel disease from which
John Harmon had recovered is
regarded as one of the least
communicable of all communi-
cable diseases. In C'arville's 59-
year-history, no doctor or nurse
has ever contracted*it. And dis
charged cases, emphasizes the
U.S. Public Health Service pose
no danger whatsoever to the
general public, although they
should undergo periodic check-
ups.
Best guesses place the num-
ber of its victims in the U. S.
at 1,000 to 2,000. It is found
primarily in four states—Louis-
iana, Texas, Florida, and Cali-
fornia.
The first hint of John Har-
mon's illness came when he was
24, a promising young drafts-
man for the Texas State High-
way department. Quietly he left
his job and entered Carville. In
the melancholy months that fol-
lowed he taught classes at Car
ville's elementary school. There
one of his brightest pupils wa.-
a teen-ager named Anne.
In ypite of prolonged treat-
ment, John's' condition remained
static. But then, for no appar-
ent reason, he suddenly began
to improve. After an agonizing
wait he passed the required 12th
monthly test — negative. He
jtdearfiMmau
From where I sit... 6y Joe Marsh
There'll Always
Be An "Expert
a
Drove out to see how they're
getting along with the new super-
high w a y that's going to pass
through town.
While I was there a fussy little
l?uy—a spectator, like me —came
up to the foreman on the job and
Started making all sorts of sug-
gestions: "Shouldn't it go a little
farther left there? ... Why don't
you bank the curves more? . . .
Those ditches are awful close"
.. and so, on and on.
The foreman took it as long as
he could, then asked politely,
"How does she look for length?"
From where I sit. free advice is
called "free" because it's usual!;
not worth much. That little fellow
was typical of the kind of "expert
who can't resist getting in digs —
about how you work, what yoi
wear, why you happen to prefer .
glass of beer with your supper.
People like that don't mean to b
troublemakers but the road t<.
real intolerance is paved with
their good intentions.
Jfa OtImj.£
Co/i)right, 1956, United States Breu en Fuundation
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was free. He said goodbye to
pretty, dark haired Anne, prom
ised to write her, and headed
back for Texas.
Johnny's world fell apart for
the second time four and a half
years later. As patients pt Car
ville say, he had "reactivated."
Back at Carville, in 11)44, he
found Anne had gotten much
worse. But he found some g<>'j#.i
news, too. Patients were be-
ginning to show remarkable re-
sults with the new drugs.
Months passed, and years.
Johnny and Anne both improv-
ed. They fell deeply in love. By
1! 48 his tests were running
negative again. Soon he was dis-
charged— free to go.
Instead, he stayed at Carville
and married Anne. Two children
arrived.
Almost 17 years after he first
entered Carville, hospital offic-
ials told John in 1954 that he
shold leave, find a job, and start
a new life on the outside.
This is a moment many long-
time patients like Johnny grow
reluctant to face. They have
good reason; one who has had
leprosy is often the object of
near-hysterical fear and mis-
understanding.
This kind of rejection was
what Johnny Harmon could ex-
pect when he left Carville. Oth-
er patients urged him, in the
name of good sense, to assume
a new identity, to hide his past.
"No," said Johnny, "I'd only
be more miserable. I never was
worth a darn as a liar."
And that is how Ernest Bec-
nel found him, waiting on his
porch—taut, nervous, more than
half expecting to be shunned,
but determined above all else not
to live like a criminal for his
past misfortune.
Johnny's acceptance in Vach-
erie 5ver the past 20 months has
been little short of amazing.
Hardly a wedding goes by with-
out Johnny there to take the
pictures. Mothers bring their
babies to his studio to be photo-
graphed. Townspeople drop in
at his shop to leave a roll of
film, or just to pass the time of
day. He is invited to dinner far
more often than he can accept.
Knock at any door in Vacb-
erie; inquire what townspeople
think of Johnny Harmon moving
in. "Johnny's a fine man," says
one. "Did you expect us to con-
demn him just because he'd been
sick?"
Johnny himself can describe j
his new neighbors only as
"wonderful."
Johnny Harmon and the town
of Vacherie are a major topic of
conversation at Carville these
days. Patients there consider his
experience as a sort of experi-
ment in understanding; a test
case in human compassion.
For some of them — includ-
ing Anne — may be going "out-
side" when the ravages of their
sickness have subsided. Johnny
and Vacherie have managed to
kindle in each one a hope that
they, too, might one day take j
root in another town — per-
haps even yours — physically
whole, with nothing to hide, and
able to say without shame to
their future neighbors:
"I came from Carville."
Men Of St. Joseph's
Meet In Rockne
The men of St. Joseph's So-
ciety, Rockne, held their regular
monthly meeting on Tuesday
evening, November 6, at 7:4.r>
in the Sacred Heart School.
The meeting was opened with j
the recitation of the Our Fath i
er in unison. Fred Fiebrich, j
president, presided at the meet-
ing. John Beck, spiritual life !
chairman, announced plans to i
contribute the sum of S25.00 to
be used to purchase pamphlets
for the pamphlet rack to be i
placed in the vestibule of the '
church.
Plans were made to bid on a
building te be used as a club |
house for the Boy Scouts.
Louis Bartsch, chairman of the
membership committee, reported
he had obtained three new mem
bers.
Adolph Wilhelm, social life
chairman, announced plans for
a jgocial to be held on Friday,
November 2.'!, for the members
of St. Joseph's Society.
The meeting was closed with
prayer recited in unison.
Attending the meeting were
Peter Bartsch Sr., Peter Bartsch
Jr., I uis Bartsch, Matthew
Bartsch, Alphonse Beck, Anton
Beck, John Beck, August Boer,
Alvin Frerich, Fred Fiebrich,
Elmer Fohn, Francis (Joertz,
Martin (Joertz, Joe R. Goert*,,
Thomas (Joertz, Herman Goertz,
Willie Henzen, Bill Kaduru, A!
fred Klause, Adolph Muehr, A-
dolph Wilhelm, Arthur Goertz
and Reynold Goertz.
f~ Society News*%
Presents Program
At Legion Auxiliary
Mrs. Cluude Sharp, program
chairman for November, present-
ed a special program on work
with the veterans at a meeting
of the American l-egion Auxil-
iary held at the Legion Center
on Thursday night of last week.
Guests present for the meet-
ing were S. H. Ford and Mrs.
Ford of Belton, who are repre-
sentatives from MeCloskey Vet-
erans Hospital at Temple, and
Lloyd Hood of Bastrop, who is
Veterans Administration repre
sentative.
Mr. Ford is the state service
officer, and Mrs. Fowl is a hos-
pital representative from the
American Legion Auxiliary, and
other organizations. She has
served one thousand hours of
volunteer work up to the pre-
sent time. Both spoke briefly
on hospital work, stating that
the main work is keeping the
veterans busy and content. They
pointed out that rehabilitation
work includes many types of
recreation, and reported that
more than 75,000 volunteers help
carry on this project throughout
the United States. Assisting Mr.
Ford was Joel K. Reese, county
agent, who showed a film en-
titled "Within the Town", show-
ing the various types of duties
performed by the volunteer
workers who came from nearby
towns. Mr. Ford pointed out
that MeCloskey Hospital is one
of the largest for veterans and
has some 1350 patients.
Mr. Hood also spoke on the
work of helping the veteran,
and told how cases are handled
locally, and of assistance given
specific cases.
Preceding the program, Mrs.
R. E. Myers conducted a short
business session. Mrs. Louis
Wright reported on the district
convention which she attended
in Lockhart, and plans were
made to assist with the Christ-
mas Gift Shops for veterans.
It was asked that members
bring children's gifts to the De-
cember meeting which are to
be distributed locally.
The membership committee an
nounced that fifty members had
re enrolled for 1057 and that
the quota t>> be reached is r>«>.
New members enrolled are Mrs.
Dan Lloyd and Mrs. R. W. Nam-
ken.
Mrs. S. L. Brannon Jr., sec-
retary. lead a letter from the
Elgin Unit inviting the local
auxiliary to attend v.ieir -Meet-
ing scheduled fro November 20
at 7:30 p. ni.
During the social hour the
hostesses, Mrs. Adren Long, Mrs.
Joel R. Reese, Mrs. N. R. Simo-
son and Mrs. R. E. Myers ser-
ved sandwiches, potato chips,
fritos and cold drinks to the
guests and members.
Those attending were Frank
Green, commander of James H.
Perkins American Legion Post
533, R. E. Myers, W. 1!. Town-
send, R. W. Namken and Joel
CARI) "OF THANKS
Accept my deepest apprecia-
tion for cards, gifts, flowers and
visits during my recent illness.
A special "thank you" to the
entire hospital staff for their
services and care.
Mrs. P. J. Dodson
Shop now for Christmas, during
our big Blue Ribbon Sale. Take
advantage of these real bargains
to fill your Christmas list in
our store beginning Thursday.
Check our Blue Ribbon circular
for special items and rock bot
torn prices.
ELK INS 5-10&25c STORE
Don't miss our Blue Ribbon Sale
starting Thursday. Special low
prices on housewares including
many necessary items you need, j
See our circular for prices, and
visit our store today!
ELK INS : 10*2." c STORE
R. Reese, representing the Am-
erican Legion, and the following
auxiliary members: Mrs. S. J.
C. Higgins, Mrs. H. L. Perkins,
Mrs. Fred G. Haynie, Mrs. Cur
tis Sanders, Mrs. Oren kskew,
Mrs. W. B. Townsend, Mrs. R.
W. Namken, Mrs. A. L. De-
Glandon, Mrs. S. L. Brannon
Jr., Mrs. Claude ShTTl
Louis Wright, Mr, v , pf
zell and the host,.,.,.
Mrs. Myers. 1 ™
The next meeting of J
il'ary will be held th(1
Thursday December J
p. m. 41
Herry^|;
Chritfroaj
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DECEMBER 10.
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CALL 57 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
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Standifer, Amy S. Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 104, No. 38, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 15, 1956, newspaper, November 15, 1956; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth237609/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Bastrop Public Library.