She was born without legs in a time when such people were institutionalized or worse, but she avoided that fate. They said she’d never walk; instead, she soared.
A fictional account of a girl born over a century ago who, with love and support from her family and friends, defies a culture where disability is considered shameful and disabled people are marginalized, openly discriminated against, and even treated as less than human.
Part 2 includes the following chapters:
Chapter 4 – Befriending Millie
Chapter 3 – Educating Millie
John and Ruthie had enrolled Jackie in a private school in the fall of 1928 when he began first grade, and a year later, Fannie began first grade at the same school, leaving Millie as the senior child at home. She’d be old enough to start first grade herself the following year, in the fall of 1930.
Fannie and Millie were very close, and Millie was a very bright child. They quickly developed a routine where, as soon as she got home from school, Fannie would teach Millie what she’d learned that day. Millie eagerly soaked it all up like a sponge, and Fannie relished playing the role of teacher.
Less than two months after Fannie started school, in late October, the U.S. stock market experienced the Crash of 1929, which led to the Great Depression spanning most of the 1930s. In 1930, the depression wasn’t that bad yet, but John’s family was very mindful of the money they had lost and the gradual but steady reduction in new orders they were receiving at their business. They were going to have to watch their income and expenditures, both business and personal, very closely.
In order to reduce their expenses in the worsening economic climate, John and Ruthie made the difficult decision to take Jackie and Fannie out of private school and enroll them in their neighborhood public school starting in the fall of 1930, when Jackie was starting third grade and Fannie second grade.
However, the public school adamantly refused to accept a crippled child. The private school where Jackie and Fannie had previously attended was highly resistant to doing so, but they could possibly become motivated if a sufficiently large donation was dangled under their nose. However, doing that would be a financial burden on John and Ruthie; that’s why they’d taken the two older kids out of private school. The larger problems there were going to be physical accessibility and overcoming the prejudices and biases of the children, parents, teachers, and administrators.
The public elementary school principal had recommended that they enroll Millie in the Cleveland School for Crippled Children, which was the one public school in the city that would accept her. This was a school, not a home, and so the children went home to their parents every day, eliminating many of the concerns John and Ruthie had had about residential institutions for crippled children.
The parents learned what they could about the school and met with principal there and toured the school. However, they were less than impressed that it was the right place for Millie. The majority of students there had significant underlying health issues and were physically frail, which hampered their learning. The children also spent an undue amount of time making crafts that the school would then sell to the public to raise money. The unstated implication was that the academic bar was set rather low; that there was no point in providing the children with a quality education because they didn’t have much of a future anyway.
Millie was physically robust and mentally astute, and it was clear to John and Ruthie that the learning environment at the crippled children’s school would only stifle her eagerness to learn and rob her of the opportunity to live up to her potential. They didn’t want Millie spending her days making crafts when she was more than capable of rising to the challenge of a quality academic education.
John and Ruthie asked all four of their parents to meet with them to discuss Millie’s future. John addressed the assembled group. “If you hadn’t noticed yourselves, we’ve observed that Millie is quite precocious. Every afternoon since Fannie began school, she comes home and teaches Millie what she learned that day. Millie has been eagerly soaking it all up like a sponge. I dare say Millie has already received as much of an education as Fannie has. We realize Millie needs an environment where she’ll be academically challenged.
“As you know, she’ll be old enough to start first grade in the fall. The problem is that there isn’t a suitable place for her. The public school where Jackie and Fannie will be going won’t accept crippled students no matter how bright they are, and the private school says they won’t, either. I think they could be persuaded with a sufficiently large donation, but we still worry that Millie would not be treated well at a place where she’s clearly not wanted.
“There’s one school that’ll take her, the school for crippled children, but we’ve looked into it and concluded that she’ll spend more time there making craft projects than actually learning anything. We find such a place unacceptable for such a bright child. As wonderful of a job as Fannie has done, we realize we can’t continue to rely on a child to teach another child. Therefore, we feel it’s in Millie’s best interest for us to hire a private tutor to educate her.
“There are several reasons for bringing you all into this discussion. One is that we don’t want you to second-guess our decisions about what’s best for our daughter. That’s why I’ve taken the time to explain how we’ve arrived at this decision. Even if you don’t agree with it, I would ask that you at least respect it.
“The second reason is financial in nature. Hiring a tutor is quite a bit more expensive than private school tuition. At a private school, a teacher’s salary is divided among all of his or her students. So, even with taking our two oldest out of private school, our children’s education is only going to become more expensive. We may be in need of some assistance from you, her grandparents, depending on whether the economy improves or worsens.”
John paused to get their reactions. His mother spoke up. “Precocious as she might be, it seems like an extravagance to spend so much to educate a crippled child. She’ll never attract a husband, but neither will she ever find gainful employment. She’ll only continue to be a financial as well as a physical burden into adulthood. Educating her is simply a waste of money at a time when no one can afford to be wasteful.”
“Well said, Agnes,” replied Ruthie’s father. “I completely agree with your reasoning.”
“Not so fast,” said Ruthie’s mother. “I personally think every child should be afforded a quality education, especially someone as bright as she obviously is. It’s not her fault she can’t get one for free. She’s done nothing to deserve being denied the opportunity to learn.” Ruthie’s mother had been a schoolteacher herself prior to having children of her own, and her opinion reflected that.
“I can see both sides of this argument,” said John’s father in response. “And while I understand what you’re saying about her having no future, dear,” he said as he looked at his wife, “you’re thinking in terms of today. Society might well have a much more enlightened view of such matters fifteen or twenty years hence when she’ll be a young adult. It might be inclined to overlook her handicap and value her for what she knows and can do with her mind. It would be quite a shame to not have prepared her for such a possibility.
“You were once a teacher, weren’t you, Virginia?” he asked Ruthie’s mother. “How would you feel about coming out of retirement to tutor your granddaughter? I’m assuming you would charge a much more reasonable fee than someone they could hire off the street.” Everyone laughed.
“Hmmm… I hadn’t considered that,” replied Virginia. “I’ll have to give it some thought.”
“I think that’s an outstanding idea, Mr. Duncan,” said Ruthie to her father-in-law. “Thank you for suggesting it. Mother, I would be very much in favor of you teaching our dear little Millie, assuming you’re willing.”
“Edward, would you have any objection if I were to do that?” Virginia asked her husband.
“No, I suppose not,” replied Ruthie’s father with a mixture of reluctance and resignation on his face.
“Then let’s plan on it,” said Virginia with a bit of enthusiasm in her voice. “I’ll start making preparations.” Ruthie could already see the gears turning in her mother’s head as she thought about teaching again.
“Mommy, why can’t I go to school with Jackie and Fannie? I’m old enough now!” asked Millie, now six years old.
“I know you are, dear,” replied Ruthie patiently, “but their school doesn’t allow crippled children to attend.”
Millie was used to being different than other children and being physically unable to do some things they could do. But this was the first time in her life she actually felt discriminated against. It was a very disturbing feeling.
“But why not, Mommy? It’s not fair!” Millie protested. “You don’t need legs to be able to learn!”
“You’re absolutely right, Millie dear,” her mother replied, impressed with her logical thinking. “You don’t need legs to learn, and it’s not fair at all. The school knows it’s not fair, but they don’t care, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“But maybe if they see how smart I am, they’ll let me come,” reasoned the little girl.
“You are very smart, Millie, much smarter than other children your age, but it doesn’t matter to them. It does matter to your father and me, though. We’re very proud of how smart you are. That’s why we’re going to have school at home for you, so you can learn new things without having to wait for Fannie to come home and tell you what she learned. Grandmother Stewart is going to be your teacher. She used to be a schoolteacher, so it’ll be as if you were in school.”
It didn’t seem like being taught at home by her grandmother would be the same as being in school to Millie, but she didn’t know quite how to put that thought into words. “But Mommy, I want to go to school with the other children!” she said.
“I know you do, dear, but it might be just as well. Children can be cruel to others who are different than they are. Come to think of it, grow-ups can be, too. You wouldn’t enjoy school at all if the other children made fun of you or treated you badly because you’re different.”
“Mommy, how come I’m different than everyone else?” she asked, now with tears running down her little cheeks. “Why don’t I have legs?”
Ruthie motioned for Millie to climb up and sit on her lap. She wrapped her arms around the little girl as she tried to comfort her. “I don’t know why, dear. No one knows. It’s just one of those things. Some people are tall and some are short. Some are fat and some are thin. Some are colored and some are white. And some people have legs and some don’t.”
That was a very unsatisfying answer to Millie. “But Mommy, there are lots of people who are short or fat or colored. I’m the only one in the world with no legs,” the little girl said, now openly crying.
“Hush now, dear,” Ruthie said, comforting her. “You’re not the only one without legs, I promise you. I need to explain something to you. Most children who are missing arms or legs or who can’t walk or can’t see or can’t hear are sent away from their families to live in a place with other children like them. Ever since you were born, people have been saying we should send you to a place like that, too.
“But we love you much too much to do that. For one reason, we’d miss you terribly, and we know you’d miss us just as much. But another reason is that those are bad places for kids. The people who take care of the children there don’t love them and are quite harsh with them. They don’t allow the parents to visit their children, so there’s no one to stop them from being so mean.”
Millie couldn’t believe her ears. She was shocked to learn that such a place existed. “Why are they so mean to the kids there, Mommy?”
“I don’t know, dear. They just are, so we’d never send you to a place like that.”
“Mommy?” she asked. “Why would someone be mean to me just because I don’t have legs? I can’t help it I’m this way.”
“I know, baby. It’s not your fault you’re different. It’s no one’s fault. The world can be an ugly place. People are often mean to those who are different or weaker than they are, I suppose so they can feel better about themselves. But that’s just wrong, and I hope you never treat anyone that way, even if others are treating you that way.”
“I don’t want to be mean to anyone, Mommy!”
“I know you don’t, angel, and I love you for that,” said Ruthie. She quickly and silently prayed that Millie would always feel that way.
“Now, there’s a different place, a school for crippled children, and people have been suggesting it to us. We went there and visited. It’s not nearly as bad as the other place. You could go there and come home every day like Jackie and Fannie do. But most of the kids who go there are very weak – they can’t walk on their hands and go up and down stairs and climb up onto furniture like you can. All they can do is sit there. They’re too weak to play and too weak to learn very well. The teachers mostly have them doing craft projects instead of teaching them. We didn’t think that was a very good place for you, either, because we know how smart you are and how much you love learning.”
Ruthie could see that this conversation was beginning to traumatize poor Millie, and that she needed to make it more positive. “Listen, baby. Your father and I both love you dearly, and that’s why we’ve kept you away from those kinds of places. We only want the very best for you, and that’s why we decided to have Grandmother teach you. You know, since you’ll be her only student, you’ll be able to learn as fast as you want. You won’t have to wait for the other children to catch up with you like you would at a regular school. You might get to where you’re learning things before Fannie does, and then you could teach her after school. Maybe Jackie, too.” Millie smiled at the thought of teaching new things to her older siblings.
Millie adjusted well to having Grandmother tutor her. It wasn’t that different than having Fannie teach her, except that it was now much more structured. Grandmother was very impressed with how much she already knew. Fannie had actually taught her quite a bit, and Millie was an eager and capable learner.
After a week, Virginia told her daughter Ruthie, “I think Millie can mostly skip the first grade curriculum; she already knows most of it. I’m going to continue to review it with her to try to find anything she doesn’t know or is weak in, but it may just be a matter of weeks before she’ll be doing second grade work. I need to tell Fannie what an excellent job she’s done at teaching her sister. She’s obviously a natural-born educator. I hope when she’s older she considers becoming a teacher herself.”
“Why don’t you stick around until she gets home and tell her that today?” Ruthie asked in reply. “She would love hearing that praise from you.”
“I think maybe I’ll do just that,” Virginia replied.
Chapter 4 – Befriending Millie
Fannie had quickly come to the realization that Millie was no longer interested in hearing what she’d learned in school each day, now that Millie was doing schoolwork herself for much of the day. Instead she wanted to play. But Fannie was making friends at her new neighborhood school who lived nearby, and they wanted to play with her after school as well.
Fannie solved the problem by inviting her new friends to come home with her and also play with her sister. The first time she did that, it didn’t go well, however. It hadn’t occurred to Fannie to forewarn her friend Helen about Millie’s missing legs. When Helen saw Millie approaching her while walking on her hands, she was horrified and frightened. Helen hid behind Fannie and exclaimed, “Ewww, what’s wrong with her? Get away from me! Leave me alone!”
Helen ran out of the house in tears and because of her reaction, Millie was also crying. Fannie didn’t know who to try to comfort, but when she looked out the door, she realized Helen had a big head start on her and she let her go. She turned her attention to her sister.
“I’m so sorry, Millie,” Fannie said to Millie as she sat on the floor in order to hug her. “She was very rude to you.”
“Why was she acting like that, Fannie?” Millie asked between sobs.
“I think she was afraid of you,” Fannie replied.
“But why?” Millie asked.
“I bet she’d never seen someone like you before. I guess I should’ve told her, but I didn’t even think of it. I’m so used to being around you, I forget that other people aren’t.”
Ruthie had heard the entire incident from the kitchen, out of the girls’ sight, but decided not to intervene, to see how they’d handle it. She was very proud of both of her girls. She intended to tell them that during dinner.
Then, about a half hour later, when the girls were playing up in their bedroom, there was a knock at the door. Ruthie opened the door to a woman a few years older than her who appeared very embarrassed, accompanied by a girl about Fannie’s age who looked miserable, like she’d rather be anywhere else but on her doorstep.
Ruthie said to the woman, “Hello, may I help you?”
“Are you Mrs. Duncan?” the woman asked.
“Yes…” replied Ruthie.
“I’m Mrs. Snyder, and this is my daughter Helen. Helen is classmates with your Fannie, and she was here a short time ago at Fannie’s invitation. Helen told me what happened, and she’s here to apologize to your other daughter. Apparently she was most rude to her.”
“Why don’t you both come in and have a seat in the parlor?” Ruthie said in response. Helen looked extremely uncomfortable at that invitation. “It’s okay, Helen. Fannie and Millie are upstairs playing,” Ruthie assured her.
The three went into the parlor and sat down. Helen continued to look utterly miserable. Ruthie explained, “I overheard the whole incident. Apparently it didn’t occur to Fannie to mention to Helen that her sister Millie is crippled. I really can’t blame Helen for the way she reacted when she saw her.”
“If I may ask, what exactly is wrong with Millie?” Mrs. Snyder asked.
“She was born without any legs, and she gets around by walking on her hands. But she’s really a delightful girl, once you get over the initial shock of seeing her.”
“I’m sure she is,” replied Mrs. Snyder politely. She turned to address her daughter. “Helen, now that you know what to expect, are you ready for Mrs. Duncan to call Millie down so that you can apologize to her?”
“No, ma’am,” Helen replied honestly as she looked down at her lap.
“No, ma’am what?” her mother asked. “No, you don’t want to apologize, or no, you’re not ready yet?”
Helen just continued to look down as she shrugged her shoulders in response to her mother’s question.
Ruthie offered a suggestion. “Why don’t I have Fannie come down first and let them talk to each other? Then I’ll have Millie come down after that.”
Mrs. Snyder looked at her daughter and asked, “Would that be okay, Helen?” Helen just shrugged again.
Ruthie got up and went to the bottom of the stairs. “Fannie,” she called out, “would you come downstairs, please? You have a visitor.”
Fannie came to the top of the stairs with Millie right behind her. Ruthie said, “Millie, please stay upstairs for now. I’ll call you down in a few minutes.”
Fannie came down and saw who her visitor was. “Hi,” she said to Helen without emotion.
“Hi,” Helen said exactly the same way.
Fannie the said to her friend, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Millie before you saw her. I mean, I told you about her being my sister, but I forgot to tell you that she’s crippled.”
Neither Helen nor her mother were expecting an apology from Fannie. Helen didn’t know what to say. Mrs. Snyder prompted her. “Helen, what do you say to someone when they apologize to you?”
“I’m very sorry, too,” Helen sheepishly replied to Fannie, “for behaving as I did and running away like that.”
Mrs. Snyder then said to one in particular, “That wasn’t exactly the response I was looking for, but it’ll do.”
After an awkward pause, Ruthie suggested, “How about if I call Millie down now?” Without waiting for an answer, she went to the bottom of the stairs and called for her. “Millie, dear, would you come downstairs now, please?”
Millie descended the stairs the only way she could, reaching down to the next step with one hand and then lowering herself and sitting on that step while she brought the other arm down from the step above to the next step below. It was slow and clunky, but it worked.
Ruthie stood at the bottom of the stairs and waited as Millie did that. When she reached the bottom, Ruthie whispered to her, “Please don’t go up to Helen or her mother. Stay with me, please.” She returned to the parlor with her daughter and sat down. Millie climbed up onto the furniture and sat next to her and smiled at the two guests. Helen and her mother couldn’t help but stare as they watched her walk across the room on her hands and climb up onto the chair. Millie then pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and wiped off her hands.
Ruthie then addressed her daughter, “Millie, I believe you’ve met Fannie’s friend Helen, but haven’t been introduced to her yet. The lady with her is her mother, Mrs. Snyder.” She then turned to her guests. “Mrs. Snyder, Helen, this is my daughter, Millie.” Each of the three said a polite ‘hello’ to each other.
Mrs. Snyder then said, “It’s very nice to meet you, Millie… isn’t it, Helen?”
Helen didn’t think it was nice at all, but she knew she’d be reprimanded if she said anything to the contrary. “Yes, ma’am,” she mumbled to her mother.
Mrs. Snyder didn’t find that response acceptable, either. “Don’t say it to me; say it Millie.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Millie,” Helen parroted without any emotion or enthusiasm in her voice.
“It’s very nice to meet both of you, too,” Millie replied politely.
Mrs. Snyder then said to her, “Helen has something else she’d like to say to you, Millie.” Everyone in the room then looked expectantly at Helen, making her feel very much put on the spot.
Helen looked down at her lap and mumbled. “I’m sorry for my atrocious behavior earlier. I was very rude toward you. I was just frightened; that’s all.”
Mrs. Snyder corrected her. “Please repeat what you said, Helen, but this time, look at Millie and say it louder.” She then whispered, “And please leave out that last part.”
Helen looked at Millie and repeated, “I’m sorry for my atrocious behavior earlier. I was very rude toward you.”
“It’s all right,” replied Millie. “I’m not angry or anything.”
Fannie had been sitting there the whole time, listening to the others. She was seated close enough to Helen to hear her say she’d been frightened. She said to her friend, “There’s nothing to be afraid of, Helen. Millie is a very sweet girl, really. Why don’t I take you over to her so you can see?” Fannie got down from her seat, went over to Helen, and held out her hand.
Mrs. Snyder nudged her daughter. “Go on, Helen. It’ll be all right. I’m right here.” Helen gave her mother an uneasy look, but stood and took Fannie’s hand and allowed her to lead her to her sister.
“See?” said Fannie to Helen. “Millie’s not scary; she’s just a regular girl, except she doesn’t have legs.” Helen could see that for herself. Millie didn’t seem so bad when she was just sitting there like that.
Millie didn’t know what to make of all of this talk about her being frightening to Helen, and neither she nor Helen knew how to respond to what Fannie was saying. There was an awkward silence.
Ruthie spoke up. “Mrs. Snyder, would it be okay for Helen to have some cookies and milk?” She responded affirmatively. Ruthie then addressed her daughters. “Girls, why don’t you take Helen to the kitchen? Fannie, please be the hostess and get the cookies and milk for the other girls.” Fannie, still holding Helen’s hand, led her to the kitchen, and Millie followed behind.
Once the girls had left the room, Mrs. Snyder got up and sat closer to Ruthie so she could speak softly and not be overheard by the girls in the kitchen. “Thank you for letting us intrude on your afternoon like this,” she said. “I thought it was important for Helen to learn that cripples are not something to be feared, and that they have feelings that can be hurt just like the rest of us.”
“I must admit,” replied Ruthie, “you seem to not be fazed at all by Millie’s condition or appearance. I can’t say that about very many people.”
“I was a nurse for the Army during the war,” Mrs. Snyder explained. “I saw all sorts of horrible injuries, and got to know some of the injured soldiers. Almost all of them were still adjusting to their loss and were very discouraged and afraid that they had no future worth living. It was up to me and the other nurses to be cheerful and positive in the face of that, for their sakes.
“Seeing Millie is a breath of fresh air after that experience. She seems pleasant and cheerful in spite of her condition, no doubt because she’s always been that way, and also because she obviously has a supportive family. I’m sure Helen was frightened when she saw Millie walking on her hands, but I find it inspiring. She’s figured out her own way to get around and keep up with the other children. Those soldiers could learn a lot from her; they usually weren’t interested in learning new ways to do things and preferred to sit and sulk.”
Mrs. Snyder changed the subject. “I’m surprised you don’t have Millie in a crippled children’s home.”
“People have been urging us to put her in one ever since she was born,” replied Ruthie. “We looked into doing that and realized that it was the worst possible choice we could have made for Millie. They don’t allow visitors and are very secretive, but we concluded from things we’d heard that the conditions are abhorrent, the staff is abusive towards the children, and they’re basically just left there to rot.
“Such places are a convenient solution if you resent having a crippled child and want to pretend you don’t, but Mr. Duncan and I love Millie dearly and want only the best for her. We want to give her every advantage in life we can, to offset the huge disadvantage she was born with and will always have.”
“I had no idea. Are you seeing that she gets a proper education, then?” Mrs. Snyder asked.
“That’s another way we’ve rejected the advice we’ve been given,” Ruthie replied. “People tell us it’s a waste to educate her because she’ll never amount to anything and will always be a burden. If she doesn’t get an education, that’s guaranteed to come true. But we feel just the opposite; it would be a waste to not educate her and allow her to live up to her full potential. It turns out that she’s quite bright and learning comes easily to her, so who knows what that potential might be?”
“So what are you doing then? I know regular schools don’t take crippled children.”
“I think it’s criminal that they don’t. There’s no reason she can’t be in a regular classroom with able-bodied children. It’s a completely arbitrary policy. Anyway, my mother was a schoolteacher before she had children. She’s now tutoring Millie and making sure she’s learning everything she would in school.
“Millie is supposed to be in first grade now, but my mother tells me she already knows most of the first grade curriculum, and she’ll probably have her start doing second grade work very soon. Last year when Fannie was in first grade, she’d come home and teach Millie everything she’d learned that day. She did that almost every school day without fail.” Ruthie started becoming emotional as she told the story. “It just makes me so proud of both of them!”
Just then the three girls returned to the parlor. “Mommy, may Helen come up to our room with us to play?” Fannie asked.
“Did you put the milk back in the icebox and clean up the cookie crumbs?” Ruthie asked. Fannie confirmed that she had. “Then it’s up to her mother, but it’s fine with me,” Ruthie replied.
The three girls turned their attention to Mrs. Snyder. “Helen,” she said to her daughter, “I’m going to go home now and start preparing dinner. You may stay here and play if you wish, or come home with me now. It’s up to you.”
“I’d like to stay, please,” Helen replied.
“All right, then. I want you to be on your best behavior and use your manners. Mrs. Duncan will let you know when she’d like you to go home, but no later than five o’clock, if she doesn’t mind watching the time for you.” Ruthie nodded and smiled to indicate that she’d do so.
“Thank you, Mother; thank you Mrs. Duncan,” Helen said, and the girls all headed upstairs together.
“If this goes well, and I’m sure it will, then your daughters are welcome to come and play with Helen anytime they want, assuming you’re agreeable,” Mrs. Snyder said to Ruthie, who smiled at the open invitation. “By the way, please call me Mabel,” she added as an afterthought, as she stood to leave.
“Thank you, Mabel,” Ruthie replied. “I’m glad you came over. It was a pleasure to meet you. And please call me Ruth from now on.”
Chapter 5 – Preparing Millie
That evening when Ruthie was tucking her girls into bed, Millie asked her a question, “Mommy, why was Helen so frightened when she first saw me? I’m just a little girl,” she said, implying that little girls were the least scary thing in the world.
“Helen had never seen someone without legs before, and she was just confused; that’s all,” Ruthie replied, trying to downplay the incident. She didn’t want to tell her daughter it was obvious that Helen had thought she was a monster. Ruthie continued. “But then she came back and everything was fine. I’m glad you were able to make friends with her.”
“I’m glad, too,” said Millie. “She was nice after that, and we had fun playing.”
Ruthie decided to make this a teaching moment for her legless little girl. “Millie, honey, there’s something important you need to know. Most people have never seen someone without legs before, especially a girl who walks on her hands like you do.
“When people see you for the first time, they’re going to have all kinds of different reactions to you. Sometimes they’ll be pleasant like Mrs. Snyder was. Sometimes they’ll be frightened like Helen was. They might stare at you. They might not want to be your friend. They might say you’re not allowed to do something everyone else is doing. They might call you ugly names or say mean things to you. It’s possible they might even try to hurt you.
“Sometimes when people react badly to you, you’ll be able to get them to be nice by being nice to them first, just like you did with Helen today. By the way, Fannie, I’m proud of you for showing Helen that there was nothing to be afraid of. Millie, if Fannie’s not around you might have to do that yourself – show them that there’s nothing to be afraid of.
“I wish all of this weren’t true, but it is, and you need to be prepared for it. Sometimes you’re going to have to work extra hard to get people to like you. But you’re a sweet girl, and I know you’ll be able to do it more often than not.”
Both girls were crying now, hearing about how people might be mean toward Millie, just because she was crippled. “Mommy, I don’t want people to be ugly to Millie,” said Fannie through her tears.
“Of course not, dear. I don’t want that either, but it’s going to happen anyway. When you see it happening, it’s your job as the big sister to try to stop it. Help them to understand that there’s no reason to treat Millie any different than anyone else, just like you did today with Helen.
“By the way,” Ruthie said, changing the subject to something more positive, “Mrs. Snyder told me that you’re both welcome to come and play with Helen at her house anytime. That is, if you get permission from your father or me first, of course.”
From that day on, Fannie was always careful to prepare her friends ahead of meeting Millie for the first time, and there was never a repeat of the incident involving Helen. Sometimes, after hearing about Millie, her friends would decline any invitations to come home with Fannie; sometimes they’d come and have a positive experience and wouldn’t hesitate to come again, but often they’d come once and never return.
Millie’s older brother Jackie also discovered his friends reacted better to Millie if he prepared them before meeting her the first time; however, they were less likely to try to avoid her than Fannie’s friends were.
One evening there was a knock at the door. John answered it, and on his front porch were three men roughly his age. “Mr. Duncan?” one of them inquired. He was apparently the leader or spokesman for the group, because he did all the talking.
“Yes?” John replied.
“We’re fathers of some of your children’s classmates. May we have a word with you, please?”
“Certainly. Please come in, gentlemen,” said John to his peers.
“If you don’t mind, we’d rather stay out here on the porch.”
“Suit yourself,” John responded, now really starting to wonder what this was all about. He stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind him. “What can I do for you?”
“I’ll get right to the point. Your children are in the habit of inviting their classmates to come here to play. We would like you to put a stop to that before something bad happens.”
“Yes, they do invite their friends here, just like your children invite their friends to your homes, I’m sure. But how is that a problem, and what are you implying by ‘before something bad happens’? Your children are quite safe here, I assure you.”
“You also have a crippled child who lives here, right?”
“Yes, but what difference does that make?”
“As I’m sure you’re aware, there’s been an outbreak of polio in this city as of late. We’ve already forbidden our children to play with yours, but we’re concerned that some other unsuspecting child may come here and catch something.”
John couldn’t believe his ears. “You think my crippled daughter has polio and is contagious? Nothing could be further from the truth, gentlemen. She was born the way she is, her disability is not a kind that can even be caused by polio, and no one here has ever had polio. God willing, they never will.”
“Nevertheless, allowing children to come here to play is reckless. They’ll get the impression that it’s safe to be around cripples. Why haven’t you put her in a home, anyway?”
“First of all, the decisions I make for my family are not your business. Second, you’re obviously woefully ignorant about polio. Polio causes people to become crippled, yes, but they’re contagious before they get to that point, or when they’re in the hospital. They wouldn’t be released from the hospital if they were still contagious, so you have nothing to fear from any crippled person any more than you have to fear from an able-bodied person. Perhaps less so – I don’t think it’s possible to catch polio a second time.
“It’s people like you who make my daughter’s life a constant battle, much more than it needs to be. It’s hard enough for her because of her handicap, but then she also has to constantly contend with fear and prejudice as well. I can only shield her so much from that. She’s a sweet, delightful little girl, completely normal except for one thing, and you’re teaching your children that she is to be feared and avoided; someone who should be put away, kept out of sight. She has as much of a right to live with her family and have friends and be out in public as any of your children, and you’re wanting to deny her all of that.
“I hope you’ll go home and think hard about what I’ve said,” John said in conclusion. “Do the right thing. Teach your children to be compassionate toward the less fortunate. Good night, gentlemen.”
John went back inside, clearly agitated about the conversation he’d just had. Ruthie asked, “Who was that at the door, dear?”
“Oh, just some local ignoramuses who thought Millie has and is spreading polio, that’s all. I gave them a piece of my mind and sent them packing.”
A short time later, there was another knock at the door. John, still agitated, said “Now what?” to no one in particular and got up to answer it. Standing there was one of the men whom he’d just schooled about polio and disability, one who’d stood in the back and said nothing. Before John could think of something to say, the man spoke.
“I’m sorry to disturb you again, Mr. Duncan, but I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier, and you’re absolutely right. I apologize for having been a part of that. I’ll have a talk with my children and tell them what you said. I’ll also encourage them to play with your children and come here if invited. Thank you for setting me straight. By the way, my name is Gardner, Lou Gardner. My boy Dickie is in your son’s class.”
Dickie became a frequent visitor to the Duncan home after that. Before long, he and Jackie were best friends and were practically inseparable. Dickie also got along famously with both Fannie and Millie. He didn’t think anything of her missing legs; to him, she was just another kid. Millie somehow sensed this without being conscious of it; all she knew was that she felt very much at ease around Dickie.
Fannie and Millie did go to Helen’s house to play fairly often. Fannie would pull Millie in the children’s little red wagon. They had one street to cross, and of course curb cutouts weren’t a thing yet, but there were a couple of strategically located driveways across from each other that they could use instead. Their parents stressed the need to only cross when there were no cars coming since Fannie couldn’t run as fast pulling the wagon if they had to get out of the street quickly.
Millie being out in public like that, traveling between the two houses, helped her to gradually make friends with some of the other neighbor children who weren’t classmates of her siblings. They were usually wary of her and asked lots questions at first, but most of them warmed up to her pretty readily.