Obituary of WALTER B. NEW and MASCAL NEW, LaSalle Parish, Louisiana

Copied and Submitted by: Doug McBroom, 902 Kilgore Court, Allen, TX, 75013

From The Jena Times - Olla Tullos Signal; Jena, LaSalle Parish, La.  
Microfilm at the LaSalle Parish Library located in Jena, LaSalle Parish, La.

Many Thanks to The Times - Signal and to the LaSalle Parish Library for 
allowing the following to be added to the Archives.





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Date:  August 1, 1935, Thursday

Headline:  Paralysis Victims Laid to Rest on Wednesday as Precautions Taken
Sub-Headline: Caddo Parish Coroner Pronounces Death of New Child as Positive 
Infantile Paralysis; Two are Victims of Dreaded Disease in One Family

An autopsy performed by Dr. Willis P. Butler, Caddo Parish Coroner, on the 
body of Walter B. New, 10 year old Jena boy, Tuesday, revealed that the child 
had died from infantile paralysis.  He was conveyed to the Charity Hospital 
in Shreveport Monday night and his death came around two o'clock Tuesday 
morning.  His sisters, Mascal New, aged 6, passed away at 6:40 o'clock Monday 
evening at the family home here, presumable from the same disease.

Both were children of Mrs. Amanda New, 42, a client of the Mother's Aid Fund, 
which is derived from the one cent parish gasoline tax.  The children were 
buried privately at Harrisonburg Wednesday.
 
Lillie Pearl New, 16, and Henry New, 14, brother and sister of the dead 
children were conveyed to the hospital in Shreveport Tuesday afternoon where 
they will undergo treatment.  Neither seemed to be suffering to any great 
extent from the dreaded disease, but local physicians thought it best that 
they be sent to Shreveport for observation and possible to lend some aid to 
the Shreveport coroner in his efforts to completely and properly diagnose the 
case.

Several of the local physicians called in on the cases state that all four of 
the children suffered from malnutrition and hookworms, although they did not 
seem to think that these ailments were the actual cause of the infantile 
paralysis.  

Up until a short time ago, the family had been living in an improvised house 
in North Jena made from galvanized tin.  They later moved into a house near 
the J. B. Parker residence and had been receiving assistance from Mother's 
Aid Fund, Missionary Societies, and the town people at large.  The youngest 
child had been sick for three or four days but it was not thought that her 
condition was serious.  Mrs. Bertha Campbell, director of the Mother's Aid 
Fund, furnished a physician and everything was done to save the two from 
death, without avail.

Dr. J. M. Kittrell, acting health director in the absence of Dr. E. L. 
Miller, was called in by physicians working on the case.  After the two 
deaths and the diagnosis of the cases, he ordered a private funeral for 
Mascal New and quarantined the house until such a time as will be necessary 
to eradicate it from any signs of the disease.  Dr. Kittrell also ordered all 
other precautionary methods used to prevent a spread or reoccurrence of the 
disease in this section and notified Dr. J. A. Coleman, of the state health 
administration, who was expected to come to Jena Tuesday afternoon and take 
charge of the health work until the arrival of Dr. Miller, who is in El Paso, 
Texas, on his annual vacation.