08/14/2026
REMEMBERING CAROL
Even before she contracted polio at age seven, it would be incorrect to say that Carol Hicks was ever “an ordinary girl.” Her elementary school classmates vividly remember her as being exceptionally smart, active, happy, friendly, fun-loving, and inquisitive, a remarkable jewel in a remarkable class in a remarkable school system.
Significantly, Carol’s disability served as a catalyst to bring the people of Wapakoneta and Auglaize County closer together. Her photo was seen often in the Wapakoneta and Lima newspapers. There were numerous “drives” to collect money for polio victims and research. Carol herself did whatever she could to raise funds for polio research. A small booklet of Carol’s writings (Morning, Noon, and Night) was sold in 1954 to raise money for the emergency polio fund, raising $520 - equal to $6,029 in 2026 dollars.
She received other publicity, too. Carol was featured in at least one movie and two books, and she was the subject of dozens (possibly hundreds) of articles and radio and television spots.
Friends, classmates, and even strangers helped the Hicks family financially to be able to provide for Carol’s care when she was finally able to go home from her long hospitalization.
In spite of her paralysis, Carol was forever active. Her viewpoints were known to both State and Federal representatives. She maintained active contact with a number of elected officials. When U.S. Congressman Tennyson Guyer made a campaign stop at the Auglaize County Fair, Carol sought him out to discuss issues. When U.S Senator Frank Lausche (former and future governor) visited Wapakoneta, he made a specific side trip to drop in on Carol to discuss topics of mutual interest. She also corresponded with a variety of individuals on at least four continents and in many states, always serving as a wonderful ambassador for the community. Anyone who read Carol’s descriptions of the first tulip bloom of the season or the excitement of a ball game had to be impressed by Wapakoneta as being the perfect small town.
Carol was not expected to survive the early days of her disease. She did. She was not expected to ever be able to survive outside of her iron lung. She learned to breathe. Even then, her lifespan was expected to be very short. Iron lungs became fewer and fewer through the years as the polio survivors died. One of Carol’s companions noted that the man who maintained iron lungs (when Carol was 30+ years old) said that he only had three machines left to service, two in Ohio and one in Kentucky. She lived to age 41.
Taken from the 2012 nomination form for Wapakoneta City Schools Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Award.
