Vaccines, pediatric medicine transformed childhood

 

Childhood Diseases and a Pediatrician

Larry Coffin    Journal Opinion 11/19/2025

Some of us grew up with a myriad of childhood diseases. We understood that highly contagious illnesses, such as mumps, measles, German measles, whooping cough, flu, and polio were both epidemic and endemic.

Our parents understood that a sick child at school could spread, infecting other children and adults.

I have recently written about six family physicians and two nurses.  These articles can be found on my blog at larrycoffin.blogspot.com and in the archives of the Journal Opinion.

This column continues to explore local health care by surveying history of childhood diseases in the area as well as the career of pediatrician, Dr. Mark Harris.

Before 1850, there were several deadly regional epidemics of spotted fever, lung fever, erysipelas, as well as regular outbreaks of influenza, affecting residents of all ages.

Another often deadly disease was tetanus or lockjaw. It is caused by bacteria entering through a wound. Before the development of a vaccine in the late 1940s, it had a 25 percent fatality rate. While common among soldiers, the rough-and- tumble activities of children made them vulnerable as well.

 Because tetanus was not contagious, it received less attention from both newspaper editors and public health officials alike.  

All of the diseases described below have some common characteristics. While adult cases were normal, cases in younger children were especially serious or severe.

Smallpox struck down old and young alike. It was “one of the most terrifying and deadly scourges known to man.” It is also one of the earliest examples of inoculation limiting its spread. prevention. As early as 1803, a doctor in Orford inoculated against smallpox.

By the early 20th century, the only outbreaks of smallpox in the two states were of a mild variety and were quickly contained by vaccinations.

 In 1921, children entering school in New Hampshire were required to have mandatory vaccinations for smallpox. By midcentury, smallpox was eradicated in the United States.

Diphtheria was a major cause of illness and death among children. During the great “throat distemper” epidemic of 1735, at least one town in southern New Hampshire lost one-third of its children to the disease. 

In the nineteenth century, diphtheria outbreaks were common. Between 1858 and 1865, there were 366 deaths from the disease in Orange County and 482 in Caledonia.

Advertisements promoted “celebrated,” but ineffective, diphtheria remedies were common.

A diphtheria vaccine became available in the 1920s and local inoculation clinics were held.

Mumps is another highly contagious disease that is characterized by swelling of the salivary glands, fever, and body aches. In rare cases, it can cause inflammation of the brain, infertility, and hearing loss. Prior to a vaccine, most children experienced the disease.

The United Opinion reported local outbreaks of mumps especially before 1970. In 1889, mumps were widespread in all area communities. During a 1906 outbreak in Vermont, there were over one hundred cases or more in some communities.

 In 1921, the newspaper alluded to one outbreak: “The Newbury New Year’s Ball has left a lasting impression on several who attended it, as their swollen chops testify.” There were other local epidemics in 1936 and 1952.

In 1967 a vaccine became available and immunization led to a decline in the number of cases. There were still outbreaks in West Fairlee, Thetford, and Corinth in 1968-9. 

Measles was another widespread viral disease, characterized by fever and rash. It was generally considered a disease of childhood. Complications could lead to severe and lasting outcomes, especially in adults.

Local health officials quarantined some households experiencing mumps or other contagious diseases with a warning sign posted on the house. In Groton, during a 1915 mumps epidemic, “about every other house in the village is ornamented with a red card.”

Pertussis or whooping cough is a highly contagious disease that is especially dangerous to young children. It gets its name from “short expiratory bursts of dry, non-productive cough followed by a long gasp.”

The following notice appeared in the Green Mountain Patriot in June 1806. “Died at Ryegate, of the Whooping Cough, on Tuesday evening last, Susan, a child of Mr. Robert Whitelaw, aged 18 months.”

In 1872, the United Opinion reported the following Vershire news: “Measles and whooping cough are all around town, and in fact, through the whole vicinity. Some with both at once or one immediately following the other have died.”

The traditional treatment was to let the disease run its course. Another was “a blister of onion juice applied to the back of the neck”

In 1905, local pharmacies were offering Weeks’ Magic Compound to deal with the symptoms of an outbreak. “It is pleasant to the taste, yet so active in its results. It truly works like magic.” It usually didn’t work.   

Scarlet fever is characterized by rash, swollen glands and fever. It is very contagious and particularly fatal to young children.

The first newspaper notice of a death from the fever was of a young Bradford child in 1846.

In the 1850s, there were extensive cases of scarlet fever  throughout the region. In the late 1880s, it became evident that unpasteurized milk could transmit the bacteria that caused the disease. 

The disease was so contagious that even a single case would cause schools to close. Those affected were quarantined.

A major outbreak in New England in the 1930s was attributed to raw milk. The rise of pasteurized milk and antibiotics reduced the number of cases. After 1951, only a few cases were reported locally.     

Another extremely common disease that was considered “a rite of passage” for children was chickenpox. Nearly all children suffered from its blister-like rash, itching, and fever.

The disease was the last major childhood disease for which there was no widely available protection. From the 1890s to the 1960s, newspapers frequently reported the plight of those afflicted with chickenpox.

In 1895, 1910, and 1920-23, reports of widespread infections caused closed schools. Even before the introduction of a vaccine in 1995, the number of cases had diminished.

Prior to the introduction of a vaccine in 1969, outbreaks of rubella or German measles was also endemic and epidemic in the area.

Newspapers often referred to households “entertaining” the disease. The disease has symptoms similar to those of regular measles, but usually less serious.

In 1894, many West Fairlee children were ill with German measles. During the 1925-26 outbreak at least one month saw over 600 cases in Vermont. In 1943, when it “raised havoc with school attendance” in Orfordville. And in 1964 when a nation-wide epidemic found its way to the area.

In 1981, an outbreak of the disease occurred in Wentworth and its neighboring towns. 

The first polio epidemic in the nation was in Rutland in August 1894. For those who survived, it meant deformed limbs, braces, crutches, wheelchairs, and, after 1938, breathing devices like the iron lung.

Between 1891 and 1925, approximately 800 cases were reported annually in Vermont. In the years that followed, increases in the number of cases led to the cancellation of public gatherings. 

Between 1935 and1938, outbreaks caused similar closures. In the years that followed, the number of annual national cases increased from 11,000 to 33,000.

 In the 1952 outbreak in New Hampshire, there were 95 cases and 10 deaths. 

After 1954, Salk vaccine clinics began to reduce the number of cases, and, by 1961, there were only 161 cases in America.   

In March 1978, one of several clinics was held in Woodsville offering immunity shots against measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, and tests for TB.

The Journal Opinion notice stated, “These diseases can only be prevented and kept in control through a series of immunizations that every child should receive.”

The physicians covered in previous columns dealt with these childhood diseases as part of their family practices, but none were specialists.  It would not be until the arrival of Dr. Mark Harris that dedicated pediatrics services were available.

Harris grew up in Maryland and, using the example of his own wonderful childhood pediatrician, was drawn to pediatrics. After graduating from Georgetown University Medical College, he interned at Dartmouth Hitchcock, completing in June 1977.  

In 1977, Bradford found itself without a family doctor. The local area within a 30-mile radius was without a pediatrician.

So Harris came to Bradford with the intension of filling both those voids. 

Harris told the Journal Opinion in 2017, “We thought we could offer something that Hitchcock couldn’t in terms of better access to care and we could see patients more quickly, that we could give them more time.”

“And that we would know the people from the community because we also lived in the community. We could also be less expensive and more personal than Hitchcock.”

I am including information from newspaper articles, interviews with Harris, with his long-time nurse and office manager Carol Reed, as well as Nancy Foote, Lisa Jensen, and Lynne Chow who worked with him as Nurse Practitioners for up to 30 years.

The nurse practitioners summed up Dr. Harris’ “dedication and commitment to the healthcare of the Upper Valley pediatric community as deep and heartfelt

His approach was based on a “medical home” model, an “approach to providing comprehensive primary care that facilitates partnerships between patients, clinicians, medical staff, and families.”

Harris opened his first office on South Pleasant Street in Bradford and, in 1980, relocated to the Upper Plain where established Upper Valley Pediatrics.

His wife Joan, a nurse practitioner, played an important role in the practice.

The office was open six days a week, “but he treated many patients at his kitchen table on nights and weekends rather than sending them to the emergency room.” 

One of the key features of the practice was its focus on mental health. It operated on a “co-location model” providing both physical and mental health services.  Counselors were hired beginning in the mid-1990s, “long before that aspect of care became part of the standard.”

In 1993, the American Academy of Pediatrics awarded Harris a $10,000 national planning grant. The purpose of the grant was to establish a program to track access to health care for young children in adjacent Grafton County towns. 

In addition to treating young patients, Harris was very involved in the education of medical students and residents, “many of whom become lifelong friends.”

 By 1994, the UVP had become the only local medical office with a nighttime answer service and one of the few that still made house calls.

Harris also provided care for up to 14 area summer camps “so that campers away from home were not taken to emergency rooms, but seen by Dr. Harris.”  He worked community at blood drives and immunization clinics.

He also worked with local schools “advocating for parents and students in getting the services needed.” He spoke strongly in favor of services for students with special health needs.   

Not all of his impact took place in the Upper Valley. Up to six times, he traveled to China to help American families adopt a Chinese child.

 In later years, he and his wife Joan spent a winter break in Hawaii. There Harris became affiliated with a local medical practice and also answered calls from his UVP patients.  

Dr. Harris played a role in community affairs, serving on the Orford school board for five years. During his tenure, a new elementary school was built.

An avid fan of professional sports, he coached Little League and youth basketball in both Orford and Bradford and was President of Bradford Youth Sports.

At a meeting in 1987 to consider a memorial for Elizabeth Claflin, Harris suggested “Why not a big park?”  The resulting Elizabeth’s Park remains a Bradford landmark.

In 2012, in recognition of his role in the area community, Harris was named, along with Bradford’s Nancy Jones, as Co-Citizen of the Year by the Cohase Chamber of Commerce.  

By 2015, the UVP practice had grown to employ about 20 people and had offices in both Bradford and East Thetford.

That year, Harris turned over the operation of the UVP to others on the staff. He continued seeing patients until retiring in 2017. The loss of his wife in 2014 played a significant part in these decisions. 

Today. Harris lives in Ohio near his daughter Kate’s family. His other daughter Kyra lives in Massachusetts. Chauffeuring his grandchildren is a treasured activity. 

Over the past few years I have had a number of conversations with Mark. He frequently recalled in detail patients he treated decades before. Our two daughters were among them. He took great joy in seeing his patients grow up and often welcomed their children for treatment. 

The three nurse practitioners summed up Dr. Mark Harris career.” He is still widely loved and respected by colleagues, by his employees, by the community, and most importantly, by his patients and their families.”