Your Story Hour

Uncle Jon: G’day, mates!

Aunt Nikki: What’s with the accent, Uncle Jon? Are you planning a trip to Australia?

Uncle Jon: Why yes, I am, Aunt Nikki. Today we're going to visit the vast land of Australia in stories about two extraordinary women.

Aunt Nikki: And just who are these extraordinary women?

Uncle Jon: Well, one was born in Australia and traveled to the United States on her special mission. And the other was born in the United States and traveled to Australia on her path to fame.

Aunt Nikki: You've piqued my interest.

Uncle Jon: I hope I've piqued everyone's interest. So let's go ahead and listen as Aunt Carole tells us about Rags and Running Shoes.

Aunt Carole: On September 20, 1880, Elizabeth Kenny was born on a farm in a remote village in Australia. It was a hard time for farmers. After several years of failed crops on their farm in New South Wales, the Kenny family moved to the Hedington Hill Ranch in Queensland, where things were better.

In those days, country schools only went to about the sixth grade. But Eliza, as her family called her, didn't stop learning. She was always grabbing a book and riding out into the bush to read.

Mrs. Kenny: Eliza!

Eliza Kenny: Yes, Mommy?

Mrs. Kenny: Be home by dinner time! You're a wild one, always riding bareback through the bush. But even a wild thing like you needs to eat.

Eliza Kenny: All right, Mommy! Yah! I'm not a wild thing, am I, Thunderbolt? Of course I'm not. I just love reading and I love being outdoors. No, Thunderbolt! Oh, I'm slipping! No!

Aunt Carole: Well, Mrs. Kenny, you were right to bring your daughter to the Toowoomba Hospital. Eliza has a broken wrist and I’ll need to watch over her for several weeks as her wrist heals.

Mrs. Kenny: But we live 40 miles away!

Dr. McDonald: Don't worry, Mrs. Kenny. Eliza can stay in my home. My wife won't mind, and Eliza can amuse herself reading the books in my library.

Eliza Kenny: Books? May I stay with Dr. McDonald, Mommy? Please?

Mrs. Kenny: Well then, I guess it’s settled.

Aunt Carole: Through studying Dr. McDonald's medical books, Eliza developed a love for learning about the human body. Every afternoon she played with the skeleton hanging in the corner. Time flew, and soon her wrist had healed and she was back at home.

One day, Eliza leapt onto Thunderbolt and galloped back to Toowoomba to get Dr. McDonald's advice on a different issue.

Dr. McDonald: Why hello, Eliza! How’s your wrist?

Eliza Kenny: Just fine, Dr. McDonald. I actually came to talk with you about my brother, Willie.

Dr. McDonald: Oh?

Eliza Kenny: His schoolmates are always picking on him because he’s so weak. And I thought maybe one of your books could tell me how to make his muscle strong.

Dr. McDonald: Hmm. Yes, I think this book might do the trick. It’s about human anatomy and how muscles work. Why don't you take it home with you?

Eliza Kenny: Really, Dr. McDonald? Thank you!

Aunt Carole: Eliza pored over the anatomy book and then she started making a surprise for Willie.

Eliza Kenny: There, my skeleton is complete. These leftover pieces of lumber I’ve strung together don't look as nice as Dr. McDonald's real skeleton, but it’ll do. I'll just tie a ribbon here to represent the bicep. And if I attach a rope to the bicep, I can pull on it and make the arm move. Perfect! Soon my skeleton will be covered with moving muscles.

Close your eyes, Willie. I'll take your hand and guide you to your surprise.

Willie: Okay.

Eliza Kenny: Now open your eyes!

Willie: Wow! A wooden skeleton? You made this?

Eliza Kenny: Yes! And it'll help you learn how your muscles work so we can make you big and strong.

Aunt Carole: With Eliza's help, Willie did become strong, and Eliza discovered that she loved helping people. So some years later, when she was 27 and Dr. McDonald suggested that she become a nurse, Elizabeth packed her bags and headed to a clinic in Guyra, New South Wales.

In those days, nurses didn't need a degree. And after two years, Elizabeth had learned everything the clinic could teach her. So she commissioned a tailor to sew a red cape and nurse's uniform and started helping the poor bush families near her parents’ home.

Nurse Kenny: Mrs. McNeill, you’ve born a beautiful baby girl. She’s perfect.

Mrs. McNeill: I’m going to call you Amy, little one. How can I ever thank you, Nurse Kenny? We’re so poor.

Nurse Kenny: Oh, I never accept money, Mrs. McNeill. Just whatever the farm can spare: fresh eggs or meat pie. And next time I visit, I hope to see a happy, healthy little girl.

Aunt Carole: However, a couple of years later, Nurse Kenny received a frantic summons to the McNeill farm.

Mrs. McNeill: Nurse Kenny, thank you for coming! It’s our Amy! Poor thing, her arms and legs are twisted and tight!

Mr. McNeill: And she has a high fever. I've never seen anything like it. I'll run into town and send a telegram to Dr. McDonald to see what treatment he suggests.

Eliza Kenny: Finally, here’s Dr. McDonald's reply: Infantile paralysis. Nothing can be done. Treat symptoms as best you can. But I have to think of something. I can't just give up, even if it is polio.

Amy’s muscles are so tight. But heat relaxes muscles. I know! Mrs. McNeill, do you have any spare rags?

Mrs. McNeill: No, but we can make some by ripping this wool blanket into strips.

Nurse Kenny: And I'll put a kettle of water on to boil. Then we can soak the rags. This rag is nice and wet now. If you twist that end, I'll twist this end, and we can wring all of the hot water back into the kettle. Perfect! And now that it’s cooled a bit, I'll wrap the hot wool around Amy's twisted leg and let the heat seep into her muscles.

Mrs. McNeill: Look, she’s fallen asleep.

Aunt Carole: When Amy awoke, she declared...

Amy: I want them rags!

Nurse Kenny: Coming right up! And when your muscles are warm and relaxed, I'll massage them and help you exercise to keep strong.

Aunt Carole: Gradually Amy's arms and legs became strong again. Five more children in the area contracted polio, and all of them also recovered under Nurse Kenny's loving care. Sadly, children around the world were becoming paralyzed. Nurse Kenny wasn't surprised when she discovered the standard treatment was to immobilize polio patients with casts and splints.

Nurse Kenny: Well, of course people will become paralyzed if their tight, spasming muscles are encased in plaster. They're not getting heat for relaxing or exercises for strength.

Aunt Carole: Nurse Kenny vowed to put an end to immobilization. But in 1914, World War I disrupted her plans and she enlisted as a nurse in the Australian Army. Nurse Kenny served on hospital ships called dark ships because all the lights were switched off to prevent enemy attack.

By the time the Great War ended, she was promoted to Sister Kenny, meaning head nurse. And when more polio epidemics swept Australia in the 1930s, 50-year-old Sister Kenny again went to battle against the paralyzing disease.

Guest (Male): Sister Kenny, word has spread of the miraculous recovery of your polio patients. So I've arranged for you to present your treatment methods to doctors at the Brisbane General Hospital.

Sister Kenny: So, as you esteemed doctors can see, I'm massaging this young boy's arm.

Guest (Male): And that’s supposed to help with polio?

Sister Kenny: It’s obvious from the tightness in his arms that this boy is experiencing muscular spasm.

Guest (Male): Muscular spasm? Everyone knows his muscles are dead. And dead muscles can't spasm.

Sister Kenny: It only looks like his muscles are dead. Actually, they're stiff from being immobilized in a cast.

Guest (Male): This is hogwash! You aren't a professional. Only an ignorant nurse from the outback would say such things!

Aunt Carole: Even though the medical community scoffed at her, Sister Kenny didn't give up.

Sister Kenny: I've seen children walk again because of my method. I have to convince the doctors.

Aunt Carole: Sister Kenny published books about her method and trained professionals at several government-sponsored clinics in Queensland. Physicians who worked with her were astonished with the results, but the rest of the medical community refused to accept her success.

Guest (Male): Sister Kenny’s not a licensed massage therapist and therefore shouldn't be allowed to treat with massage.

Aunt Carole: In 1935, Queensland commissioned eight doctors to investigate Sister Kenny's methods. The 130-page report condemned Sister Kenny, stating that immobilization is essential in polio cases. Devastated, Sister Kenny looked for a solution.

Sister Kenny: I just don't see a way forward here in Australia. As the Good Lord said, they have ears but they hear not. I must go where the doctors will listen.

Aunt Carole: And that’s how at age 60, Sister Kenny arrived in the United States on April 14, 1940. The standard treatment of polio in the United States was immobilization. But doctors at the University of Minnesota were desperate to find something to counter the widespread panic caused by polio. They agreed to observe Sister Kenny while she treated one of their polio patients.

Sister Kenny: What’s your name, young man?

Jack Ruff: Jack Ruff, ma’am.

Sister Kenny: Well, Jack, first thing is to take off these casts. Mm-hmm. Just as I thought. Your shoulder’s so stiff that your arm is sticking straight out. But don't worry, I'll use hot packs to relax your deltoid muscle so we can exercise them.

Look at me, Sister Kenny! I can lift the barbell clear over my head!

Sister Kenny: Very good! So what do you think, Dr. Knapp?

Dr. Knapp: Amazing! I was skeptical when I heard you saying words like re-educating the muscles alienated because of spasm. But your results are undeniable. Will you stay here and work in the Minneapolis General Hospital?

Sister Kenny: Absolutely!

Aunt Carole: Sister Kenny threw her heart and soul into treating polio patients, and news of her success spread quickly. Before long she was criss-crossing the country to teach her methods to others and her popularity skyrocketed.

In 1943, Sister Kenny was invited to the White House to eat lunch with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. And in 1950, she tied with Eleanor Roosevelt as the most admired woman in America. But her biggest contribution was the transformation from despair Americans felt as they watched loved ones succumb to the crippling effects of polio into the hope of a full recovery.

Aunt Nikki: What a story, Uncle Jon!

Uncle Jon: And that’s just half of it, Aunt Nikki.

Aunt Nikki: That’s right! Earlier you said that we're going to hear about two extraordinary women. We've heard about Sister Kenny. Who’s the other?

Uncle Jon: I'll tell you in just a little bit. But right now, I want to remind all you moms and dads that every one of our stories about extraordinary men and women of courage and integrity has been produced because of the generosity of people like you.

Aunt Nikki: Absolutely. Since Your Story Hour isn't supported by any church or other organization, we rely on your donations to keep our stories on the air.

Uncle Jon: If you would like to donate today, please visit yourstoryhour.org or call our office at 800-987-7879. Thank you so much for your support.

Aunt Nikki: So, Uncle Jon, now will you tell me about the next hero in the second half of our story?

Uncle Jon: Yes, I will. She was an amazing athletic Black girl whose life was indirectly affected by Sister Kenny.

Aunt Nikki: Really?

Uncle Jon: Yes! Now I don't want to give away any spoilers, so let's get back to our story called Rags and Running Shoes.

Aunt Carole: Sixty-eight days after Sister Kenny arrived in the United States, a poor African-American family in Tennessee was facing a crisis.

Mrs. Rudolph: Oh no, my precious Wilma! She’s so tiny and barely breathing. Is she going to live, Dr. Coleman?

Dr. Coleman: I don't know, Mrs. Rudolph. Born eight weeks before her due date, even if she survives, she'll be weak and sickly.

Aunt Carole: You were right, Dr. Coleman. My poor Wilma’s been sick so many times over the last four years. Pneumonia, scarlet fever, measles, mumps, chicken pox, and now she has polio.

Dr. Coleman: I’m sorry, Mrs. Rudolph, but Wilma’s probably never going to walk again.

Aunt Carole: Mrs. Rudolph refused to accept that Wilma would be bedridden. Even though the family was poor, she purchased bus tickets and dragged Wilma to the Meharry Hospital in Nashville. Segregation was very much alive in Tennessee in the 1940s and the Meharry Hospital, 50 miles from their hometown of Clarksville, was the closest hospital that would treat African Americans.

Dr. Jackson: Mm. Polio has definitely weakened your left leg, Wilma. But I have good news. Are you brave?

Wilma Rudolph: Yes, sir.

Dr. Jackson: Then if you and your family work really hard, I think there’s a very good chance that you can walk normally.

Mrs. Rudolph: Truly, Dr. Jackson?

Dr. Jackson: Mm-hmm, I believe so, Mrs. Rudolph. Our hospital has started using a treatment developed by Sister Kenny and many of our polio patients are improving wondrously.

Mrs. Rudolph: Praise the Lord!

Dr. Jackson: We'll teach you how to continue her therapy at home by massaging her leg four times every day.

Mrs. Rudolph: Well, our family doesn't have a lot of money, but we do have a lot of hands for massaging.

Aunt Carole: Wilma's family was very large. In fact, she had 21 brothers and sisters. The massages didn't bother Wilma, but what did bother her were the steel brace and clunky brown shoes the hospital fitted her with when she was eight. Whenever Mama wasn't watching, Wilma took them off and practiced walking barefoot.

Wilma Rudolph: I need to get this brace off and my shoes. And now I can walk without the brace. I want to show all my friends. Sounds like they're playing with the ball. Hey, little sis! Look at you!

Wilma Rudolph: Yeah! I'm not wearing my brace. I'm carrying it!

Wesley: Great! So come on! See how Wesley's cutting the bottom out of that old peach basket? Mm-hmm. He’s going to tie the basket way up that pole and then we'll split into teams and play basketball.

Wilma Rudolph: I’m open! Pass me the ball! Uh-oh, Wilma! Mama’s coming! Quick, get your brace and shoes back on! Ugly braces, ugly old shoes. But when I grow up, I'm going to buy pretty colorful shoes and I'm going to play basketball too!

Aunt Carole: Wilma sneaked away to play basketball every day. The children played with any ball they got their hands on: beach balls, rubber balls, even tennis balls. And all of her playing without wearing her brace paid off. When she was nine and a half, Wilma proudly strode down the church aisle, publicly brace-free for the first time.

Guest (Male): Look at Wilma! No brace, walking tall and strong!

Aunt Carole: And when she was 12 years old, Wilma said goodbye to her brace and ugly brown shoes forever.

Wilma Rudolph: Shiny black leather shoes! Thank you, Mama!

Aunt Carole: Happily wearing her new shoes, Wilma tried out for girls' basketball and was ecstatic to make the team. Her enthusiasm slowly turned to dismay when she spent the whole year sitting on the bench. And the same thing happened the following year. But after basketball season was over, Coach Gray gave Wilma an opportunity that changed her life.

Coach Gray: Wilma, I'm starting a track team to keep all you girls in shape during the off season. You should join.

Wilma Rudolph: Great!

Coach Gray: Okay, when I say go, you girls race toward me. Ready? Set? Go!

Wilma Rudolph: I feel free! Like a butterfly! I won!

Coach Gray: Wow, Wilma, you’re fast! Are you surprised?

Wilma Rudolph: Oh yeah. You don't limp at all anymore! And with your long arms and legs, you look like a mosquito buzzing over the ground. I’m going to call you Skeeter from now on.

Wilma Rudolph: Okay, coach!

Aunt Carole: Skeeter won every race and confidently entered the Tuskegee track meet in Alabama. To her surprise, she wasn't fast enough and didn't qualify to run in the finals for a single race. Wilma vowed to train and do better next time. She also trained for basketball and this time happily left the bench to join her teammates on the court.

Guest (Male): Nice shot, Skeeter!

Aunt Carole: That season, Wilma scored 803 points, setting a new record for high school basketball. Her athleticism caught the attention of a man who refereed several of her games. And in 1956, Ed Temple recruited Wilma for his summer track program.

Ed Temple: You won't need to worry about Wilma, Mrs. Rudolph. I require all my girls to dress and act modestly, go to bed early, and attend church every week. And if Wilma races well, there’s a good chance Tennessee State University will offer her a scholarship when she’s done with high school.

Mrs. Rudolph: A scholarship? Imagine! Wilma could be the first in our family to ever go to college.

Aunt Carole: So it was settled. 16-year-old Wilma Rudolph would train with the Tigerbelles, the college track team at Tennessee State University.

Ed Temple: Girls, remember to act like a lady.

Wilma Rudolph: But run like crazy!

Ed Temple: Right! Now on your marks, set, go!

Wilma Rudolph: You’re fast!

Little May: Yeah, that’s why they call me Skeeter. And they call me Little May. You make running look easy, Little May.

Little May: Nah, I just know the techniques. See how you run with your hands clenched tight in a fist and pumping your arms like a windmill?

Wilma Rudolph: So I should relax my hands and arms like this?

Little May: You got it, Skeeter!

Aunt Carole: The Tigerbelles ran a six-mile course three times a day, rain or shine. They wore heavy basketball shoes instead of lightweight running shoes to strengthen their legs. Coach Temple also placed Wilma in a relay team that spent hours practicing handing off the baton. It didn't matter how fast they ran. If the baton dropped, they'd be automatically disqualified.

By the end of the summer, the Tigerbelles were in fantastic shape and Coach Temple piled them into a station wagon for the long drive to Seattle, Washington to attend the Olympic tryouts.

Wilma Rudolph: What’s the big deal about this Olympics thing?

Little May: You got to be kidding, Skeeter! You don't know about the Olympics? All the best athletes from around the world compete against each other.

Wilma Rudolph: Neat.

Little May: Yeah. Only the top three runners in each race qualify for the Olympic team. So at the tryout, you and I'll race against each other for a chance to go to the Olympics.

Wilma Rudolph: I don't want to race against you, Little May. You’re my friend.

Little May: Don't think of it as trying to beat me, but getting on the team. You stick with me in the race, you make the team.

Aunt Carole: Wilma stuck with Little May for the 200-meter race, and the two friends ran neck-to-neck crossing the finish line together. Soon thereafter, Wilma boarded her first plane headed to Melbourne, Australia.

Wilma Rudolph: I’ve never seen so many different-looking people. Look at all the shades of skin, eye color, hairstyles, and clothes! And the best part is there’s no segregation. We all eat and sleep in the same rooms. You'll see we'll be friends with the other runners.

Betty Cuthbert: G’day girls! I’m Betty Cuthbert, the Golden Girl. Who are you?

Little May: I’m Little May and this here’s Skeeter. Your running shoes are beautiful, Betty.

Betty Cuthbert: Thanks, mate. The kangaroo leather, super soft and light.

Aunt Carole: Betty Cuthbert's kangaroo shoes flew across the track field and Wilma watched as her new friend won three gold medals. And when Wilma's team got third place in the 400-meter relay, Wilma made a resolution.

Wilma Rudolph: This bronze medal isn't shiny like the gold one. But if I train hard enough, next time I'll come in first.

Aunt Carole: Over the next four years, Wilma trained hard. She received a work-study scholarship to Tennessee State University, and when she wasn't in class or working, she ran in the fields that surrounded the campus. By her sophomore year, Wilma was the tallest, strongest, and fastest runner in the Tigerbelles and was ready for the Olympic tryouts in Corpus Christi, Texas. She lined up next to her fellow Tigerbelles to compete in the 200-meter dash.

Wilma Rudolph: Ready for me to beat you, Skeeter?

Tigerbelle: Barbara, you can try.

Guest (Male): Winner of the 200-meter is Wilma Rudolph with 22.9 seconds.

Wilma Rudolph: I made the Olympic team, Coach!

Ed Temple: Doing all right, aren't you?

Wilma Rudolph: I guess so! How can you just sit there, Skeeter? You just set a world record! You're the fastest woman in the world!

Aunt Carole: As the tryouts progressed, it became clear that all the fastest women in America were Tigerbelles. So Coach Temple accompanied his girls to the 1960 Olympics in Rome. The day before their first race, the girls were out training under the hot Italian sun when they saw sprinklers in a field behind the Olympic Stadium.

Wilma Rudolph: Oh, that water looks so good! Let's run through the sprinklers! This is so much fun! I’m going to jump over this sprinkler! Oh no! Ah! Skeeter twisted her ankle!

Aunt Carole: The team's doctor packed Wilma's ankle in ice to reduce swelling and told her to keep it elevated for as long as possible. Wilma worried that her foolishness had cost her the chance to win a gold medal. But the next morning, with her ankle taped and bandaged, she entered the stadium with the other runners.

Tigerbelle: You are the crowd favorite, Skeeter.

Guest (Male): I’m here recording the very first Olympics to be broadcast on television in the United States. As you can see, Wilma Rudolph's ankle is injured. Will the Tennessee Tornado live up to her name as the world’s speed queen? It only took the Tennessee Tornado 11 seconds to win her first gold medal in the 100-meter.

Guest (Male): Victoire pour la perle noire!

Tigerbelle: Congratulations, Skeeter! The French are calling you the Black Pearl.

Wilma Rudolph: They should call me that! Pearl is my middle name!

Tigerbelle: Well, my favorite nickname is the Italian one: the Black Gazelle, describing something beautiful in color and motion.

Wilma Rudolph: And I'll show them color and motion when I win the 200-meter.

Guest (Male): The crowd goes wild as Wilma Rudolph wins her second gold medal.

Aunt Carole: Wilma had only one event left, the 4-by-100-meter relay. She watched anxiously as Martha ran the first leg, passing the baton to Barbara. Barbara smoothly took over and raced toward Lucinda. Once Lucinda had the baton, she streaked across the field.

Guest (Male): Wilma's arm is out, ready to grab the baton and, oh no! They’re losing the baton! The American team is seconds from being disqualified. Wilma gains control of the baton. She’s catching up to Germany and Wilma wins the race!

Aunt Carole: Wilma proudly listened to her country's national anthem while her third Olympic gold medal was placed around her neck. As the first American woman to receive three gold medals in an Olympic Games, she instantly became a celebrity. But the people who celebrated her victory the most were the fellow citizens of Clarksville, Tennessee. When Wilma returned home, the whole town, both black and white, showed up at its very first integrated banquet.

Guest (Male): Ladies and gentlemen, when you play a piano, you can play music on only the black keys and you can play music on only the white keys. But the best music comes out of that piano when you play both the black and the white keys together. Wilma, do you have anything to say?

Wilma Rudolph: Yes. I shall always use my physical talents to the glory of God and the best interests of my nation.

Aunt Carole: Wilma continued making record runs, and in 1961, she set two new world records. Feeling good about her accomplishments, Wilma decided to retire from the world of running. Her last race was at Stanford University in California against a team from the Soviet Union. This was during the height of the Cold War and Wilma's victory received thunderous applause. Afterwards, she sat under the stands to sign autographs.

Guest (Female): Hello! Can I please have your autograph?

Wilma Rudolph: You can have more than that. I'll give you my running shoes.

Guest (Female): You can't do that!

Wilma Rudolph: Ma’am, I can't are two words that have never been in my vocabulary.

Aunt Nikki: What an amazing story, Uncle Jon. If it hadn't been for the creativity of a self-taught nurse from Australia, Wilma Rudolph might never have become an important figure in athletics history.

Uncle Jon: And she was important. Wilma was elected to the Black Sports Hall of Fame in 1980 and the United States Olympic Hall of Fame in 1984.

Aunt Nikki: This story just goes to show that physical disadvantages like polio don't have to keep you from becoming a champion.

Uncle Jon: That’s right, Aunt Nikki. And now our time is up. But we hope you girls and boys will listen to another story.

Aunt Nikki: You can tune in on the radio, on YouTube, or on our website. We hope to see you there. But until then, remember that Aunt Nikki and I love you very much.

Uncle Jon: Goodbye.