May 7, 2020
Dear SSA Community,
Almost 70 years ago, a Shady Side Academy student played a critical role in ridding the United States of polio, one the most significant epidemics in our country's history. Bill Kirkpatrick '54 had just been elected president of Shady Side's sophomore class and was preparing for football tryouts when he was diagnosed with the dreaded disease.
In a 2002 interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Bill shared that he "could feel horrible pain... like someone taking a sledgehammer and beating it against your spine. I could feel my legs get soft like jelly and, all of a sudden, I couldn't move them. I thought maybe I had cancer."
Not long after that, Dr. Jonas Salk, the famed University of Pittsburgh researcher and virologist, began a search for children to serve as "Polio Pioneers," volunteers who would be test subjects for a then-experimental vaccine. Bill wanted in right away, ultimately convincing his parents to let him do so. In fact, he became the very first child in America to participate in the trials – or "Subject No. 1," as he became known.
In 2005, Smithsonian Magazine recounted young Bill's first conversation with Dr. Salk as the physician held out a long needle and readied to begin with initial blood testing:
"OK if we proceed?" Salk asked.
The boy nodded, a little surprised to have been asked. Salk took up the syringe, slid the needle into a vein and withdrew a vial of blood. He regarded the vial closely for a moment, then labeled it carefully.
"Thank you," he said, "for going first."
Bill shrugged. "I have two nephews. I don't want them to get what I had."
As Salk's vaccination ultimately proved effective in ending polio, Bill found his picture in newspapers around the world and participated in a host of interviews with major media outlets across the country. After SSA, he graduated from Franklin & Marshall College and embarked on a life of deep faith, serving others as an Episcopal minister until his death in 2003.
While I never had the opportunity to meet Bill Kirkpatrick, his legacy is an important one for all of us at Shady Side to reflect upon, particularly given the circumstances of our current pandemic. His bravery is yet another example of the positive impact our students can have when they decide to summon their courage, "go first," and lead responsibly to change the world.
Best,
Bart Griffith '93
President