On Dec 18, 2018, a few members of our UNCG Museum Studies class were invited to attend the North Carolina Historic Highway Marker Committee meeting in support of our application for the Central Carolina Convalescent Hospital. This application was the second submission for the hospital, and was an appeal of the original denied application, submitted by Dr. Alex Stoeson, which meant that whatever decision made by the committee this time would be final. Our two classmates were joined by UNCG professor Dr. Lisa Tolbert, who was a former member of the committee and had graciously advised our class when putting together the application appeal. After getting the chance to hear about various other NC Historic Highway Marker applications from across the state, our classmates had the chance to defend our polio hospital application. Our classmates gave a prepared statement of support for the site and answered a few questions from the committee members before the final decision was made. I am delighted to say that our application for a Historic Highway Marker for the Greensboro Polio Hospital site was unanimously approved!
Since the committee meeting in December, the NC Historic Highway Marker program has been finalizing the polio hospital’s marker text, location, and other fabrication details necessary for its successful set up. According to the NC Historic Highway Marker website, the Office of Archives and History typically delivers new markers around April and May, which was the case for us! A small dedication ceremony for the Greensboro Polio Hospital’s marker is currently being planned for 3 pm on Saturday, June 15th at the original hospital’s site, now the location of People and Paws 4 Hope, 710 Huffine Mill Road, Greensboro, NC 27405. Additional information for the dedication ceremony will be released soon!
The entire Pride and Pain: Remembering the Polio Hospital project has been an impactful worthwhile project for our class and the Guilford County community as a whole. The marker’s approval and installation will mean leagues to those who have been involved in the project and who felt that their experiences were being forgotten. With so much of the original building and site history lost, it is particularly meaningful to have a physical reminder that acknowledges the various degrees of pride and pain associated with the Central Carolina Convalescent Hospital.