The text of the following newspaper articles is below.
Physician, Two Children of Pastor Stricken by Polio in Williamsburg
A Williamsburg Ohio physician and two young children of a Baptist minister were revealed Wednesday as victims of polio. They are Jack Eugene Gordon, 6, and his sister, Joyce Elaine, 23 months, and Dr. Richard Carr, acting coroner of Clermont county.
Jack and Joyce are children of the Rev. and Mrs. Arthur Gordon. Mr. Gordon is the pastor of Williamsburg Baptist Church which opened for services nine weeks ago in the former Cumberland Presbyterian Church building.
Jack has bulbar spinal polio and is critically ill at General Hospital's contagions ward. Joyce has upper spinal polio and is in serious condition. They became ill last Thursday. They have a brother 3 1/2, who has not been affected by the disease.
Mr. Gordon served pastorates in Indiana before moving to Williamsburg. He is an employee in the maintenance department of Strietmann Biscuit Co. Mariemont.
Dr. Carr, 29, served as a deputy coroner before taking over the coroner's job several months ago.
Doctor Is Latest Williamsburg Polio Victim Cooperation Needed
Mayor Charles E. Danbury has suggested that all children's parties and like events be cancelled until alarm over a prevalence of polio subsides.
This was advised after three more cases of polio were reported including the village's only active physician, Dr. Richard Carr, who is in Cincinnati General Hospital. His left leg is reported to be affected by the disease.
Jackie Gordon, 6, and his sister, Joyce, 2, children of Rev. and Mrs. Arthur Gordon, were also admitted to General Hospital on Monday. Jackie is on the critical list. Rev. Gordon is pastor of the Williamsburg Baptist Church.
Father of 2 Polio Victims Is Stricken By Same Disease
The father of two small children being treated in General Hospital for polio was listed Tuesday as a victim of the same disease. He is the Rev. Arthur Gordon, 30, of Williamsburg, Ohio, pastor of the new Williamsburg Baptist Church and an employe of the maintenance department of the Strietmann Biscuit Co., Mariemont.
His children, Jack, 6, and Joyce, 23 months, were brought to the hospital last week. Mr. Gordon was admitted Sunday but his illness was not diagnosed as polio until Tuesday. The disease attacked him in the upper and lower spine.
This is the first time this year that three members of a Cincinnati area family have been affected by the disease.
It was reported Wednesday morning that the condition of Dr. Richard Carr, of Williamsburg, deputy Clermont coroner, also affected by polio, has taken a bad turn. His case now is listed at General Hospital, Cincinnati, as critical.
Minister Stricken With Polio Expresses Faith In Recovery
Word received from Williamsburg, Ohio, tells of the progress made by Rev. Arthur Gordon, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Gordon of Russellville, since he and his family of three children were taken ill with polio six months ago.
In the Ohio town where Rev. Gordon is minister of the Williamsburg Baptist Church the four members of the Gordon family and the physician who attended them were stricken with polio during an epidemic.
Mr. Gordon has been in an iron lung at Cincinnati General Hospital since he became ill. He was moved last month to a permanent treatment center for respiratory patients which has been set up in Columbus, Ohio, making the trip by ambulance with a portable lung helping on the way.
Two of the children, Joyce, 2, and James, 4, are back home and under care of the physician, who has resumed partial practice. The third child, Jack, 6, is still in a convalescent home.
"When God is ready for me to preach again," Rev. Gordon said, "He will give me legs to stand on and voice with which to speak."
Polio's crippling effects haven't downed the spirit of the young minister, who finds his heart filled with gratitude. Seven persons in all were stricken in the Williamsburg area. Care for them and others in Clermont County cost the polio chapter $13,600 last year, of which $3,800 is still owed.
"I would like to make a statement in the form of a thanksgiving," he dictated before leaving Columbus, Ohio. "First of all, I would like to thank the many good people who have contributed to the polio funds which have made it possible for people like myself to have the equipment that is so vital to us.
"Then I would also like to say thanks to the doctors and nurses who have done so much for me while here at the General Hospital.
"Last, but not least, I am thankful to the Lord Jesus Christ who has redeemed my soul and also has sustained my life. He has given me much to live for, that of glorifying His name on the earth and seeking to help my fellow creatures to find the peace and joy that I have found in Him."
During his stay at the hospital, Rev. Gordon converted nine nurses in Christian belief.
Rev. Gordon last visited his home in Russellville in the spring of 1955, and is well known in the area.
As a youth he played on the Russellville Ball team. He graduated from Oxford High School in 1943, entered the Army in 1944, serving two years, 18 months of which was in Germany.
On his return he studied at Philadelphia Bible Institute, graduating in 1948, and attended Grace Theological Seminary at Winona Lake, Ind. He accepted a charge at Larwill, Ind., in 1954 and went to Williamsburg in 1955.
Go to church this Sunday.
Polio Silences Pastor
There is a preacher in a Columbus hospital today learning to wield a paint brush with the use of his fingertips and his mouth.
He is the Rev. Arthur Gordon of Williamsburg, Ohio, who for six months has been unable to utter a word from his pulpit in the Baptist church of his town.
He has been paralyzed by polio since last August. But Rev. Gordon is optimistic about his future.
Said he: "When God is ready for me to preach again He will give me legs to stand on and a voice with which to speak." The clergyman, who is 30, is showing improvement, hospital authorities indicate. That's the reason painting lessons have started.
His own attack of polio was not the only tragedy in his life. Rev. Gordon and his three children were stricken when the disease broke out in Williamsburg last summer.
Two of the children, Jimmy, 4, and Joyce, 2, have recovered. Jack, 6, is still in a convalescent home.
Rev. Gordon cannot move from the shoulders down. His chest muscles are paralyzed and he relies on a mechanical breathing device.
"I'll whip this yet," the preacher declares. "God chose me to preach the gospel."
Caption under the picture
TWO VALIENT SUPPORTERS of the Rev. Arthur Gordon, polio-stricken Ohio preacher, are his wife and his nurse, Mrs. Ella Mae Hammond. Photo shows the clergyman with his wife and nurse before leaving for a Columbus hospital after removal from a hospital in Cincinnati.
Writes Devotional Column -- 'Magic Wand' Aids Him In Typing
The Rev. Arthur E. Gordon's immediate world consists of four rooms in his Russellville home.
His "pulpit" -- a small table that rests on the arms of a wheelchair -- is nearly always with him. So is the portable respirator that helps him breathe.
The Baptist minister's mission, however, goes far beyond his home.
Writes Column
Though paralyzed from the shoulders down, the "Polio Pastor" writes a column for a weekly newspaper and puts out a monthly devotional paper that goes to nearly 4,500 families.
Mr. Gordon types at a rate of 20 words per minute by striking the keys with a rubber-tipped stick held in his mouth.
This "magic wand," and the help of his family and friends, has opened the way to a much bigger world.
Mr. Gordon has lived most of his 50 years in the small southwestern Chester County village, where he once played high school baseball.
"Met The Lord"
The first of several major changes in his life came at age 19 when, while in a troop transport headed for the German battlefront in 1945, he "met the Lord."
Newspaper headlines 10 years later told the next part: "Father of 2 Polio Victims Is Stricken by Same Disease."
And "Triumph," the name he chose for a widely distributed devotional paper, tells much of the story in the two decades since.
Mr. Gordon and two of his three children were stricken during a 1955 polio epidemic, just 11 weeks after they had moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to open a new Baptist church.
"I saw the (hospital) ward I was in fill up two or three times." he said.
Children Recovered
While his children recovered quickly and are now leading normal lives, his muscles refused to respond.
"Lying entombed in an iron lung can be a frightening experience," he said. "One is prone to wonder 'Why?' I was no exception."
Mr. Gordon said he drew reassurance from the Bible. He graduated to a portable respirator and rocking bed that allows him to breathe during the night.
He also practices "frog-breathing," a tiring process that consists of trapping air in the mouth and forcing it with a pump-like motion of the tongue and pharynx down through the windpipe and into the lungs.
Equipment Helps
"He was always active," said his wife, Marilynn, whom he met while they were attending what is now the Philadelphia College of the Bible.
She has been his chief helper over the years. "I do all the typing," said Mr. Gordon, "and she does all the rest."
He has achieved considerable independence through the use of intricate medical equipment and special apparatus, much of it tailored to his needs by family and friends.
Special Switchboard
The wheelchair, operated by a chinstick and powered by 30 feet of electric cord hung from a retractable reel, carries him through four rooms of the simply furnished, white frame home.
A special switchboard allows him to activate typewriter, lights, radio and a special phone with his mouthstick.
Dominating the bedroom is the see-saw bed that rocks 18 times a minute to force air in and out of his lungs.
But unlike some polio victims who use the strange apparatus. Mr. Gordon said he "never did get motion sickness."
An elevator on the front porch allows him to be moved to a van for frequent trips to the nearby Beulah Baptist Church, or to baseball games.
"These are the church league games," explained his wife. "We don't get in to Philadelphia for the big ones."
Their 24-year-old son, Jim, who still plays in the church league, will soon move out of their Russellville home to start a family of his own.
Other Children
Jack, 26, and Joyce, 22, have long recovered from their 1955 bout with polio. Jack, a computer programmer, lives in Lancaster County with his wife and infant daughter.
Joyce, whose paintings hang in the Gordons' home, will soon graduate from a South Carolina university and hopes to become an art teacher.
The couple has a small income from the U. S. Veterans Administration that supplied and services much of the medical equipment.
"The Lord," he said, "has sent us everything else."
Caption under the picture
"The Polio Pastor," the Rev. Arthur E. Gordon, operates his typewriter by tapping the keys with a stick clenched in his teeth. He writes a weekly newspaper column at home. His mission though, goes far beyond his Russellville home.
BATTLES PARALYSIS -- "The Lord's Been Good"
If he were granted a single wish, what would it be? the Rev. Arthur E. Gordon was asked.
Wealth? Fame? Health? "I don't know," he said softly. "The Lord has been good to me."
Those are the words of a man who is paralyzed from the neck down.
The Rev. Mr. Gordon publishes a devotional paper which goes out every month to 4,500 subscribers. He also writes a column for a weekly newspaper that circulates in the area of his hometown of Russellville, Pa.
HE DOES ALL of his own typing and can travel over the keyboard of his electric typewriter at 20 words a minute by tapping the keys with a rubber-tipped wand which he holds in his mouth.
He met his wife, Marilynn, who is his chief assistant, while both were attending the Philadelphia College of the Bible.
"I do all the typing and she does all the rest," the Rev. Mr. Gordon remarked.
The busy minister said he was a 19-year-old on a troop transport headed for the German battlefront in 1945 when he "met the Lord."
Ten years later, just after he and his family moved to Cincinnati to open a new Baptist church, he and two of his three children were stricken by polio.
THE TWO children, Jack and Joyce, recovered. Jack, now 26, is a computer programmer and lives in nearby Lancaster County, Pa., with his wife and infant daughter. Joyce, 22, whose paintings dot the walls of the Gordon's small white-frame home, is training to be an art teacher.
Another son, James, 24, still lives at home.
While Jack and Joyce got well, the Rev. Mr. Gordon did not. His muscles refused to respond to treatment.
"Lying entombed in an iron lung can be a frightening experience," he said. "One is prone to wonder why. I was no exception."
But he said he drew reassurance from the Bible. And he progressed to the point where he could leave the iron lung and breathe with the aid of a portable respirator and at night a rocking bed. The bed "see-saws" 18 times a minute to force air into and out of his lungs.
While his world for the most part consists of four rooms of his home, he is able to move about them unaided in his electrically powered wheelchair, which he controls with a chinstick. A special switchboard permits him to activate his typewriter, lights, radio, and telephone with his mouth wand.
An elevating device attached to the front porch allows him to be moved to a van for frequent trips to the nearby Beulah Baptist Church and occasionally to a church-league baseball game. James plays in the league.
EVEN THE REV. Mr. Gordon's use of the rocking bed has given him something to be thankful for, he said. Some polio victims who use the apparatus suffer from motion sickness. He never has.
He receives a small income from the Veterans Administration, which also has supplied him medical services and much of the special equipment he uses.
"The Lord has sent us everything else."
Caption under the picture
The Rev. Arthur E. Gordon Operates Electric Typewriter by Using Rubber-Tipped Stick in His Mouth to Press Keys
Arthur Gordon in his VW Van
THE POLIO PASTOR, the Rev. Arthur E. Gordon, Russellville, has been provided with a special automobile by the National Polio Foundation. The car, a Volkswagon, has a wide door that opens on the side of the vehicle and other special equipment making it possible for the Rev. Gordon to make trips away from home and his regular breathing apparatus. The Rev. Gordon was stricken with polio several years ago and has been paralyzed from his neck down ever since. Mrs. Gordon, at right, drives the special car.
Polio Ordeal Doesn't Halt Minister
TRIUMPH is the title of an 8-page magazine published monthly by a polio victim. And triumph is the word that summarizes his heroic struggle to carry on his ministry, care for his family and lead a "normal" life in the face of almost impossible odds.
Ordained in 1953, the Rev. Arthur E. Gordon of Russellville, PA, moved his family to Williamsburg, Ohio, where he helped start a Baptist Mission in 1955. That same year he was stricken with polio, just one week after two of his three children came down with the disease. The third child developed a mild case soon after. All three youngsters recovered swiftly.
But their father, totally paralyzed, stayed on in the hospital fighting bravely for survival. He spent one month in an iron lung and even more time graduating from it to a chest respirator and rocking bed.
The Rev. Gordon finally left the hospital in an electric wheel chair provided by The National Foundation. The chest respirator was replaced with more flexible breathing apparatus adjusted belt-like around his waist. This operated on batteries attached to the wheels of his chair.
Once back home with his family in Russellville, the Rev. Gordon began publishing TRIUMPH in 1957. He mailed copies to people who had sent him cards at the hospital. The first issue numbered 800. He now mails 2,000 copies every month. The little magazine, carrying its monthly message of faith and love, goes to all parts of the world. The Rev. Gordon is particularly interested in sending it to shut-ins.
There is no charge for TRIUMPH. It is sent free to all who request it. Donations from subscribers pay publication costs.
He can move his head and use it, too
SINCE August, 1955, the Rev. Arthur E. Gordon, of Russellville, Chester county, PA, has been able to move only his head. A polio victim, he is paralyzed otherwise. But he continues to get his message across.
The 34-year-old Baptist minister publishes a monthly magazine, Triumph, with a circulation of 2600 in 41 states and several foreign countries. He prepares all material on a specially-built typewriter, pressing the keys with a stick which he holds in his mouth. His wife, Marilyn, is "circulation manager" of the magazine, which is aimed principally at shut-ins.
He had just been appointed pastor of a Baptist church in Williamsburg, OH, when he and the Gordon children--Jack, 10, James 7, and Joyce, 5--were stricken with polio. The children eventually recovered, although Jack still wears a brace on one leg.
With the aid of special equipment, much of which has been provided by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, the editor-minister gets about the house fairly well. He has a motor-driven wheelchair and wears a portable respirator. At night, a hydraulic lift is used to move him from the wheelchair into a rocking bed, which aids respiration.
He hopes to increase his output of religious writings. In addition to his magazine, he has published several religious pamphlets. He writes a weekly column for a local newspaper, as well as a column for a quarterly magazine, Accent on Living, published in the interest of the physically handicapped.
