History
By Denise M. Baran-Unland
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE HERALD NEWS
What has kept Melvin J. Larson a board member of the United Cerebral Palsy of Illinois Prairieland 46 years after he founded the organization?
This 86-year-old Joliet resident said it's mostly because of people: the people he serves and the people with whom he works. "This has given me an opportunity to work with so many wonderful people from all walks of life," said Larson.
"You become sort of a family," he continued. "You get to know the people, and you get to see some of their problems. You hope to understand some of the problems and you hope to do something for them."
Since its inception in 1955, Larson has seen UCP grow from a base membership of four families to one that has expanded its services beyond Will County. Facilities now include a school for youth under 18, an adult training center, and several residential homes.
Life in the Depression
While he was still young, Larson had two experiences that would later pave the way for his intense desire to help those people, children and adults, with cerebral palsy.
As a boy growing up on a farm in northern Minnesota, Larson knew of a few families in his country church who had children with cerebral palsy. He did not meet these children themselves, because in those days handicapped children were often kept at home.
"I observed the families' struggles because, at that time, not much was known about cerebral palsy," Larson said. Though the families were large, he said "not every child could attend church at the same time on Sunday, because someone had to stay home with the handicapped child."
Larson's education ended at eighth grade; there was too much work to be done during those Depression years to waste time continuing one's education. However, there was one thing that Larson had always yearned: learn to play the piano.
He approached the minister's wife, an accomplished piano player herself, and asked if she would give him lessons if he took care of her cows and chickens. She was delighted with the offer and even gave Larson room and board, as well.
On many an evening, the minister's wife noted how well Larson helped her children with their schoolwork. She asked him, "Would you be interested in going to high school?"
Larson was already 21 at the time. "Yes, I would," he told her, "but I'm already too old." Nonsense, the minister's wife may have thought. She told Larson, "Well, you're never too old to start if you really wanted to go."
At the time, Minnesota had a rule that if a student was 21 or older, he or she would have to pay tuition to attend high school. This was something Larson could not afford. However, the superintendent of that school sat on the state board and went to bat for Larson.
Larson did not forget it. He put his hand to the plow and graduated in three years, at the age of 24. He continued with his education, stopping just short of a doctorate in chemistry.
Special education
He moved to Joliet in 1954 when he was hired as a chemistry teacher at Joliet Junior College, later becoming head of their Department of Physical Science. Larson retired from that position in 1975, retiring from all teaching at JJC four years later.
"As time went on, I had the feeling that I owed somebody something for all the help I'd gotten," said Larson. "I wanted to give something back to people, to the community."
The year before Larson moved to Joliet, he stumbled upon a book at the library about special education. He found the concept fascinating. Not too long afterward, Larson was invited to attend a regional convention for the newly formed national organization of UCP.
"I was very much impressed by the leaders of the national organization and the many people who attended, parents and other interested parties," Larson said.
The first meeting
When Larson contacted some of the local doctors, he was surprised to learn that many of them were not familiar with cerebral palsy and had no dealings with it. "The parents with children with cerebral palsy were taking their children into Chicago to see the specialists there," he said. "Sometimes, even the neighbors didn't know the child existed."
The Will County Health Department gave Larson the names of six area families who had children with cerebral palsy. "One was in Joliet, one in Wilmington, one in Peotone, and a couple of them were in Beecher," Larson said.
"When I went to call on them personally, not one of them knew there was another child in the area with cerebral palsy. and only one family was getting services out of Chicago," said Larson. "They were very enthusiastic about the possibility of getting organized and getting acquainted with one another."
Larson ran an advertisement in The Herald News, inviting parents of children with cerebral palsy for a meeting at his house. Four of those 6 families came and out of that meeting the Will County chapter of UCP was born.
One of the first projects of the newly formed organization was to develop a registry of other families who were also dealing with the issue of cerebral palsy. "Within one year, they had 35 cases."
It was soon decided to raise money, many times door to door, to provide a school for the children. Within five years, $5,000 was raised. Joliet Grade School District officials decided to rent a room in the former Rehn School on the city's southwest side to UCP.
When the organization outgrew that room, it rented a larger facility on Manhattan Road. When the group became too large for that site, then it rented another grade school building on East Washington Street.
Eventually, UCP moved children under age 18 to the former Reedswood School on Reed Street, and the former Raynor Park School at the corner of Hosmer and Curtis was dedicated to the adults.
There are eight residential homes in the area, including one in Wilmington, and one way out west of Shorewood, said Larson. "I can't keep track of them." One of the most successful programs, Larson said, is the respite care program. Trained volunteers stay at home with the child, so the parents can take a break from their responsibilities.
Larson's reward for continuing service to UCP is the gratifying feeling of "being a part of a whole."
"To make life a little easier for someone, I hope I can make some contribution to that end."
04/15/01
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