Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood in the mid-1970s had many barefoot children. And many of them came from the South or Appalachia. Uptown was a favorite “port of entry” to Chicago because of its affordable housing. Many migrant families who came from the South brought hookworm with them, according to an Uptown physician. Hookworms live in the soil in warmer climates. The easiest way to keep from getting them is to wear shoes. But this was not well known at the time.
