Carville in Iberville Parish, Louisiana — The American South (West South Central)
The STAR
Carville's Patient-Published Newspaper
The Sixty-six STAR was born in 1931, with Stanley Stein as its editor. The name was selected by Carville patient and Texas pharmacist, Stanley Levyson (AKA Stanley Stein). It was first published as a mimeograph sheet dealing with hospital activities but quickly became political. Editorial policy controversies forced the newspaper to close in 1934. Stein re-established his creation as The STAR magazine in 1941. By this time, the disease had rendered him sightless.
Under Stein, The STAR quickly developed into a voice for Carville patient advocacy while also becoming a source of Hansen's disease medical information for leprosy field workers around the world. In many remote clinics, the medical library was comprised almost solely of issues of The STAR.
I was so determined that the truth should be radiated beyond the barbed wire that I personally paid the postage to send out the first issue (circulation 300)... For nearly three years, we could not manage a professional printing job. An American Legionnaire noticed and said "Stanley, you should have this printed in magazine form, with mailing privileges." I told him he'd just expressed my life's ambition. Stanley Stein, from his autobiography, Alone No Longer, 1963
The December 1943 cover of The STAR depicts the 40 & 8 as Santa Claus piloting a plane sporting the American Legion and 40 & 8 insignia on its tail. In yow, a new printing press tied up with Christmas ribbons and a parachute for delivery to "The STAR, U.S.M.H., Carville, LA" The 40 & 8 veterans' organization continues to fund printing of The STAR today. www.fortyandeight.org
The scene captured in "Bundling The STAR" took place in a screened corridor outside of the print shop in House 15. The canvas depicts a group of patients gathered to prepare the magazine for shipping. You can see one of the nurses, a Daughter of Charity, in the background, with her coronet and white linen nursing smock over her dark blue woolen habit. The 40 & 8 generously funded restoration of the canvas, which hangs in the Carville Museum. Painting by Frede Vidar, oil on canvas, 1947.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Communications • Industry & Commerce • Science & Medicine.
Location. 30° 11.79′ N, 91° 7.572′ W. Marker is in Carville, Louisiana, in Iberville Parish. Marker is on Point Clair Road (State Road 141) one mile north of Martin Luther King Parkway (National Highway 75), on the right when traveling north. Marker is located in front of the Hansen's Disease Museum, on the grounds of the Louisiana National Guard Carville site. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5445 Point Clair Road, Bldg 12, Carville LA 70721, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The Daughters of Charity (here, next to this marker); Cage Door of Harry T. Chimpanzee (here, next to this marker); Triumph At Carville: A Tale of Leprosy in America (a few steps from this marker); Staff Housing, U.S. Public Health Service Hospital, Carville (within shouting distance of this marker); Administration Building, U.S. Public Health Service Hospital, Carville (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Indian Camp Plantation (about 300 feet away); Belle Grove Plantation (approx. 0.8 miles away); Mayor S. J. "Blue" Guercio, III (approx. 2.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Carville.
More about this marker. Marker is located inside the National Guard Site, but is part of the Museum's self driving tour. No photography is permitted except markers and site cemetery. This is currently an active Military base so check before visiting, and for other regulations which may apply.
Also see . . . National Hansen's Disease Museum website. (Submitted on June 10, 2017.)
Credits. This page was last revised on July 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 10, 2017, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana. This page has been viewed 419 times since then and 29 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on June 10, 2017. 2. submitted on October 13, 2019, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana.