Artist Biography

Marcee Blackerby

      Marcee Blackerby was born on August 21, 1944, in Castledale, Utah. Marcee was just 4 years old when she was diagnosed with polio. What may seem like a tragic story is actually an interesting biography. Polio has never once stopped Marcee from doing the things she wanted to do.

      Polio is a dangerous virus which is spread by coming into contact with animal feces. 90% of people with polio never experience any harmful symptoms. In fewer than 1% of polio cases, the virus enters their central nervous system. From there the disease spreads and destroys muscles and damages the spine. This is the kind of polio Marcee has. A vaccine for polio was discovered by Jonas Salk in 1955, seven years after Marcee was diagnosed with the disease.

      Marcee got polio from playing in dirty puddle water in Castledale. The neighbor boy who used to play with her also got polio. Polio only effected one of his legs, leaving him with a bad limp. Marcee’s polio is much more severe. Now, she can’t walk.

      As a child Marcee would sneak off to the gypsies that camped outside of Castledale. She got there by hitch hiking. It was here she learned about reading cards and how to interpret dreams. Marcee was probably the only person in Castledale who was not scared of them.

      When Marcee was thirteen she stole her grandmother’s car. She did this because she wanted to go visit her friends and she had just had some alcohol. She drove by controlling the clutch, gas and brake with a crutch. She only made it about 3 miles out of town before her parents caught up to her. At the age of fourteen Marcee ran away to join a circus, trying to impress a boy who worked there. She had never been outside of Utah but now she was so determined to work there nothing was going to stop her. She was even going to get paid and have her own room.   Soon after her decision she was brought back home by her parents again.

      Not long after this Marcee and her family moved...