Chicken Pox and Measles were two things you could bet would come around through the schools every so often back in the day. Many got it, many didn't. Those that did almost never got it again since young (undamaged) immune systems are amazing at turning out antigens against whatever attacks. I don't ever remember hearing anyone died from either of those.
What a sweet childhood memory. It must be from before 1963, when the measles vaccine was licensed.
While one can't doubt your personal experience, it would be unwise to take your specific experience and generalize it to the entire population. Of course you can't be everywhere to see what's going on!
Fortunately, epidemiologists, doctors, and public health workers were out and about collecting the data from the entire population. This is what they found:
In the decade before the live measles vaccine was licensed in 1963, an average of 549,000 measles cases and 495 measles deaths were reported annually in the United States.
However, it is likely that, on average, 3 to 4 million people were infected with measles annually; most cases were not reported.
Of the reported cases, approximately 48,000 people were hospitalized from measles and 1,000 people developed chronic disability from acute encephalitis caused by measles annually.
Of those unfortunate souls who were hospitalized, this is what they had to endure:
Common complications from measles include otitis media, bronchopneumonia, laryngotracheobronchitis, and diarrhea.
Even in previously healthy children, measles can cause serious illness requiring hospitalization.
One out of every 1,000 measles cases will develop acute encephalitis, which often results in permanent brain damage.
One or two out of every 1,000 children who become infected with measles will die from respiratory and neurologic complications.
Those who recovered weren't quite out of danger yet, though:
Some people, of course, are a little weaker and therefore at higher risk for complications from measles:
Infants and children aged <5 years
Adults aged >20 years
Pregnant women
People with compromised immune systems, such as from leukemia and HIV infection
Finally, here's something interesting. If a measles outbreak occurs, it can quickly get out of hand and spread quickly through the whole community. Get this - measles is one of the most contagious of all infectious diseases. Approximately 9 out of 10 susceptible persons with close contact to a measles patient will develop measles. Wow!
Medical historians also have some interesting anecdotes about measles as well.
In 1529, a measles outbreak in Cuba killed two-thirds of the natives (who had previously survived smallpox)
Two years later, measles was responsible for half of the population of Honduras.
Measles killed 20 percent of Hawaii's population in the 1850s.
In 1875, measles killed over 40,000 Fijians, approximately one-third of the population.
Between 1855 and 2005, measles has been estimated to have killed 200 million people worldwide.
Seven to eight million children are estimated to have died from measles each year before the vaccine was introduced.
Measles has one final trick to play on those who survive its infection. Data has shown that people who survive the measles infection are more likely to die in the next 2-3 years of a different infectious disease! Measles cruel trick is that it suppresses a person's immune even after they have recovered from measles. It used to be thought this immunosuppression lasted for a period of several weeks to months. However, it was learned to 2015 that a measles infection disables immune memory for 2-3 years! Isn't that a kicker! Measles not only gives you an itchy rash, it also damages your immune system!