1918, A Horrible Year

I recently read a book titled FLU, The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It, written by Gina Kolata.

This book has perched on my shelves among others on medical topics for years. I bought it at our local Half Price Books on the off chance that it might come in handy at some point with my writing. Now, with the Coronavirus sweeping the US, including where I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, I pulled Ms. Kolata’s book off the shelf.

Kolata was a microbiology major in college and took a course in virology. She also took some history classes, including one about important 20^th century events. In none of these classes was the 1918 pandemic discussed. Nor did she ever write about it in her years at Science magazine and later at the New York Times.

All of this despite the fact that the Spanish Flu, as it was called, killed more Americans in one year (the CDC estimates 675,00 and 50 million worldwide) than all those killed in battle in WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War combined.

After reading this, I decided to search online for info about the 1918 Flu in Texas. I found an article relating its deadly effects on Waco, which is 96 miles south of Dallas. You can read it here: https://www.kwtx.com/content/news/1918-pandemics-impact-in-Central-Texas-was-swift-deadly-568706031.html

Makeshift influenza wards were set up, many of them at military hospitals, all over the country, including the infirmary at Camp MacArthur, in Waco. (Baylor University Texas Collection)

Then I came across an article from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, BY BUD KENNEDY (ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED OCT. 14, 2014.)

In 1918, Dallas and Fort Worth weren’t worried about the flu. In a month, 1,200 died

Quoting Bud Kennedy:

FORT WORTH

At first, leaders were calm.

“The general health situation in Dallas is good,” city health officer Dr. A.W. Carnes said.

It was September 1918.
But by October’s end, more than 1,200 Dallas and Fort Worth residents lay dead.

That month, a flu pandemic swept through both cities, closing schools, theaters, streetcars, even churches.

In an age before transatlantic air travel, the Spanish flu knew no borders.

Soldiers training at the old U.S. Army Camp Bowie in what is now the Arlington Heights neighborhood west of downtown Fort Worth were among the hardest hit.

More than 1,900 were treated at once in makeshift tents.

Early in the outbreak, soldiers were barred from going to “picture shows, dance halls, pool rooms, theaters” and “gathering in canteens, in tents, quarters or other places.”

“This is the way the epidemic usually starts,” said the camp surgeon, Maj. J.G. Ingold.

Soldiers were told to sleep 5 feet apart to prevent infection.

Yet that Sept. 29, the Star-Telegram had this headline: “Bowie Officers Not Alarmed.”

“Soldiers all over the camp furled their tents and stayed outdoors all day,” the report read. “There have been no deaths.”

In Dallas, Carnes let crowds line the streets for a parade.

Six days later, the Star-Telegram headline read: “Hospital Roll Reaches 1,908.”

I won’t quote the rest of Bud Kennedy’s tragic timeline here for fear of encroaching on his copyrights, but I strongly suggest you read his whole article and think about our situation now. Several photos are included.
https://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/bud-kennedy/article3879112.html

Lyn Horner is a multi-published, award-winning author of western historical romance and paranormal romantic suspense novels, all spiced with sensual romance. She is a former fashion illustrator and art instructor who resides in Fort Worth, Texas – “Where the West Begins” - with her husband and two very spoiled cats. As well as crafting passionate love stories, Lyn enjoys reading, gardening, genealogy, visiting with family and friends, and cuddling her furry, four-legged babies.

Amazon Author Page: viewAuthor.at/LynHornerAmazon (universal link)  

Website:  Lyn Horner’s Corner 

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HOW THE FLU PANDEMIC HIT AMERICA IN 1918

By Anna Kathryn Lanier

This past flu season a lot was said in the news about how the vaccine didn't seem to be affective, mainly because the strain that seem to be striking people wasn't in the vaccine.  Still, I am for getting the vaccine, because none of us want to have a repeat of the epidemic of early 1900's. In his book "It's About Time: How Long History Took," Mike Flanagan writes on page 106 about the pandemic, which lasted three years and that:

"Chicago's crime rate dropped 43 percent. In one day 851 New Yorkers died. More American soldiers died of the "Spanish Flu" in 1918 than were killed on battlefields of World War I. Since epidemic bronchitis preceded the flu from 1915-1917 in France and England, few individuals had a prior immunity to this new lethal strain and often died within a week of exposure. In the United States, 500,000 deaths were recorded between March and November of 1918. Globally, about 40 million people died. Recent studies say the virus may have percolated within humans and pigs for several years until it grew lethal enough to emerge as history's worst influenza pandemic."

The flu really hits America in 1918.

March 11

At Fort Riley, Kansas, an Army private reports to the camp hospital just before breakfast complaining of fever, sore throat, and headache. He is quickly followed by another soldier with similar complaints. By noon, the camp’s hospital has dealt with over 100 ill soldiers. By week’s end, that number will jump to 500.

The West wasn't immune from the deadly disease either:

September 24

Edward Wagner, a Chicagoan newly settled in San Francisco, falls ill with influenza.
San Francisco public health officials had been downplaying the potential dangers posed by the flu. Dr. William Hassler, Chief of San Francisco’s Board of Health had gone so far as to predict that the flu would not even reach the city.

November 21

Sirens wail, signaling to San Franciscans that it is safe — and legal — to remove their protective face masks. At that point, 2,122 are dead due to influenza.

December 17

The chief clerk of the Navajo Indian reservation reports that influenza has taken the lives of more than 2,000 Navajos in Apache County, New Mexico.

The epidemic will continue its lethal campaign into 1919, ultimately killing upwards of 600,000 people. It will be deemed the worst epidemic in American history.

Trivia:
You may recall that this pandemic was mentioned in the holiday classic "It's A Wonderful Life." As an employee at the pharmacy, George Baily reads a telegram from the war department to Mr. Gower telling him his son died of the influenza. That causes Mr. Gower to poison some medicine by accident and George saves the day by noticing what had happened. When George is 'never born,' Mr. Gower was sentenced to years in prison for killing people that day.

Additional information can be found out:
http://virus.stanford.edu/uda/
http://www.syracuseuniversitypress.syr.edu/encyclopedia/entries/influenza-pandemic.html





You can read about your state (or one you may want to use in a story) during the pandemic here:
http://www.flu.gov/pandemic/history/1918/your_state/index.html

For a time line:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/influenza/timeline/index.html (date facts above taken from here)

The CDC's website says:

Influenza (the flu) is serious.
Each year in the United States, on average:

Today, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications;
36,000 people die from flu.

For more information from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) check out their website:

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/

And more information on flu shots and statistics can be found at WebMD:

http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20080925/flu-shots-whats-your-excuse


If you're at high risk for the flu, young, old, or chronically sick, you should get your flu shot, before the flu gets you.

**Thus ends my public service announcement.

Anna Kathryn Lanier

www.aklanier.com

Never let your memories be greater than your dreams. ~Doug Ivester 

This post first appeared on Chatting with Anna Kathryn Blog, October 16, 2008.