Odd Old News: The 1918 Influenza Epidemic in Humboldt County
A woman touches her mask as she stands between two boys who are also wearing masks during the 1918-19 Flu Epidemic. [Image from Palmquist in the Humboldt Room Photograph Collection at Humboldt State University]
The first pandemic to grippe Humboldt County
This week Odd Old News takes a look at Humboldt County’s experience of the 1918-1919 “Spanish Flu” pandemic as seen primarily through the lens of one newspaper, the Blue Lake Advocate. Local cases of the flu first appeared with the second wave of the pandemic in the fall of 1918 and before the outbreak waned waned, it had caused the deaths of over 200 people out of a county wide population of 37,000. Although there had been a few deaths attributed to the flu earlier in the summer of 1918, the second wave of the so-called “Spanish Flu” is thought to have first appeared in Humboldt in mid-October.
The U.S. Public Health Service warned the public to guard against “droplet infection” from the “Spanish Influenza” by using masks, but there was no health agency directing preventative actions at the county level as there is today. Each town had some discretion as how to deal with the influenza when it initially appeared in their communities. As Jerry Rhode recently wrote in a Northcoast Journal article The 200th Victim, a number of communities took no action to stop public meetings until late October, and a county wide injunction to wear masks wasn’t ordered until November 7, following Ferndale’s lead the day before. As with the Covid-19 virus, many front line doctors and nurses were infected, further complicating the medical response to the outbreak.
Dr. C. M. Mercer, who, up to the time of his being taken with the malady, was acting city health officer of Eureka, has issued a strong appeal to all persons to wear the anti-flu mask at all times while in public, and to avoid all gatherings on the streets or other places, as one of the best and surest measures for combating the disease. Dr. Mercer also emphasizes the fact that the public health and safety demands a complete cessation of all public gatherings during the period of the epidemic. He said telephoning from his home where he is confined to his bed by the disease, that if these things are not done, not only will the disease remain unchecked, but that it may be expected to become more widespread, and that the consequent toll of death may be expected to become heavier.
Following the lead of the county supervisors, the city council at a meeting Wednesday night passed a resolution making the appearance in public without a mask a misdemeanor punishable by a fine or imprisonment, or both, in the discretion of the court, but making the punishment in either case certain. The ordinance provides a fine of not less than $5, nor more than $2O, or not less than five days in jail, nor more than 10 days, or by both, within the discretion of the court.
Heretofore, smokers with their masks turned to one side or worn under their chins, on the streets, have been passed without warning, possibly on the ground that tobacco smoke was a preventive to the contagion, but the matter being raised before the council meeting by Chief of Police Conant, the council decided that smoking would not be accepted as an excuse for the nonwearing of the masks, and the police are instructed to proceed in such cases regardless of the excuse…(BLA, 11/9/1918).
As hindsight showed in San Francisco, the importance of intervening early was the lesson to be learned. In San Francisco there was about a month gap between the flu’s first appearance until authorities took drastic measures to curtail normal activities, including making wearing a gauze mask mandatory. Now there were fines for appearing in public without a mask, and a person not wearing one was deemed a “dangerous slacker”.
One week after creating the compulsory mask ordinance, a San Francisco Chronicle headline proclaimed INFLUENZA MASKS PLAY BIG PART IN CURBING EPIDEMIC, and Dr. William Hassler, San Francisco’s chief health official, stated that the wearing of masks had saved 1,500 lives and 20,000 cases of the flu. Despite new cases and deaths starting to decline in early November, Dr. Hassler wanted people to remain vigilant and wear masks for two more months, but the public objected and the compulsory order was rescinded on November 21st.
By the end of November new cases of the flu in Humboldt County were on the wane, and in Blue Lake the masks came off. Eureka soon followed, over time churches and closed public meeting places started re-opening. Bars and businesses could now stay open past 6 p.m. Blue Lake, Korbel, Arcata, Eureka, Ferndale, Hydesville, and Carlotta re-opened their schools as “everything appears to be normal once more”.
It was proclaimed: “What few cases of influenza may follow, the health authorities say that the epidemic is practically stamped out in this county and by being a little careful, there is no necessity of interfering with business matters any longer”(BLA, 11/30/1918).
The Armistice of November 11th that ended World War I gave Americans great cause for celebrations and many marched in parades. A few weeks later, another celebration was held in Fortuna featuring the burning of the bug. “Today Fortuna is rejoicing again and this time over the fact that the ”flue” bug which has been spreading disease far and wide for weeks has been captured and will be cremated here Saturday night. The surrounding towns are invited to join with Fortuna in celebrating this event. The big time will take place on the street in front of the Star hotel where the bug will be on exhibition during the day(BLA, 11/23/1918). In this era there were only bacteriologists, the existence of viruses was as yet unknown, so the cause influenza was incorrectly attributed to a bacteria.
But “the bug” wasn’t gone. Like much of the country, once new cases were on the wane, Humboldt County relaxed the protective measures that had been taken to prevent the flu’s spread, but early 1919 saw the third wave of the 1918 pandemic appear in Humboldt communities with another outbreak of new influenza cases and more deaths.
The Third Wave of the 1918 influenza outbreak will be taken up next week in Odd Old News.
Earlier Odd and Old News:
There are many more, but here are the most recent:
- Mysterious Mastodon Teeth
- Sam Saves a Lamb, Lassie Style
- The East Branch Oil Well Story
- Odd, Old News: Petrolia’s Ocean House Hotel is Delightfully Described
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One can only hope (&pray) that this cautionary story will be taken absolutely seriously by all Humboldtians . We are basically on our own up here & will decide our collective outcome during the next year. So, keep staying safe& sane, kind& calm, smart& productive. Plant gardens, and draw energy to keep up, from this beautiful Springtime. Best wishes to all!
It’s weird how far right the political center of this nation has gone over the last 50 years or so. Great story!
It’s crazier how many have hung a hard left instead. Which is why there is such difficulty in supporting the scientific evidence when it runs counter to political fancies. Maybe it is the left that is making the problems so much worse by their futile attempts to remake the world.
People of 1918 were not notably liberal at all. So it’s very unlikely that the country has moved right from there. You just like to blame.
The move to the right was a result of what Ken Kesey said: when there’s more people there will be more stupid people. Hence the move to the right. How else would a lying gangster like Hair Hitler get elected President?
Ken kesey said “at any given time there are more stupid people than smart people” at a grateful dead show in eugene
Kesey said” there will always be more stupid people than smart people”…
The problem now, in this country, is not Trump, its Trump Derangement Syndrome, which is a direct product of stupidity.
>”People of 1918 were not notably liberal at all.”
Eh ? That was a time of socialist leanings in a large part of the US population.
IWW.
Humboldt County had a Union run hospital.
Eugene Debs (won 6% of popular vote) was tossed in jail by Wilson.
Lost 2 (would have been) uncles in the Spanish flu epidemic. Aged 4 and 5.
Wow, you really know history… so, I don’t know as much, but are you talking about what some historians called populism? And wasn’t it a response to expanding US imperialism abroad, and the robber barons, and everything? And did it peak in the 30’s? And was all this why we we had witch trials in the days of McCarthy?
I don’t mean to trouble you, but feel free to elaborate… I do enjoy learning history.
Revolution became the response long before 1929. Look at 1890.
Liberal leanings of course were evident in the US by 1918. Labor and wealth inequality figured immensely in US and European politics. The 1890 crash was a wake-up call as the enormous wealth realized by only a few became evident after the industrial revolution. Pay attention. History repeats itself and before journalism became a major force in American culture it was easy to avoid the truth. The victors controlled the narrative.
Yes indeed. ” before journalism became a major force in American culture it was easy to avoid the truth. The victors controlled the narrative.”
… and now that journalism has become a major force, The narrative controls the victors.
Lot of different narratives among the media, Ernie. Fox News and MSNBC look different to me.
Yeah, I agree. MSNBC and CNN are quite different from Fox and affiliates. When these several crises resolve, I hope Ernie will be on the Truth and Reconciliation committee so I can learn what I have thought and done wrong all of MY life to bring on the Trump catastrophe.
Funny, in a heart-breaking way, to watch our Sinclair/Trump TV station run the national news through the Fox-fix-it filter. Rather than say OBAMA created the pandemic disease task force after the Ebola crisis back in 2014 which was eliminated by TRUMP in 2018, what we got was just the years 2014 and 2018 in the hope you won’t remember which president did what.
Make America Grieve Again.
Nice try, America. Looked like maybe you were something new under the sun, but I guess not. We’re not even going to make 300 years if we don’t turn this wagon around, soon. Congratulations, Conservatives, you broke my spirit. From Lincoln to Captain Oblivious. The Republican legacy for the ages,
Thanks, Lucy, I appreciate that very much. I will look into the 1890 crash… Let me know if any good books come to mind. Thanks again. 🙂
???
Yeah, they weren’t very liberal at all. Women could not vote, Jim Crow laws ruled the country, Catholics and Jews and anyone else not white, protestant and male, preferably with money, were second class citizens.
Fact is, virtually every positive advancement of civilization has come from liberal, progressive thought. “Conservative” connotes retaining old ideas, the old way. Many of the old ways were very ugly and cruel. Sure was great when the Catholic Church, for just one example, quit burning people to death for heresy. Thank you so much for liberal thought.
Decades of Conservative propaganda have brainwashed millions to believe just the opposite, that the world was heavenly before stupid liberal thought took over. What a crock. “We hold these truths to be self-evident . . . . that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, that among these rights are life, liberty and pursuit of happiness..” Wow, Stupid liberal thought.
All these years later we now know that Reagan’s throw-away comment: “ Government is the enemy” was absurd. BAD government is the enemy as we learn every day with the presidency of Saint Donald the Demented; conservative Icon,whose ass has been kissed more times than the Blarney Stone in an effort to induce some form of rational, responsible, presidential leadership; to no avail.
Thanks, conservatives. Youth is wasted on the young, Health is wasted on the healthy, America is wasted on the Americans.
According to what Wittkowsky said in that earlier linked video, the second wave was because they engaged in containment and did not reach the levels of infection high enough to achieve herd immunity with the first one. I wonder what a mobile population does to prevent herd immunity in a specific area. It’s sort of like the idea of forest fire suppression that occurred starting in the 1950s. Fires were contained routinely but then the fuel load kept growing and that allowed the opportunity for increasingly large and hotter fires when a spark inevitably started one.
That social distancing slows the spread of the virus is undeniable but the question remains is that an absolute good thing when the virus can not be eliminated by doing so. It’s not such a simple thing after all. And won’t be clear for a couple of years b at least if any political entity has the courage to work it is way through the pandemic without extreme actions. If South Korea for example is still fighting a war of attrition until a vaccine is developed, will they see greater damage than a country which didn’t like Sweden?
What we really need in side spread antibody testing so we can see.
You are missing a vital piece of the equation. If the country were to take no actions to slow the spread of COVID-19, there would be double or triple the deaths due to the medical industry collapsing and refusing treatment to people. The concept is to slow the spread to buy us time to prepare and respond to the illness and not to stop it. To achieve Herd Immunity, at least 80% of the population must become immune through becoming infected and surviving. Ideally this would be achieved through an adequate vaccination. We are slowing the spread so that people can have a fighting chance with medical treatment, the development of medications that work, and eventually the development of a vaccination. Your proposal of letting the virus run through our population with the attitude of “ May the odds be in your favor”, is a very dangerous ideology that devalues human life; especially the most vulnerable. I understand that the current restrictions are difficult and uncomfortable but, the benefit of saving lives takes precedence over everything else. Forcing the spread and rushing it through the county quickly would have disastrous effects.
Well said, M. Thanks.
First I never said do nothing. You assumed that there are only two alternatives- do nothing or isolate everyone. Those are not the only alternatives. Certainly older and vulnerable people do need to isolate themselves, which is what Sweden is doing. They are also the segment of the population that “floods” the hospitals. So if that segment is protected, then the cases that get sick enough to be hospitalized will naturally be within the hospital capabilities simply because the remaining people have a lower rate of serious complications from the virus.
Sweden is continuing school so that the virus spreads more freely there. They are encouraging people to work from home if possible, limiting large gatherings, and certain other distancing practices. But restaurants and many other businesses are open.
The point is to spread the infection wide enough to crest the infection curve as soon as possible while protecting those likely to suffer most. Imposing mass isolation means that it will take a long time to reach a point where the virus infects few enough for it to be safe for everyone. Meanwhile the chances of being exposed is always there until 80% of the population has been exposed a hundred at a time. And while that repeats itself over and over again, those most likely to die keep chancing exposure.
Yeah, except that it’s turning out that it’s not just old and immune-compromised people who die. One major aspect of 1918 flu was that young, vigorous people in their 20’s suffered high mortality rates. Apparently this was due to a hyper immune response which resulted in rapid fluid build- up and death in days from “drowning.” Seriously, there is a local news blurb (I saw it in Hum. Historian ) about a group of Croatian immigrants who worked in logging, as tough and hard as any Swede, Portuguese, or tribal member, who died in days from the 1918 flu. That effect is being reported these days.
Remember, when you see screw-America reporting on Fox and Fiends about how covid-19 is no worse than the “ flu”; none of you, nobody living today, has seen a flu season with patients crammed into overwhelmed hospitals and bodies stacked up in morgues. Bill Bennett and the Fox regulars will lie just like their hero, dear, maximum, supreme leader.
Depending on which book you read, the “herd” immunity was not something everybody volunteered for. It just happened that way. One theory is that the first wave in 1918 was a more typical strain with a much lower death rate, but which served as a vaccine against the killer strain.
The major idea with social isolation is to SLOW the rate of infection so the medical care and research efforts can catch up treating patients, learning what works, and developing a vaccine. And dealing with bodies.
Good points Lost Croat and Guest, we are still determining just how far along the natural herd immunity curve to Covid-19 we are as scientists continue to determine when Covid-19 first appeared in the US, and how many have been exposed for many months.
The third wave in Humboldt County in 1919 was a milder version of influenza than the second. Had it mutated? Did people have some immunity? Trying to suss out what is going on with Covid-19 is challenging as we all know. One can read that in some places it is mutating, but apparently it isn’t getting more virulent–but like much of our information, that is still being determined. Are different mutations around the world more virulent? What strain are we seeing in Humboldt County? Will we see Covid-19 behave like most flus and disappear with the warm season in the N. Hemisphere? Time will tell.
Humboldt county lucked out, relatively, with the second wave of the 1918 Influenza outbreak. 200 people dying out of 37,000? That’s a pretty small percentage relative to areas where the outbreak was far more horrific. Perhaps a large reason was the lack of out-of-community spread into the community…
Humboldt County’s relative isolation at this time served its public health well, reducing exposures from “outsiders”. Travel was quite limited, 101—“the Redwood Highway”, wasn’t finished up to Eureka until 1920, and improvements to the Weaverville to Redding section of today’s highway 299 hadn’t yet been made. In the summer of 1918 the report came from Trinity Center: “There is heavy travel on the state highway going to Eureka, there being an average of 18 machines a day”(BLA, 7/27/1918). !
“South Korea for example is still fighting a war of attrition until a vaccine is developed, will they see greater damage than a country which didn’t like Sweden?”
———————-
Both remain open Numbers showing heavy damage in Sweden 🇸🇪.
* unmitigated response-Sweden: 13,216 cases ,1,400 fatalities,CFR 10.59%.
Population-10.32 million
*Testing and tracing-South Korea : 10,635 cases ,230 fatalities,CFR 2.16% .
population -51.64 million
https://bnonews.com/index.php/2020/04/the-latest-coronavirus-cases/
No one can measure the total number of deaths until the virus has burnt itself out. That can happen in a couple of months or keep going at a low level until a vaccine is perfected. By the time a vaccine is available, the total number of deaths is likely to be very much the same- it just takes longer to get there with a longer time hospital personnel have exposure to the virus and the chances of it reaching nursing homes.
But if it rapidly spreads among those who are unlikely to get very sick, the time it runs will be shorter. Precautions can be made an intense priority for a short time but are likely to be relaxed over a long time.
I’m not a hundred percent sure because things like the reinfection rate or resurgence rate of the virus is unlown. But it is surely clear to everyone that mass isolation is neither possible nor healthy for an extended time. So fear of letting it go is not reasonable because it’s safety is an illusion.
^^^^this^^^^
The unusual name you choose is already in regular use by another commenter.
Was American great back then?
No more or less than it is now.
Was it great? Hmm…did the “new Americans “treat the native inhabitants with dignity & respect? Did the “new Americans” import slaves?
And to go along with that… Are we treating the native inhabitants with dignity and respect, now? And, are we dealing with any forms of slavery, now?
Yeah, but those were time-tested, conservative values, treating different people like shit. Treating infidels, blacks, aboriginal inhabitants, and women as co-equal human beings were crazy liberal values that would come in time with great effort and agony. Ah, yes, the good ol’ conservative days of yore.
No. Just hopeful.
🕯🌳The United States since it’s conception has always had an unhealthy look at people of color and or race. 🐎🐸🖖
Well, this nation was founded on slavery… in it’s very origin, AND the wholesale slaughter of Native Americans… so, yeah. Sadly, these legacies persist today…
The old way, the conservative way. Loving it. A civilization, gone with the wind. God bless that wind and good riddance
So many must have not read the history of the country at all. And what they did read, they did not comprehend.
Hey Kym
The picture you have is of my Grandfather. He was four at the time. My Grandmother wrote the article for Humboldt historian.
Thanks for the odd old news
Brent, that’s so cool!
That is cool, Brent. Wish I could gotten to a library to read your Grandmother’s article in the Historian, and will when I can.
Guess the mask worked. Thanks for bringing the story back to the point. All you young ones who are still invincible remember you may have grandchildren someday, or not.
That is cool!
It is important to note that it isn’t over until it’s over. There will be more than one wave of infection as we let our guards down. We have been well warned of that, and history proves that to be the case.
We should thank the people that want to put themselves out there and take chances getting the flu. Some may die, but they will be helping to create the “herd immunity” that will eventually stop this terrible disease.
Some of us may want to keep protecting ourselves until a vaccine is developed. Some of us will refuse the vaccine. They have their own reasons for that. I have a very good friend who was disabled from the swine flu vaccine. Hopefully todays vaccine will be much safer.
I have a cousin that has a lung defect who could be killed by a simple cold virus. He goes about his life by using sanitary wipes and a mask whenever he goes to town. He shops very early before people show up at the stores. He hasn’t had a cold or the flu in years. So… you can protect yourself, it is your responsibility!
Hopefully, the people that just want to get back to living their lives will be careful around the people that may be in a weakened condition. Go for it!
‘Dangerous slacker’ is a good term. There are way too many people walking around willow creek with no mask or gloves these days. People are either uneducated or educated by listening to BS online.
This virus is no joke- anyone who likes using there lungs should be concerned.
I was feeling strange, and people came out of the rain, when I’m strange. Maybe that’s it.
Based on the content of the comments here, there seems to be a lot of doctors and scientists who have somehow discovered that people get automatic immunity when they survive this covid19 virus, and they have posted their research here. Wow. Thanks, for the info; or , I mean opinion. Why, why, do people make such asinine assumptions?
It is not yet known that automatic immunity results from being infected by this Covid19 virus. Get that through your heads.
“It is not yet known”– the operant phrase for much of our emerging science and blog opinions… however, more and more is emerging…Mercury News reported on the new Stanford study:….
“The new Stanford study comes at a time when health experts and elected officials look to immunity as one way to blunt the impact of the pandemic. It is not yet known if antibodies prevent future infection. If so, antibody protection could offer people a safe route out of strict “sheltering.”
The research also implies that the death rate is far lower than believed. At the time of research, 39 county residents had died — a fatality rate, based on estimated infections, of only 0.12 to 0.2%. California’s assumed death rate, based only on confirmed cases, is 3%.” ..”Several other teams worldwide also have started testing population samples. Like Stanford, they’ve found that there’s a large underestimate of infections.”
But David, you should mention that this information hasn’t been peer-reviewed, has design limitations, and is only a preliminary study… https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/04/17/coronavirus-2-5-to-4-2-of-santa-clara-county-residents-infected-stanford-estimates/
That was a very healthy inner dialogue.
Thanks!
And more…what are we to make of this?
BOSTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now “actively looking into” results from universal COVID-19 testing at Pine Street Inn homeless shelter. The broad-scale testing took place at the shelter in Boston’s South End a week and a half ago because of a small cluster of cases there. Of the 397 people tested, 146 people tested positive. Not a single one had any symptoms…“It was like a double knockout punch. The number of positives was shocking, but the fact that 100 percent of the positives had no symptoms was equally shocking,” said Dr. Jim O’Connell, president of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, which provides medical care at the city’s shelters.” https://www.boston25news.com/news/cdc-reviewing-stunning-universal-testing-results-boston-homeless-shelter/Z253TFBO6RG4HCUAARBO4YWO64/
Ok, I have had my soapbox time…. stay healthy folks!
If people really want to do the right thing, regardless of political leanings, WEAR A MASK WHEN OUT IN PUBLIC!!!!!
I work in an essential business, and have to deal with the public every day. I am absolutely confounded by the asshats that come in to my business without a mask on!
To those folks who don’t want to do the right thing, then STAY THE F HOME!!!!!
Put up a sign. Deny entry.
Do what you will.
The economic consequences of the disruptive tactics of the Chump tRump administration and its supporters will be the highest among economically developed nations. A strong leader in this case is one who can consistently urge the public to follow the best medical advice, even when it may be a bitter pill to swallow and yes, enforce when necessary for the good of the country. Hair Hitler Chump tRump can never provide this kind of leadership. He is weak, too damn stupid, and too afraid to oppose the MAGA-hatted zombies who helped put him in office.
TRB is right Me. Put up a sign at the door and do not let anyone inside without a mask on. If they do not have a mask, provide one for them and charge them for it.
This herd immunity people keep talking about may or may not work. Only time, with the resultant exposure, will tell. In the mean time, wear a mask when going in to a store. Use disinfectant wipes during and after any store visit. I still wonder what the excitement is about a vaccine if everyone gets it (corvid 19) and we all have herd immunity, but that’s just me.
The final death toll is certainly going to be lower; perhaps around 0.6%. If sixty percent of the approximate 330 million people in the US get it, that still leaves nearly two million people dead. While I believe we, as a nation, will get less than that, it will still require most of us working together, something not done for several years. It’s time to pull together, not split apart. Leave the political BS at the door.
Just got off the phone with my uncle in Mississippi. He is getting over Corvid 19. He said it was terrible at its worst, a few days ago. He said he was given chloroquine with an antibiotic, and he felt better within a few hours. He went home from the hospital the next day. He’s 89 years old, and a cancer survivor (prostate and bladder, like me {although I also have multiple myeloma}).
There is hope. There is no reason to panic. Together, we can beat this. But it will take cooler heads prevailing. Many people, both liberal and conservative, like to think they follow the data, and science. If you are one of these people, the walk the talk.
This thing is here and real. The numbers of confirmed cases is disingenuous to public health. The number of people turned away for testing and the efficacy of testing is not widely published. Please take this risk seriously. As things open up please be courteous to others in public. Wear PPE and distance whenever possible. Assume anyone could have it. I have firsthand experience seeing this disease as an essential Healthcare worker. I can tell you it has potential to make anyone with a medical vulnerability extremely sick and possibly kill them. It’s nice that many aren’t worried about getting sick, but please consider others that may be older, sicker, or poorer than yourself. Please take care of each other and our community. Take the time to be considerate and save someone else’s life today.
Cool picture.
Nice masks.
How many people thought she was talking on a cell phone?
I really wish folks would use higher resolution scans of historical photos, so that we can see details.
you could always go look at it yourself. The HSU photographic site is a free online resource. I found this image by entering “flue” in the search engine.