Pandemic Flu

Pandemic Flu

Since the spring of 2020, the town of Cumberland and the rest of the world have been in the midst of a crippling pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus. But sadly, this isn’t the only epidemic or pandemic to hit our small town. In the first few months of 1918, soldiers sent home from WWI to Fort Riley in Kansas started coughing, having headaches and a low-grade fever. The sickness escalated and spread across the United States and Asia. By the fall of 1918, the “Spanish Influenza” had hit Indianapolis, including Cumberland.

 Cumberland was a sheltered place. We had less instances of influenza than the rest of Marion County. Everything we needed was here in town. We had a grocer, a hardware store, a bank, a feed store, a butcher, a barber, a blacksmith and several other businesses right here at home. We had no real reason to leave.

On Oct 7th,  Indianapolis Mayor Jewett directed schools, taverns, pool rooms, skating rinks, churches and movie theaters, to name a few, closed. This order also included Cumberland since they used the Interurban. The German School at St John Church defied the order and sent pupils to school anyway. I couldn’t find any info on the Cumberland school.  In November, State Board of Health Secretary Morgan made the wearing of masks mandatory, both in public and at work. Pneumonia was a worry as it was a secondary cause of death on many death certificates. By the end of 1919, the flu seemed to just disappear one case at a time.

John Setterquist, who immigrated to Cumberland from Sweden, was serving at Camp Taylor in Kentucky. He came down with influenza and died at the camp. John’s death certificate listed pneumonia as the secondary cause of death. His body was shipped to Cumberland for burial. Two members of his family came down with influenza after John was buried. But no mentions or death notices were found, so they are assumed to have survived.

Hometown soldier John Gullett died of influenza while serving in France. He was buried in a military cemetery there, but later he was brought home and reburied here. 

George Smith, son of John & Lizzy Smith, died November 1, 1918. He was a truck driver. He died of pneumonia that was precipitated by influenza.

So far, I haven't found any flu victims that are buried in the Cumberland Cemetery. The last known burial there was Jesse Ebaugh in 1898.

 It is now thought that the 1918 influenza evolved from mammals, either pigs or humans. This is from a study of the lung tissue of two soldiers who died from influenza in 1918 and 1919 and the frozen body of an Alaskan woman. Even now (2020), scientists are not sure if it mutated from humans to pigs or pigs to humans.


 

The following was printed in The Indianapolis Star, November 24, 1918, pages 1 and 12

Flu Mask Order Stands; Option is Permissible

Health Board Plead With Public for Co-Operation to Check Epidemic. Which

Continues to Grow in City

Urges Wearing In Crowds

Precaution Needed to Avert Wholesale Closing of Business --- Schools

Stay Idle This Week

            A decision was made yesterday at a special session of the city board of health to continue in effort its regulation requiring the wearing of God's protective mask.

The board pointed out that on public sentiment and public cooperation will depend the success of the regulation.

            Yesterday's new cases according to the report from the office of the health board were considerably higher than for several days. The number reported by physicians was a 131 and the number of deaths reported was seven, six of which were ascribed to pneumonia and one to influenza. Saturday, however, is not regarded as a typical day and the reports usually run lighter than on other days of the week except Sunday.

            Doctor Herman G. Morgan, secretary of the board, reviewed the ravages of the epidemic since its inception here, his effort to stem the tide of public sentiment against the wearing of the mask for the public's own good, and the relaxation in the public cooperation that has been brought about by persons and organizations which have looked upon the regulation with disfavor.

 No Wish to Hamper Business
            Dr. Morgan said that the board, in adopting the mask-wearing regulation, had put in effect an order that was designed to permit the business and social activities to continue with as little hindrance as possible. The board members are unanimous in declaring for the efficiency of the gauze mask, but the citizens of the city, they say, will be the factor to determine whether its use will have the effect of bringing un
der control the spread of a serious epidemic.

            In reply to the numerous complaints the board has received that the mask, is, in itself, an insanitary device which does not prevent the transmission of the influenza and pneumonia germs, members of the board said that the medical science has proven beyond doubt that the wearing of the mask prevents the projection of germs and that by the use of common sense the wearer, although perhaps inconvenience and put to some discomfort while the mask is in place, will not be deprived of fresh air and will not be the subject to the dangers of self infection which antagonist of the expedient declare.

 Discretion is permitted.
            In a resolution passed by the board it was said "The public is advised that judgment and discretion may be used in adopting this measure; that, for example, in the case of a clerk in a store not waiting on a customer, or any individual in office or factory where ventilation is adequate, and there are no crowds, the wearing of the mask is optional."
            The wearing of the mask is urged in all public assemblies such as theaters, churches and other places where there is danger of contagion by the breathing of germ-laden air created by persons affected with respiratory infections.
            The resolution of the board follows.

            Resolved. That wher-as the influenza epidemic now existing in the city of Indianapolis is not yet under control, and that the wearing of the gauze mask, as recommended by the board of health, has met with some opposition, that the following positions of the board be stated:
            The wearing of the mask is a scientific precautionary measure which will aid in the suppression of influenza and contagious pneumonia, therefore every citizen is requested to cooperate with the board by wearing the mask in public, both for the protection of hims
elf and fellow citizens.

            The public is advised that the judgment and discretion may be used in adopting this measure: that for example, in the case of a clerk in a store not waiting on a customer, or an individual in an office or factory where ventilation is adequate and there are no crowds, the wearing of the mask is optional.
            It is the opinion of the board that precautionary measures are effective in the curtailment of the epidemic. It is the belief that it is erroneous to proceed on the theory that elementary preventive measures are ineffective, such as the wearing of masks, the prevention public ____ , etc.
            Such a condition would mean that medical and scientific authorities have thrown up their hands and were unable to cope with the situation. It would be most certainly inadvisable to proceed as the theory that the community would be safe from this epidemic only after it had run its course and the people have been inoculated and immunized by having suffered an attack of the disease.
            Indianapolis has one of the best records of any city in the United States which has been affected by this epidemic from a standpoint of the death rate and the number of cases reported. This is due to the fact that the closing order and other precautionary measures have been faithfully observed by the people of the city. It is the opinion of the board from its recent experience and the experience of other cities that if the people of the community hardly cooperate with the health department in applying every sanitary and preventive measure to their individual cases the community will soon be restored to its normal status of health.

Schools to remain closed

            It was decided to keep the schools closed during next week. In this much as the Thanksgiving holiday will leave only 3 days in the week.

            The matter of exercising the board's right of quarantine in the case of influenza was also discussed but it was shown that the length of time in which persons continue to be carriers of the disease is indefinite and that because of the fact that there is a reasonable certainty that all cases of influenza are not being reported quarantine is deemed impractical.

            The board also considered the possibility of resorting to the closing up ban.  Mayor Charles W Jewett, who attended the meeting, said he felt that it would be unwise to interrupt the city's activities unless conditions grew so bad that the board would be left with no alternative. The mayor expressed himself yesterday and previously that the mask wearing regulation was for the city's own good and should be complied with.

            Dr W.D. Gatch, president of the board, and other member said that in their opinion, the virulency of the present flurry of the epidemic is not as severe in its mortality rate as the previous one.

            During the meeting of the health board the mayor called Dr J.N. Hurty, secretary of the state board of health, by telephone and ask him for his views with regard to combating the situation. It was said Dr Hurty repeated his previous statements that in his opinion the situation had gone beyond the possibility of preventive measures to control and that attention should now be directed to caring for persons who had been stricken by the malady.

 Written with information from:

The Indianapolis Star, Dec 26, 1968 pg 12

The Indianapolis Star Feb 16, 1999 pg 7

The Indianapolis Star Oct 31, 2005 pg A6

 University of Michigan Center for the History of Medicine and Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library

Officers in masks

           
   
 
     
 
     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since the spring of 2020, the town of Cumberland and the rest of the world have been in the midst of a crippling pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus. But sadly, this isn’t the only epidemic or pandemic to hit our small town. In the first few months of 1918, soldiers sent home from WWI to Fort Riley in Kansas started coughing, having headaches and a low-grade fever. The sickness escalated and spread across the United States and Asia. By the fall of 1918, the “Spanish Influenza” had hit Indianapolis, including Cumberland.

 Cumberland was a sheltered place. We had less instances of influenza than the rest of Marion County. Everything we needed was here in town. We had a grocer, a hardware store, a bank, a feed store, a butcher, a barber, a blacksmith and several other businesses right here at home. We had no real reason to leave.

On Oct 7th,  Indianapolis Mayor Jewett directed schools, taverns, pool rooms, skating rinks, churches and movie theaters, to name a few, closed. This order also included Cumberland since they used the Interurban. The German School at St John Church defied the order and sent pupils to school anyway. I couldn’t find any info on the Cumberland school.  In November, State Board of Health Secretary Morgan made the wearing of masks mandatory, both in public and at work. Pneumonia was a worry as it was a secondary cause of death on many death certificates. By the end of 1919, the flu seemed to just disappear one case at a time.

John Setterquist, who immigrated to Cumberland from Sweden, was serving at Camp Taylor in Kentucky. He came down with influenza and died at the camp. John’s death certificate listed pneumonia as the secondary cause of death. His body was shipped to Cumberland for burial. Two members of his family came down with influenza after John was buried. But no mentions or death notices were found, so they are assumed to have survived.

Hometown soldier John Gullett died of influenza while serving in France. He was buried in a military cemetery there, but later he was brought home and reburied here. 

George Smith, son of John & Lizzy Smith, died November 1, 1918. He was a truck driver. He died of pneumonia that was precipitated by influenza.

So far, I haven't found any flu victims that are buried in the Cumberland Cemetery. The last known burial there was Jesse Ebaugh in 1898.

 It is now thought that the 1918 influenza evolved from mammals, either pigs or humans. This is from a study of the lung tissue of two soldiers who died from influenza in 1918 and 1919 and the frozen body of an Alaskan woman. Even now (2020), scientists are not sure if it mutated from humans to pigs or pigs to humans.

 

 

The following was printed in The Indianapolis Star, November 24, 1918, pages 1 and 12

Flu Mask Order Stands; Option is Permissible

Health Board Plead With Public for Co-Operation to Check Epidemic. Which

Continues to Grow in City

Urges Wearing In Crowds

Precaution Needed to Avert Wholesale Closing of Business --- Schools

Stay Idle This Week

            A decision was made yesterday at a special session of the city board of health to continue in effort its regulation requiring the wearing of God's protective mask.

The board pointed out that on public sentiment and public cooperation will depend the success of the regulation.

            Yesterday's new cases according to the report from the office of the health board were considerably higher than for several days. The number reported by physicians was a 131 and the number of deaths reported was seven, six of which were ascribed to pneumonia and one to influenza. Saturday, however, is not regarded as a typical day and the reports usually run lighter than on other days of the week except Sunday.

            Doctor Herman G. Morgan, secretary of the board, reviewed the ravages of the epidemic since its inception here, his effort to stem the tide of public sentiment against the wearing of the mask for the public's own good, and the relaxation in the public cooperation that has been brought about by persons and organizations which have looked upon the regulation with disfavor.

 No Wish to Hamper Business
            Dr. Morgan said that the board, in adopting the mask-wearing regulation, had put in effect an order that was designed to permit the business and social activities to continue with as little hindrance as possible. The board members are unanimous in declaring for the efficiency of the gauze mask, but the citizens of the city, they say, will be the factor to determine whether its use will have the effect of bringing under control the spread of a serious epidemic.

            In reply to the numerous complaints the board has received that the mask, is, in itself, an insanitary device which does not prevent the transmission of the influenza and pneumonia germs, members of the board said that the medical science has proven beyond doubt that the wearing of the mask prevents the projection of germs and that by the use of common sense the wearer, although perhaps inconvenience and put to some discomfort while the mask is in place, will not be deprived of fresh air and will not be the subject to the dangers of self infection which antagonist of the expedient declare.

 Discretion is permitted.
            In a resolution passed by the board it was said "The public is advised that judgment and discretion may be used in adopting this measure; that, for example, in the case of a clerk in a store not waiting on a customer, or any individual in office or factory where ventilation is adequate, and there are no crowds, the wearing of the mask is optional."
            The wearing of the mask is urged in all public assemblies such as theaters, churches and other places where there is danger of contagion by the breathing of germ-laden air created by persons affected with respiratory infections.
            The resolution of the board follows.

            Resolved. That wher-as the influenza epidemic now existing in the city of Indianapolis is not yet under control, and that the wearing of the gauze mask, as recommended by the board of health, has met with some opposition, that the following positions of the board be stated:
            The wearing of the mask is a scientific precautionary measure which will aid in the suppression of influenza and contagious pneumonia, therefore every citizen is requested to cooperate with the board by wearing the mask in public, both for the protection of himself and fellow citizens.
            The public is advised that the judgment and discretion may be used in adopting this measure: that for example, in the case of a clerk in a store not waiting on a customer, or an individual in an office or factory where ventilation is adequate and there are no crowds, the wearing of the mask is optional.
            It is the opinion of the board that precautionary measures are effective in the curtailment of the epidemic. It is the belief that it is erroneous to proceed on the theory that elementary preventive measures are ineffective, such as the wearing of masks, the prevention public ____ , etc.
            Such a condition would mean that medical and scientific authorities have thrown up their hands and were unable to cope with the situation. It would be most certainly inadvisable to proceed as the theory that the community would be safe from this epidemic only after it had run its course and the people have been inoculated and immunized by having suffered an attack of the disease.
            Indianapolis has one of the best records of any city in the United States which has been affected by this epidemic from a standpoint of the death rate and the number of cases reported. This is due to the fact that the closing order and other precautionary measures have been faithfully observed by the people of the city. It is the opinion of the board from its recent experience and the experience of other cities that if the people of the community hardly cooperate with the health department in applying every sanitary and preventive measure to their individual cases the community will soon be restored to its normal status of health.

Schools to remain closed

            It was decided to keep the schools closed during next week. In this much as the Thanksgiving holiday will leave only 3 days in the week.

            The matter of exercising the board's right of quarantine in the case of influenza was also discussed but it was shown that the length of time in which persons continue to be carriers of the disease is indefinite and that because of the fact that there is a reasonable certainty that all cases of influenza are not being reported quarantine is deemed impractical.

            The board also considered the possibility of resorting to the closing up ban.  Mayor Charles W Jewett, who attended the meeting, said he felt that it would be unwise to interrupt the city's activities unless conditions grew so bad that the board would be left with no alternative. The mayor expressed himself yesterday and previously that the mask wearing regulation was for the city's own good and should be complied with.

            Dr W.D. Gatch, president of the board, and other member said that in their opinion, the virulency of the present flurry of the epidemic is not as severe in its mortality rate as the previous one.

            During the meeting of the health board the mayor called Dr J.N. Hurty, secretary of the state board of health, by telephone and ask him for his views with regard to combating the situation. It was said Dr Hurty repeated his previous statements that in his opinion the situation had gone beyond the possibility of preventive measures to control and that attention should now be directed to caring for persons who had been stricken by the malady.

 Written with information from:

The Indianapolis Star, Dec 26, 1968 pg 12

The Indianapolis Star Feb 16, 1999 pg 7

The Indianapolis Star Oct 31, 2005 pg A6

 University of Michigan Center for the History of Medicine and Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library

 

           
   
 
     
 
     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since the spring of 2020, the town of Cumberland and the rest of the world have been in the midst of a crippling pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus. But sadly, this isn’t the only epidemic or pandemic to hit our small town. In the first few months of 1918, soldiers sent home from WWI to Fort Riley in Kansas started coughing, having headaches and a low-grade fever. The sickness escalated and spread across the United States and Asia. By the fall of 1918, the “Spanish Influenza” had hit Indianapolis, including Cumberland.

 Cumberland was a sheltered place. We had less instances of influenza than the rest of Marion County. Everything we needed was here in town. We had a grocer, a hardware store, a bank, a feed store, a butcher, a barber, a blacksmith and several other businesses right here at home. We had no real reason to leave.

On Oct 7th,  Indianapolis Mayor Jewett directed schools, taverns, pool rooms, skating rinks, churches and movie theaters, to name a few, closed. This order also included Cumberland since they used the Interurban. The German School at St John Church defied the order and sent pupils to school anyway. I couldn’t find any info on the Cumberland school.  In November, State Board of Health Secretary Morgan made the wearing of masks mandatory, both in public and at work. Pneumonia was a worry as it was a secondary cause of death on many death certificates. By the end of 1919, the flu seemed to just disappear one case at a time.

John Setterquist, who immigrated to Cumberland from Sweden, was serving at Camp Taylor in Kentucky. He came down with influenza and died at the camp. John’s death certificate listed pneumonia as the secondary cause of death. His body was shipped to Cumberland for burial. Two members of his family came down with influenza after John was buried. But no mentions or death notices were found, so they are assumed to have survived.

Hometown soldier John Gullett died of influenza while serving in France. He was buried in a military cemetery there, but later he was brought home and reburied here. 

George Smith, son of John & Lizzy Smith, died November 1, 1918. He was a truck driver. He died of pneumonia that was precipitated by influenza.

So far, I haven't found any flu victims that are buried in the Cumberland Cemetery. The last known burial there was Jesse Ebaugh in 1898.

 It is now thought that the 1918 influenza evolved from mammals, either pigs or humans. This is from a study of the lung tissue of two soldiers who died from influenza in 1918 and 1919 and the frozen body of an Alaskan woman. Even now (2020), scientists are not sure if it mutated from humans to pigs or pigs to humans.

 

 

The following was printed in The Indianapolis Star, November 24, 1918, pages 1 and 12

Flu Mask Order Stands; Option is Permissible

Health Board Plead With Public for Co-Operation to Check Epidemic. Which

Continues to Grow in City

Urges Wearing In Crowds

Precaution Needed to Avert Wholesale Closing of Business --- Schools

Stay Idle This Week

            A decision was made yesterday at a special session of the city board of health to continue in effort its regulation requiring the wearing of God's protective mask.

The board pointed out that on public sentiment and public cooperation will depend the success of the regulation.

            Yesterday's new cases according to the report from the office of the health board were considerably higher than for several days. The number reported by physicians was a 131 and the number of deaths reported was seven, six of which were ascribed to pneumonia and one to influenza. Saturday, however, is not regarded as a typical day and the reports usually run lighter than on other days of the week except Sunday.

            Doctor Herman G. Morgan, secretary of the board, reviewed the ravages of the epidemic since its inception here, his effort to stem the tide of public sentiment against the wearing of the mask for the public's own good, and the relaxation in the public cooperation that has been brought about by persons and organizations which have looked upon the regulation with disfavor.

 No Wish to Hamper Business
            Dr. Morgan said that the board, in adopting the mask-wearing regulation, had put in effect an order that was designed to permit the business and social activities to continue with as little hindrance as possible. The board members are unanimous in declaring for the efficiency of the gauze mask, but the citizens of the city, they say, will be the factor to determine whether its use will have the effect of bringing under control the spread of a serious epidemic.

            In reply to the numerous complaints the board has received that the mask, is, in itself, an insanitary device which does not prevent the transmission of the influenza and pneumonia germs, members of the board said that the medical science has proven beyond doubt that the wearing of the mask prevents the projection of germs and that by the use of common sense the wearer, although perhaps inconvenience and put to some discomfort while the mask is in place, will not be deprived of fresh air and will not be the subject to the dangers of self infection which antagonist of the expedient declare.

 Discretion is permitted.
            In a resolution passed by the board it was said "The public is advised that judgment and discretion may be used in adopting this measure; that, for example, in the case of a clerk in a store not waiting on a customer, or any individual in office or factory where ventilation is adequate, and there are no crowds, the wearing of the mask is optional."
            The wearing of the mask is urged in all public assemblies such as theaters, churches and other places where there is danger of contagion by the breathing of germ-laden air created by persons affected with respiratory infections.
            The resolution of the board follows.

            Resolved. That wher-as the influenza epidemic now existing in the city of Indianapolis is not yet under control, and that the wearing of the gauze mask, as recommended by the board of health, has met with some opposition, that the following positions of the board be stated:
            The wearing of the mask is a scientific precautionary measure which will aid in the suppression of influenza and contagious pneumonia, therefore every citizen is requested to cooperate with the board by wearing the mask in public, both for the protection of himself and fellow citizens.
            The public is advised that the judgment and discretion may be used in adopting this measure: that for example, in the case of a clerk in a store not waiting on a customer, or an individual in an office or factory where ventilation is adequate and there are no crowds, the wearing of the mask is optional.
            It is the opinion of the board that precautionary measures are effective in the curtailment of the epidemic. It is the belief that it is erroneous to proceed on the theory that elementary preventive measures are ineffective, such as the wearing of masks, the prevention public ____ , etc.
            Such a condition would mean that medical and scientific authorities have thrown up their hands and were unable to cope with the situation. It would be most certainly inadvisable to proceed as the theory that the community would be safe from this epidemic only after it had run its course and the people have been inoculated and immunized by having suffered an attack of the disease.
            Indianapolis has one of the best records of any city in the United States which has been affected by this epidemic from a standpoint of the death rate and the number of cases reported. This is due to the fact that the closing order and other precautionary measures have been faithfully observed by the people of the city. It is the opinion of the board from its recent experience and the experience of other cities that if the people of the community hardly cooperate with the health department in applying every sanitary and preventive measure to their individual cases the community will soon be restored to its normal status of health.

Schools to remain closed

            It was decided to keep the schools closed during next week. In this much as the Thanksgiving holiday will leave only 3 days in the week.

            The matter of exercising the board's right of quarantine in the case of influenza was also discussed but it was shown that the length of time in which persons continue to be carriers of the disease is indefinite and that because of the fact that there is a reasonable certainty that all cases of influenza are not being reported quarantine is deemed impractical.

            The board also considered the possibility of resorting to the closing up ban.  Mayor Charles W Jewett, who attended the meeting, said he felt that it would be unwise to interrupt the city's activities unless conditions grew so bad that the board would be left with no alternative. The mayor expressed himself yesterday and previously that the mask wearing regulation was for the city's own good and should be complied with.

            Dr W.D. Gatch, president of the board, and other member said that in their opinion, the virulency of the present flurry of the epidemic is not as severe in its mortality rate as the previous one.

            During the meeting of the health board the mayor called Dr J.N. Hurty, secretary of the state board of health, by telephone and ask him for his views with regard to combating the situation. It was said Dr Hurty repeated his previous statements that in his opinion the situation had gone beyond the possibility of preventive measures to control and that attention should now be directed to caring for persons who had been stricken by the malady.

 Written with information from:

The Indianapolis Star, Dec 26, 1968 pg 12

The Indianapolis Star Feb 16, 1999 pg 7

The Indianapolis Star Oct 31, 2005 pg A6

 University of Michigan Center for the History of Medicine and Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library

 

           
   
 
     
 
     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since the spring of 2020, the town of Cumberland and the rest of the world have been in the midst of a crippling pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus. But sadly, this isn’t the only epidemic or pandemic to hit our small town. In the first few months of 1918, soldiers sent home from WWI to Fort Riley in Kansas started coughing, having headaches and a low-grade fever. The sickness escalated and spread across the United States and Asia. By the fall of 1918, the “Spanish Influenza” had hit Indianapolis, including Cumberland.

 Cumberland was a sheltered place. We had less instances of influenza than the rest of Marion County. Everything we needed was here in town. We had a grocer, a hardware store, a bank, a feed store, a butcher, a barber, a blacksmith and several other businesses right here at home. We had no real reason to leave.

On Oct 7th,  Indianapolis Mayor Jewett directed schools, taverns, pool rooms, skating rinks, churches and movie theaters, to name a few, closed. This order also included Cumberland since they used the Interurban. The German School at St John Church defied the order and sent pupils to school anyway. I couldn’t find any info on the Cumberland school.  In November, State Board of Health Secretary Morgan made the wearing of masks mandatory, both in public and at work. Pneumonia was a worry as it was a secondary cause of death on many death certificates. By the end of 1919, the flu seemed to just disappear one case at a time.

John Setterquist, who immigrated to Cumberland from Sweden, was serving at Camp Taylor in Kentucky. He came down with influenza and died at the camp. John’s death certificate listed pneumonia as the secondary cause of death. His body was shipped to Cumberland for burial. Two members of his family came down with influenza after John was buried. But no mentions or death notices were found, so they are assumed to have survived.

Hometown soldier John Gullett died of influenza while serving in France. He was buried in a military cemetery there, but later he was brought home and reburied here. 

George Smith, son of John & Lizzy Smith, died November 1, 1918. He was a truck driver. He died of pneumonia that was precipitated by influenza.

So far, I haven't found any flu victims that are buried in the Cumberland Cemetery. The last known burial there was Jesse Ebaugh in 1898.

 It is now thought that the 1918 influenza evolved from mammals, either pigs or humans. This is from a study of the lung tissue of two soldiers who died from influenza in 1918 and 1919 and the frozen body of an Alaskan woman. Even now (2020), scientists are not sure if it mutated from humans to pigs or pigs to humans.

 

 

The following was printed in The Indianapolis Star, November 24, 1918, pages 1 and 12

Flu Mask Order Stands; Option is Permissible

Health Board Plead With Public for Co-Operation to Check Epidemic. Which

Continues to Grow in City

Urges Wearing In Crowds

Precaution Needed to Avert Wholesale Closing of Business --- Schools

Stay Idle This Week

            A decision was made yesterday at a special session of the city board of health to continue in effort its regulation requiring the wearing of God's protective mask.

The board pointed out that on public sentiment and public cooperation will depend the success of the regulation.

            Yesterday's new cases according to the report from the office of the health board were considerably higher than for several days. The number reported by physicians was a 131 and the number of deaths reported was seven, six of which were ascribed to pneumonia and one to influenza. Saturday, however, is not regarded as a typical day and the reports usually run lighter than on other days of the week except Sunday.

            Doctor Herman G. Morgan, secretary of the board, reviewed the ravages of the epidemic since its inception here, his effort to stem the tide of public sentiment against the wearing of the mask for the public's own good, and the relaxation in the public cooperation that has been brought about by persons and organizations which have looked upon the regulation with disfavor.

 No Wish to Hamper Business
            Dr. Morgan said that the board, in adopting the mask-wearing regulation, had put in effect an order that was designed to permit the business and social activities to continue with as little hindrance as possible. The board members are unanimous in declaring for the efficiency of the gauze mask, but the citizens of the city, they say, will be the factor to determine whether its use will have the effect of bringing under control the spread of a serious epidemic.

            In reply to the numerous complaints the board has received that the mask, is, in itself, an insanitary device which does not prevent the transmission of the influenza and pneumonia germs, members of the board said that the medical science has proven beyond doubt that the wearing of the mask prevents the projection of germs and that by the use of common sense the wearer, although perhaps inconvenience and put to some discomfort while the mask is in place, will not be deprived of fresh air and will not be the subject to the dangers of self infection which antagonist of the expedient declare.

 Discretion is permitted.
            In a resolution passed by the board it was said "The public is advised that judgment and discretion may be used in adopting this measure; that, for example, in the case of a clerk in a store not waiting on a customer, or any individual in office or factory where ventilation is adequate, and there are no crowds, the wearing of the mask is optional."
            The wearing of the mask is urged in all public assemblies such as theaters, churches and other places where there is danger of contagion by the breathing of germ-laden air created by persons affected with respiratory infections.
            The resolution of the board follows.

            Resolved. That wher-as the influenza epidemic now existing in the city of Indianapolis is not yet under control, and that the wearing of the gauze mask, as recommended by the board of health, has met with some opposition, that the following positions of the board be stated:
            The wearing of the mask is a scientific precautionary measure which will aid in the suppression of influenza and contagious pneumonia, therefore every citizen is requested to cooperate with the board by wearing the mask in public, both for the protection of himself and fellow citizens.
            The public is advised that the judgment and discretion may be used in adopting this measure: that for example, in the case of a clerk in a store not waiting on a customer, or an individual in an office or factory where ventilation is adequate and there are no crowds, the wearing of the mask is optional.
            It is the opinion of the board that precautionary measures are effective in the curtailment of the epidemic. It is the belief that it is erroneous to proceed on the theory that elementary preventive measures are ineffective, such as the wearing of masks, the prevention public ____ , etc.
            Such a condition would mean that medical and scientific authorities have thrown up their hands and were unable to cope with the situation. It would be most certainly inadvisable to proceed as the theory that the community would be safe from this epidemic only after it had run its course and the people have been inoculated and immunized by having suffered an attack of the disease.
            Indianapolis has one of the best records of any city in the United States which has been affected by this epidemic from a standpoint of the death rate and the number of cases reported. This is due to the fact that the closing order and other precautionary measures have been faithfully observed by the people of the city. It is the opinion of the board from its recent experience and the experience of other cities that if the people of the community hardly cooperate with the health department in applying every sanitary and preventive measure to their individual cases the community will soon be restored to its normal status of health.

Schools to remain closed

            It was decided to keep the schools closed during next week. In this much as the Thanksgiving holiday will leave only 3 days in the week.

            The matter of exercising the board's right of quarantine in the case of influenza was also discussed but it was shown that the length of time in which persons continue to be carriers of the disease is indefinite and that because of the fact that there is a reasonable certainty that all cases of influenza are not being reported quarantine is deemed impractical.

            The board also considered the possibility of resorting to the closing up ban.  Mayor Charles W Jewett, who attended the meeting, said he felt that it would be unwise to interrupt the city's activities unless conditions grew so bad that the board would be left with no alternative. The mayor expressed himself yesterday and previously that the mask wearing regulation was for the city's own good and should be complied with.

            Dr W.D. Gatch, president of the board, and other member said that in their opinion, the virulency of the present flurry of the epidemic is not as severe in its mortality rate as the previous one.

            During the meeting of the health board the mayor called Dr J.N. Hurty, secretary of the state board of health, by telephone and ask him for his views with regard to combating the situation. It was said Dr Hurty repeated his previous statements that in his opinion the situation had gone beyond the possibility of preventive measures to control and that attention should now be directed to caring for persons who had been stricken by the malady.

 Written with information from:

The Indianapolis Star, Dec 26, 1968 pg 12

The Indianapolis Star Feb 16, 1999 pg 7

The Indianapolis Star Oct 31, 2005 pg A6

 University of Michigan Center for the History of Medicine and Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library