Spanish Flu of 1918

[eelgrass]

Just a local story I thought was interesting. The second wave was much worse.

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.

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.

Odd Old News: The 1918 Influenza Epidemic in Humboldt County

Nuggets of old news served up once a week by David Heller, one of our local historians. 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...

kymkemp.com

 

[eelgrass]

I wonder if Kilowatt got the flu that year?

 

[WVHUNTER]

My father was four years old in 1918. He was part of a large family, some older and some younger and none of them died of the flu. He also had lots of aunts and uncles that lived in the area. I remember many of them because they were still alive into the 1970's. None of them had died of the flu in 1918. There wasn't any family stories of the 1918 flu.
They lived in a rural area and I don't think anyone owned a car. So I think they were social distancing.

 

[Blank]

My Mom was born in Oct 1918, while her Mom (my Grandmother) was dying of the flu. It does hit close to home.