Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Kimball's 1918 Spanish Flu Experience Similar To Today
Second of Two Parts
Avoiding the Spanish Flu compares with today’s situation as an article/advertisement in 1918 appeared to inform people that it was spread by human contact, “chiefly through coughing, sneezing, or spitting. So avoid persons having colds – common drinking cups, roller towels, etc.” The article continued, “Use Vick’s Vapor Rub at the very first sign of a cold.”
The local newspaper did not report any flu incidents in November, though a second quarantine must have been issued but not reported.
Finally, according to the Dec. 5, 1918, Western Nebraska Observer, the second quarantine for Kimball County was raised by the board of health because no new cases had been reported. Immediately, schools resumed, churches began having services again and pool halls were reopened.
Even though no new cases were reported, a few area people were still struggling with the disease and their deaths were printed in the Dec. 12 edition: Mrs. Charles Johnson, Mrs. William Diehl, Chas Roberts and Mable Truax. It would appear that the Spanish flu was finished in Kimball County at least for a while.
The Spanish flu revisited Kimball County, according to the March 20, 1919, Observer, which reported “At least twenty cases have been reported and quarantined the past ten days. The board of health has been prompted in quarantining all new cases and it is thought that the disease will be held in check.” Attempting to squash the outbreak, “The local board of health has been notified by the state board that a more rigid quarantine must be enforced here. The order states that no members of the house where a member of the family is infected must be permitted to leave.”
The second go round of the flu appeared for the most part to have concluded in Kimball County by the end of March 1919 with a three-fold tragedy as the headline declared “Three Members of One Family Die of Flu.” The article read, “The funeral of three members of the Albert Tague family was held at the undertaking rooms of Davis & Adams Sunday. The baby died last Wednesday, an older child passed away soon after and the mother died Saturday.” The Observer did not have a final count of the number of people who died of the Spanish flu.
By the end of March 1919, the Spanish flu had completed its mission in Kimball County and moved on. The residents went back to reading about the World War I peace treaty, the homecoming of soldiers, election results and the arrests of bootleggers.