Remedies, Cures and Old Time Practice

 1918 Influenza Epidemic

It All Started With a Tornado, Wilbur A. Zink:

Tragedy strikes. Influenza swept across America in 1918.

The flu was called the Spanish Influenza, and approximately 700,000 died in the United States. It started in the spring of 1918 and lasted a short while and eased up, but by late summer it returned with a deadly vengeance. Army camps were hit with the disease and many soldiers died. Doctors were practically helpless. You could be healthy in the morning and dead by dark. In September 12,000 had died. In October 195,000 died, and November was to be worse. It was known as the deadliest autumn that America had known. In Philadelphia, 500 persons died in a 48-hour period. Grocery stores would deliver groceries and drop them off in the front yard. Schools and churches closed. Some reports were that 100 million people died around the world with the flu.