This evening on my way home from work I stopped by the pharmacy at my health care provider to pick up some multi-vitamins. They had a mini clinic set up for flu shots so I took a few minutes to get my shot.

This made me think of the 1918 flu pandemic.

I knew that at home I had a book in my stacks about the 1918 pandemic.

The 1918 Influenza Pandemic which was also known as the Spanish Flu infected half a billion people around the world. It is estimated that up to 100 million people died from the flu from 1918 – 1920.

I have not yet read The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry, but it has moved up on my to-read list.

I also thought about a letter that my 2nd great aunt Nellie had written to her mother. The letter gives an account of how the flu was affecting people where she lived in Indiana.

Vincennes Ind,

Nov – 23 – 1918

Dear Mamma,

I will now try and answer your most welcome letter I received 1st of the week well this leaves us all well & hope this will find all the same out there we haven’t had the flue yet but can’t tell we might have before this reaches you it is awful bad in this part of town worse around hear than any place in town everything is closed excepts stores and they are talking of closing them for it is on the increase they all have to wear gauze masks now in the stores lots are dying there was 3 died in one family in < 14 hrs & another girl had died a few days before & a boy not expected to live some don’t live 24 hrs it is something awful they have opened two emergency hospitals & they are full they are for people that can’t get any one to take care of them for some familys all get down at once & no one to even give them a drink, I desinfect the house every day they are quarenting the homes that have it but didn’t until this week I think if they had done that at first it wouldn’t of been so thick.

I can just imagine how family members who lived far away from each other felt when they didn’t hear from their loved ones in a timely manner. I am sure it was a stressful time.

It is good that we have flu shots that help save many lives each year.

Steven.

For more about the letter above visit my post: The 1918 Flu Epidemic