In Erie County it was business as usual, World War I was winding down and everyone was sure it was just a matter of time until the boys came home. No one was paying much attention to the account of an unusual sickness reported earlier in the year by a Spanish wire service to Reuter's London headquarters:
"A strange form of disease of epidemic character has appeared in Madrid."
Within a short time, eight million Spaniards were ill with what was to be named the Spanish influenza. Fueled by troop movements, it spread like wildfire across Europe, the Mideast, and Asia. By the summer of 1918, the Spanish Lady had reached American soil. In 120 days, more than half of the world's population would fall victim to the influenza pandemic, and nearly 22 million would die of complications.
This was the pre-vaccine era and placards were put on doors, or in windows, when a household was placed under quarantine for a communicable disease, such as scarlet fever and the measles. Anyone that was out of the house at the time the doctor issued a quarantine could not come back into the house, and if they did they, could not leave again. Many men who were at work, when a quarantine was issued in their absence, could not come back into the home for days. Some people even had to sleep in their basement until the quarantine was lifted, pets were not to leave the house either.
Home quarantine stopped about the early 1950s with the introduction of vaccines.
Every county, in the State of Pennsylvania, on September 30, 1918, received a telegraph from the Commonwealth ordering the closing of every unnecessary place of business or gathering: schools, churches, saloons, theaters, places of amusement and etc ; every sort of public meeting was also prohibited. Street cars and other public vehicles were not shut down, but they were ordered to avoid overcrowding and everyone was advised to stay at home.
The residents of Erie County were not happy with these orders.
In 1918, flu devastated Erie and the county. Influenza was declared a reportable disease by the Erie County Board of Health on October 9, 1918. All persons ill with the flu were ordered to stay home. Visiting sick people was forbidden; funerals were absolutely private, no gathering in churches being allowed. 500 people died from influenza during the last three months of 1918 in the City of Erie alone.
Hospitals were quickly overwhelmed. The federal government stepped in, lending beds, bedding, linen and dishes. The Red Cross also assisted in the epidemic, supplying nightshirts for the patients; masks and aprons for the nurses. The Directors of the Poor provided for those who were confined at home and were unable to obtain food and Erie’s City Council raised $10,000 to fight the epidemic.
Downtown in the city, on State Street, near city hall, two hospital wards were opened in the Elk's Club on October 25th. Those two wards were quickly filled to capacity, accommodating 85 patients. A nursing force was hurriedly assembled, consisting of state, school and private sector nurses. Medical Aides from the nearby industrial plants; private, domestic and practical nurses; and anyone willing to be a volunteers, all were recruited. Many of these volunteers were women who left their homes and families to lend a helping hand.
A staggering 9,512 cases of influenza were reported during October, November and December of 1918 in the city and county. Over five-hundred people died as a result of contracting the flu, decimating the young and old alike. New cases of the flu were being reported to the Board of Health every day. On October 28 there was 378 new cases
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| Erie County pre-vaccine era placard. |
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| Erie County pre-vaccine era placard. |
