The Boerne Star (Boerne, Tex.), Vol. 103, No. 72, Ed. 1 Tuesday, September 8, 2009 Page: 5 of 14
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Boerne Star and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Patrick Heath Public Library.
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Tuesday, September 8, 2009
THE BOERNE Star
Page 5
IEVPOINTS
Sick to death: The flu pandemic of 1918
I took Sparky to the clinic yesterday with
a sore throat, and, as it inevitably will, the
subject of H1N1 came up. And although
the nurse poo-poohed the whole thing,
our exchange got me to thinking about
an essay I wrote about my grandmother a
couple of years ago:
“Snow pushed against the dark window-
pane. The 17-year-old slept deeply as drifts
built up. Oblivious to the snow, oblivious
to the snores of the school superintendent
and his wife who occupied the next bed-
room, oblivious to the snapping of the
final, winking embers in the kitchen stove,
oblivious to the changes that were about
to enter her life, Rhoda Martin didn’t hear
the pinched creak of wagon wheels on the
West Texas snow.
“She didn’t hear the patient chuffing of
horses as they snorted frost from smoking
nostrils. She didn’t hear the quiet ‘Ho!’
as the man stopped his team, tethered it
and dismounted in front of the isolated
farmhouse.
“When the driver’s pounding shook
the weathered door, Rhoda finally sat
up, warm and tousled. And only a few
bewildering moments later, she sat on
the wagon’s wet, ice-slick seat, pulled
through a snow-stifled night, her posses-
sions heaved into the bed of the wagon, on
her way to a pre-dawn train.
“Two of Rhoda’s aunts had died unex-
pectedly, ending my grandmother’s life as
the child-teacher of a rural school. Rhoda
was summoned home to help care for the
family - they were just one family among
millions.
“Alfred Crosby, an historian of the 1918
flu epidemic, calls the event “America’s
forgotten pandemic. The almost incompre-
hensible fact about the Spanish flu is that
it killed millions upon millions of people
in a year or less. Nothing else - no infec-
tion, no war, no famine - has ever killed
so many in as short a period. And yet it
OFF THE MAIN
Elena Tucker
has never inspired awe, not in 1918 and
not since, not among the citizens of any
particular land and not among the citizens
of the United States.”
Defined as “an epidemic of unusual
severity,” the flu pandemic that so bat-
tered the Martin family is estimated to
have killed anywhere between 20 million
people worldwide to the almost inconceiv-
able number of 100 million.
Certainly in excess of 1 percent of the
global population perished. More deaths
were recorded from one year of the 1918
flu than were accounted for in four years of
the much-maligned Black Death bubonic
plague. The figures tallied up during the
course of this pandemic are apocalyptic
and shattering.
In 1918, the new century was still nascent
and undefined - not what is now thought of
as the 20th century. The first radio station
would not broadcast for three more years,
but Einstein’s landmark theory of relativity
was already four years old.
Kitchen mixers were on the market for'
the first time while public knowledge of
food sanitation had made little progress
at all.
The tri-colored traffic light was unveiled
while horses and mules provided the bulk
of America’s transportation. Johns Hop-
kins School of Hygiene and Public Health
opened its doors that year to high hopes
and acclaim, while in the army, a shocking
12 percent of open fractures still resulted
in death.
A newspaper cost 7 cents in New York
City. Bolsheviks assassinated Czar Nicho-
las II and his family, starting a chain of
events that would forever change the tim-
bre of world politics.
The American Civil Liberties Union was
founded, while in that single year, 64
lynchings went onto public record. And
as post-World War peace broke out in
Europe, simultaneously, viral death surged
across the Atlantic.
Of great curiosity to epidemiology
detectives is the fact that this tidal surge
of “la grippe,” seemed to move faster
even than the returning soldiers. In fact,
the U.S. Public Health Service com-
ments in an almost hysterically babbling
note on the “rapidity with which the
epidemic spread after it attained the
proportions of an epidemic in the first
areas affected. The epidemic became
nationwide in the four or five weeks
after it appeared.”
The pandemic appeared to explode con-
currently across the continent, with both
urban and rural settings shaken to their
roots. Not one area was spared.
Gauze masks became de rigueur, the in two waves. The first had already rushed
obligatory fashion of the time. One par-
ticularly evocative photograph draws one
into a minor league baseball moment:
umpire, catcher and batter, profession-
ally uniformed and equipped, but wearing
gauze masks. Behind them in the stands,
sit the masked spectators.
It was a world of very public fear. Masks
were handed out and made mandatory.
Coughing, spitting or sneezing in public
was outlawed; offenders were ticketed
with enormous fines.
Corpses rose into reeking, unattended
stacks in populated areas. Funerals were
limited to 15 minutes of duration. Cem-
eteries filled. Hospitals were invaded by
the sick and dying.
While normal flu strains claim one-lOth
of 1 percent of their ill, the Spanish Influ-
enza had a mortality rate of 2.5 percent - a
whopping 250 percent increase over the
norm.
Scientists were frightened and perplexed.
It was an event of disastrous numerical
proportions. The demographics of the 1918
flu’s victims further added to the concern
in the scientific and medical arenas.
In any given year, influenza viruses
attack primarily the elderly and the very
young. But this particularly virulent and
deadly flu decimated the segment of the
population aged 20 to 40 years of age.
Most vulnerable were those who
contrarily should have had the most resis-
tance. One documented record tells of
four women who got together and played
bridge far into the night. Before morning,
three of them had died. Scientists now
know that it is the recrudescence of influ-
enza that composes its greatest threat.
Flu will, like income tax, return year
after year, season after season, and each
time there is possibility for subtle shiftings
and mutations.
The 1918 flu pandemic swept the world
through the previous spring and was
swiftly gone, ignored by a host of public
officials. When the virus returned in the
fall, it had become fierce and unstoppable:
henceforth to be known as the “Spanish
Flu.”
Influenza di freddo as it was called
in Italian, or “influence of the cold” is
still a public enemy in winter months.
But a worldwide framework that includes
Atlanta’s Center for Disease Control in
Atlanta uses both rural and struggling
urban public health systems, as well as
cutting-edge advancements to record each
possible “non-causal” death that occurs on
our planet.
Teams of researchers and data gather-
ers live on stand-by, ready to swarm the
locale of any given suspicious, viral-moti-
vated mortality. Each case of influenza is
recorded and logged.
Massive data banks track trends and
mutations in the viruses. Predictions
are made. New flu shots emerge each
year, tailor-made to fit the anticipated
changes for the coming year’s influenza
recrudescence.
But in the early 20th century, there was
no such structure. U.S. life expectancy
fell by 12 years during that single, swift,
destructive year of 1918. For one of the
few times in American history, the popula-
tion actually declined.
Yet history’s hardly paid attention. Of
course theories exist regarding this apathy.
Maybe it was too close on the heels of
the Great War. Perhaps the suffering was
simply more than an already exhausted
populace could take in. Maybe the world
didn’t know what to do with another, so
great, so immediate calamity.
Rhoda Martin went on to raise her own
children and grandchildren, passing along
tales of a good and happy life. Fond as she
was of story-telling, the influenza pan-
demic of 1918 was never mentioned.
Hers was simply a midnight departure
from her life as a rural schoolteacher to
begin a life as surrogate mother to a swarm
of nieces and nephews. The mass death,the crippling swe-p o a Spumon * iu mid
not exist in her memory. It was not part of
the history she relived - within her narra-
tive it had never happened.
It’s possible, though, as her young fin-
gers worked through one of many endless
baskets of darning that were to come,
Rhoda listened to little voices outside as
they sang a popular song of the day:
I had a little bird,
Its name was Enza.
I opened the window,
And in-flu-enza.
Post comments at www.boernestar.com
RECORDS
ASSUMED NAMES
The following assumed names
were recently filed in the county
clerk’s office:
Aug. 28
Melanie Edmiston DBA
Problast
Aug. 31
Darene White DBA Diamond A
Spur Ranch Ltd.
Burnie Miller Jr. DBA Hill
Country Backpack Connection
A&G Land Management LLC
DBE Hill Country Land Source
Steven G. Riebel DBA Chic
Accents
Sept. 1
Christine A. Skubal DBA
Designs By C.A.S.
Devin Renee Estevez DBA H20
Urban Wear
Sept. 2
Reyes Moreno DBA R. Moreno
Masonry
David Kleinpeter DBA KP
Maintenance LLC
Sept. 3
Julie A. Peer DBA JD Auto
Steve Tamayo DBA Steve
Tamayo’s Auto Body Repair
Erik S. Price DBA Amanda
Price - Model & Talent
Erik S. Price DBA Forrest Price
- Model & Talent
Pam Edwards
Refeathered
DEB
MARRIAGES
The following marriage licenses
were recently filed in the office of about receiving harassing phone
County Clerk Darlene Herrin:
Aug. 28
Vaughn Rodney Pruess and Lisa
Ann Rodriguez
Aug. 29
Adan De La Torre and Araceli
Barrera
Daniel James Burch and Nichol
Lynn Otten
LAW ENFORCEMENT
The following is a brief, partial
recap of incidents reported by the
Boerne Police Department, the
Kendall County Sheriff’s Depart-
ment and Fair Oaks Ranch Police
Department. General locations
are listed rather than specific
addresses. An arrest should not
imply guilt or innocence which
will be decided in court at a later
date.
Anyone with information
about any of these incidents is
asked to call the Boerne Police single-vehicle wreck. No injuries
at 830-249-8645, the Fair Oaks
Ranch Police Department at
210-698-0900, the Kendall County
Sheriff’s Office at 830-249-9721
or Kendall County Crime Stop-
pers at 1-800-348-LEAD (5323.)
BOERNE POLICE
DEPARTMENT
Sept. 1
400 block of West Bandera,
4:07 p.m., Police responded to
a two vehicle wreck. No injuries
were reported.
100 block of Dusty Corral, 6:45
p.m., A man was arrested on a
Kerr County warrant for posses-
sion of marijuana.
500 block of East Bandera, 7:35
p.m., Police stopped to check on
a car with a door left open.
100 block of Enterprise, 8:19
p.m., A man was arrested for pos-
session of marijuana.
543 mile marker Interstate 10,
8:40 p.m., A caller reported a
man walking along the highway.
100 block of West Bandera,
10:50 p.m., A woman reported
that she was arguing with a man
who she said stole money from
her home in San Antonio. Police
told her that she needed to report
the theft to the San Antonio
police.
100 Industrial, 11:10 p.m.,
While on patrol, an officer
discovered an open gate at a busi-
ness. Police checked the area and
found everything was OK.
Sept. 2
400 block of West San Antonio,
8:35 a.m., Police responded to
an alarm.
600 block of West Bandera Raod,
11:42 a.m., Police responded to a
two-vehicle wreck. No injuries
were reported.
800 block of Adler, 1:12 p.m.,
A caller reported that a man had
been sitting in a truck for sev-
eral hours. Police spoke to the
man who said he was a private
investigator.
400 block of West Bandera
Road, 1:51 p.m., A caller reported
finding several counterfeit bills in
a trash can.
100 block of West Bandera
Road, 3:38 p.m., Police responded
to a two-vehicle wreck. No inju-
ries were reported.
1200 block of South Main Street,
6:05 p.m., A woman complained
call from her ex-boyfriend.
1400 block of River Road, 8:59
p.m., A caller thought a truck at
a construction site looked suspi-
cious. Police spoke to the truck’s
owner who was a sub-contractor
on the project.
1300 block of South Main
Street, 6:20 p.m., An employee
reported a shoplifter.
500 block of East Blanco, 9:09
p.m., Police responded to an
alarm.
800 block of River Road,
9:21 p.m., A man wanted to file
assault charges after his room-
mate pushed him.
Sept. 3
800 block of River Road,
12:58 a.m., A caller complained
about people being loud in the
building.
542 mile marker Interstate 10,
7:46 a.m., Police responded to a
were reported.
400 block of River Road, 8:49
a.m., Police responded to an
alarm.
600 block of West Bandera Road,
10:57 a.m., Police responded to a
two-vehicle wreck. No injuries
were reported.
400 block of West Bandera
Road, 11:53 a.m., A parked truck
rolled into a pay phone while the
driver was inside the store.
100 block of Bethany Way, 1:46
p.m., A man reported that his debit
card had been used in another
state without his authorization.
100 block of Garden, 2:17 p.m.,
A woman complained about
receiving harassing phone calls.
1200 block of South Main Street,
2:36 p.m., Police responded to a
two-vehicle wreck. No injuries
were reported.
600 block of North Main Street,
3:12 p.m., A woman complained
about receiving threatening phone
calls from her estranged husband
and his girlfriend.
600 block of East Blanco, 3:24
p.m., A woman reported receiv-
ing counterfeit money orders.
400 block of East Blanco, 4:02
p.m., Police assisted a pregnant
woman with getting a hotel
voucher from Family Services.
500 block of South Main Street,
4:07 p.m., A caller complained
about a truck that had an unre-
strained child in the, front seat.
300 block of South Main Street,
6:13 p.m., Police responded to
an alarm.
700 block of River Road, 6:15
p.m., Officers assisted a woman
in getting her car back from her
boyfriend.
700 block of River Road, 6:57
p.m., A caller reported her daugh-
ter’s pants were stolen.
100 block of 6:59 p.m., Police
assisted with a missing child. The
child was located.
35000 block of Interstate 10,
7:24 p.m., A caller reported a
suspicious-looking vehicle.
545 mile marker Interstate 10,
7:44 p.m., A caller complained
about a reckless driver.
200 block of Second Street,
9:56 p.m., A caller reported
seeing someone walking along
the street and trying to get into
parked cars.
400 block of West Bandera
Road, 11:15 p.m., A woman was
arrested for possession of a con-
trolled substance.
KENDALL COUNTY
SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT
Aug. 30
600 block of Fifth Street,
Comfort, 12:51 a.m., A caller
complained about a neighbor
playing music too loud.
Scenic Loop, 2:27 a.m., A man
was arrested for driving while
intoxicated.
Old No. 9 and FM 473, Com-
fort, 4:32 a.m., A caller reported
that he swerved to miss a deer
and went off the roadway. No
injuries were reported.
526 mile marker Interstate 10,
9:52 a.m., A large piece of metal
was in the roadway.
535 mile marker Interstate
10, 11:24 a.m., A grass fire was
reported.
100 block of Fabra Lane, 3:08
p.m., A caller reported a loose
horse in her yard.
FM 473, Comfort, 4 p.m., A
woman who lives in Devine com-
plained about receiving harassing
text messages from her 14-year-
old son who lives in Comfort.
533 mile marker Interstate
10, 4:40 p.m., A grass fire was
reported.
533 mile marker Interstate 10,
6:17 p.m., A man was arrested for
criminal mischief after he threw
something out the window of
his truck while driving down the
road, and it hit another vehicle.
100 block of North Wagon
Wheel Drive, 8:59 p.m., A caller
complained about a man going
into every driveway.
FM 1376, 8:56 p.m., A caller
complained about two large
motorcycles with flashing lights
trying to pull people over.
1400 block of FM 1376, Sister-
dale, 9:56 p.m., Deputies assisted
a stranded motorist.
Aug. 31
520 mile marker Interstate 10,
7:42 a.m., A caller complained
about two speeding trucks.
100 block of Steel Valley, 8:10
a.m., A caller reported a sick rac-
coon at the end of her driveway.
100 block of Chinkapin Pass,
8:22 a.m., Deputies responded to
an alarm.
1500 block of Turkey Knob
Road, 8:56 a.m., Deputies
responded to a disturbance.
1 1100 block of FM 1376, Sis-
terdale, 9:02 a.m., Deputies
responded to an alarm.
Doeskin Drive, 9:11 a.m., A
caller reported a dog stuck under
a fence.
100 block of Chinkapin Pass,
9:20 a.m., Deputies responded to
an alarm.
100 block of Highway 46, 10:27
a.m., Deputies responded to an
alarm.
300 block of San Antonio, 11:32
a.m., Someone spray painted the
license plate and a sticker on a
patrol car.
526 mile marker Interstate 10,
12:08 p.m., A caller complained
about a reckless driver. .
533 mile marker Interstate 10,
12:13 p.m., A caller reported a
speeding motorist.
High Street, Comfort, 1 p.m.,
Deputies tagged a vehicle that
had been parked in the area for a
few days.
North Highway 87, Comfort,
1:31 p.m., A caller reported a
loose dog in the area.
30000 block of Interstate 10,
2:03 p.m., Deputies responded to
a disturbance.
1100 block of Highway 46,
Bergheim, 3:17 p.m., A caller
complained about a reckless
driver.
533 mile marker Interstate 10,
3:26 p.m., A large piece of cedar
WATER WATCH
Canyon Lake Current Level: 893.82
02 stage:
NORMAL
Canyon
AKE Level
feet
was reported in the roadway.
300 block of Old Blanco Road,
Knedalie, 4:05 p.m., A caller
asked that animal control pick
up a bat.
100 block of East FM 473,
Comfort, 7:03 p.m., Deputies
responded to an alarm.
Mattick Lane, 10:20 p.m., A
caller complained about someone
using flashlights on an adjacent
property. Deputies spoke to the
adjacent property owner who
said her son was out “varmint
hunting.”
Sept. 1
523 mile marker Interstate 10,
12:31 a.m., A caller reported an
injured deer in the roadway.
100 block of Oak Valley Drive,
Bergheim, 12:32 a.m., A hom-
eowner reported the smell of
burning rubber possibly coming
from the air conditioning unit.
Firefighters responded but found
no fire.
800 block of Front Street, Com-
fort, 2 a.m., Deputies responded
to an alarm.
100 block of North Highway
87, Comfort, 10:41 a.m., A caller
reported a possible fraud.
100 Emerald Hill, 11:38 a.m.,
A caller returned home and found
the front door to his house open.
He told deputies that nothing was
missing.
700 block of Front Street,
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Comfort, 11:53 a.m., Deputies
responded to a 911 hang-up call.
100 block of Blue Ridge, Com-
fort, 12:14 p.m., A caller reported
a possible telephone scam.
100 block of North Highway
87, Comfort, 12:35 p.m., Two
women were arrested for public
intoxication.
100 block of Sattler Road, Ken-
dalia, 1:17 p.m., Animal control
picked up stray cats.
Highway 289 and Little Joshua
Creek Road, Comfort, 2:04 p.m.,
A driver lost control and the
vehicle went into the creek. No
injuries were reported.
100 block of Creekside Ter-
race, 2:11 p.m., A homeowner
reported some tools missing from
his garage.
525 mile marker Interstate 10,
Comfort, 2:34 p.m., Two people
were taken to the hospital by
helicopter after the driver lost
control of the vehicle which
flipped over.
200 block of North Highway
87, Comfort, 6:42 p.m., Depu-
ties assisted Gillespie County
deputies looking for a stolen
vehicle.
10000 block of Johns Road,
8:28 p.m., A caller reported a
cow in the roadway.
1200 block of FM 1376, Sis-
terdale, 8:47 p.m., Deputies
responded to an alarm.
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Cartwright, Brian & Velvin, Candace E. The Boerne Star (Boerne, Tex.), Vol. 103, No. 72, Ed. 1 Tuesday, September 8, 2009, newspaper, September 8, 2009; Boerne, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1667437/m1/5/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Patrick Heath Public Library.