Waco1918
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a pandemic wrap the world. What was it like to live in Waco through the great Spanish Flu of 1918?
This is the word many use to describe the spring of 2020. Yet, while COVID-19 is a novel virus, an era of pandemic is not unknown to the world.
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“For the most part scientists believe [the 1918 flu] first spread in Kansas around March 1918, and was particularly noted in a local army camp. That spring there was some spread across the nation, but in general the more serious outbreak did not happen until the fall/winter of 1918 By September and October many bases, then cities across the U.S. were dealing with major outbreaks,” explained Steven Sielaff, Senior Editor and Collections Manager at the Baylor’s Institute for Oral History. Around this time in the spring of 1918, the great Spanish Flu made its way to Waco.
Unprecedented.
“Facilities were overrun, and coffins stacked up at the roughest times. Mayor Ed McCullough closed schools, theaters, and movie houses,” according to a report by the McLennan County Medical Society.
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“It seems Baylor did not close entirely, but the Lariat switched to address delivery for a time. I’ve found a few mentions of student deaths due to the flu or complications, but I do not have a solid total number,” Sielaff said.
amp MacArthur, a military base, opened in Waco during the summer of 1917, and since the close-quarter military lifestyle aided in spreading the virus, many historians suggest the outbreak in Waco began here.
Unfortunately, no records were kept to show the total number of cases at Baylor. The information about campus during this time is limited to what exists only in Lariat archives.
And — ever entwined — when the city began to feel the effects of the 1918 Flu, so did Baylor.
“Baylor also had a student army training program (S.A.T.C.) on campus. According to school records, 30 cadets came down with the flu and were transported to Camp MacArthur for treatment. Three of [whom] eventually died,” Sielaff said.
Obviously, communication during the time of the 1918 Flu pandemic was not the same as it is today. Allied Powers censored news coverage to avoid looking weak amidst a war, resulting in few learning the impact of the influenza until it was well into ravaging their own city.
Those who were lucky enough to have a telephone, though, were unable to place phone calls most of the time because the cable workers were often sick and, thus, not able to help refer the connection. War efforts were not helping slow the virus either. In fact, the war helped to accelerate the virus and aided its travel to different countries as well.
“Try practicing social distancing where there are three or four guys in a very small space of bunks. Those troop ships became a great incubator for the influenza,” Jenkins said.
“[The virus] was all over [the world]. It came in two waves. The first wave . . . mainly killed old people. It killed the old and the weak. Then in August, the new and deadlier wave came, which mainly killed young adults,” Jenkins explained.
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As communication and information spread through news coverage, people became more aware of dangers and public health protocols, but, in many cases, it was too late and the virus remained just as prominent. Viruses do not care how informed we are. They do not care about anything. Except multiplying. This is why it is so important to act on information we receive from health professionals.
hrough his own interest and research about the 1918 flu, “Dr. Phillip Jenkins, Distinguished Professor of History, learned about distancing and communication during the 20th Century pandemic.
Waco didn’t “have the same kind of lockdown that we had today,” Jenkins continued. Resources we can reach by tapping into our phones, computers, and extended personal networks didn’t exist. The people of Waco couldn’t stay inside, fully quarantined. “They need[ed] to go out to get food,” Jenkins said.
“Ever entwined – when the city began to feel the effects of the 1918 Flu, so did Baylor.”
In an episode of Living Stories, a podcast from Baylor’s Institute for Oral History, retells firsthand accounts of the 1918 Flu pandemic. One story from Wilma Buntin, a Waco native, explained how the virus affected her family.
“The impact of the virus continued for months to come. This is particularly evident in the pages of the Lariat, which 100 years ago had entire sections dedicated to providing news about students or staff. The mentions of those suffering or recovering from the influenza continue well into the spring 1919 semester issues,” Sielaff said.
hile many large newspapers were censored and unable to report on the virus, the Lariat did not have the same restrictions and was able to archive this difficult time. Through the newspaper, Baylor students, whether at school, sick, or in the war, connected with each other.
There are mentions of students who were sick with the flu and professors who had fallen ill, however, there are not records for the total number of cases at Baylor. The university had lost it sense of “normal” during the fall of 1918. “Overall, the main effect [of the pandemic] is that many faculty and staff who contracted the virus had to spend time away from their classes during recovery, or in some cases decided to take the rest of the fall or spring semester off to rest. However, life seemed to return to normal fairly quickly, with mentions of football games, and the like, as early as November. There was a minor reoccurrence in the spring of 1919, but by the summer the virus had all but vanished. Most scientists believe this particular strain mutated quickly, and eventually mutated itself into a version that no longer affected humans,” Sielaff said.
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“I remember my older brother Louis was the only one who didn't get sick. So he'd try to fix something for us for breakfast or he'd tried to fix something for supper. None of us were interested whatsoever. They didn't have a doctor there, so you just had to do what you thought you could. And they knew to drink fruit juices and rest,” Buntin recounted.
“The impact of the virus continued for months to come. This is particularly evident in the pages of the Lariat”
All-in-all, the great Spanish Flu of 1918 infected almost one-third of the world’s population. This virus killed about 50 million people during World War I. The war itself killed about 17 million.
In the years following the 1918 Flu, children made a new rhyme to skip to. In remembrance of the pandemic, they sang: I had a little bird, Its name was Enza. I opened a window, And in-flu-enza.
Reporting by Sophia Alejandro Photos courtesy of Baylor University’s Texas Collection, the Baylor Lariat, the National Archives, and the University of North Texas’ Portal to Texas History
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