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Home My WebLink AboutClinton News Record, 2016-01-06, Page 88 News Record • Wednesday, January 6, 2016 The Spanish Influenza Epidemic in Clinton, 1918 David Yates The first recorded fatality of the most lethal wave of the Spanish 'flu' was a soldier who died in Halifax in Sep- tember 1918. Within a few weeks, just as the Great War was in its last spasm of kill- ing, the deadly epidemic was peaking throughout the Dominion. Clinton, like most Canadian communi- ties, was not immune to the ravages of the influenza outbreak. The influenza outbreak in the fall of 1918 was actually the second and most lethal wave of the flu. An earlier less lethal outbreak of the Spanish influenza swept through the globe earlier in the summer. The virus quickly mutated into a more lethal strain of the flu and as the soldiers began returning from Europe, they brought the dread disease with them. According to Mark Hum- phries in 'The Last Plague; the epidemic was all the more tragic because It tended to kill young, other- wise healthy adults, whose numbers were already depleted by the casualties of the Great War: On October 10, the 'New - Era' announced that the Clinton School of Commerce had closed its doors 'on account of many pupils hav- ing colds' which was a prime symptom of the influenza. School attendance had dropped to about half when a joint meeting between the collegiate and public school boards decided 'that good work could not be done in the schools under such con- ditions' and ordered them closed until Monday, Octo- ber 28. In 1918, without a federal board of health to co-ordi- nate a nation-wide response • T L r. Isaac Greidanus Alyssa Greidanus Luke Fritz Kyle Bakelaar Charlie Livermore Axl McClure Landen Heipel Owen Heipel Ryan Taylor George Davidson Caiden Turner an. 5 Jan. 6 Jan. 6 Jan. 7 Jan. 7 Jan. 7 Jan. 8 Jan. 10 Jan. 11 Jan. 12 Jan. 13 If you wish to have your childs name & birthdate in the Birthday Club for ages 1-12, please call the office, it's free. 519-482-3443 Hey Kids! Come in to visit Ryan & Amanda @ Clinton Foodland on your BIRTHDAY for a Birthday gift Clinton FOODLAND 6 Mary St., Clinton 519-482-9341 p b hd ± li p b hem to the influenza epidemic, local councils and health officials coped with the situ- ation as best they could. Lacking any centralized direction, the town council decided on October 16 that since 'no epidemic of the disease prevails in Clinton' there was no reason to ban public gatherings as had been ordered in neighbour- ing municipalities like Hen- sall and Goderich. Besides, any municipal order ban- ning public gatherings had no effect on rail or automo- bile traffic entering or leav- ing town anyway. Thanksgiving church ser- vices, lodges, pool halls and other public gathering places in Clinton tried to operate normally. Yet, the library asked patrons to inform the librarian whether there was anyone ill in their home and, if so, return all books for fumigation. Per- sons from 'infected houses' were asked not to use the reading room. Books would not be issued to persons liv- ing in homes with any sick- ness. More sensibly, the Women's Patriotic Society postponed until further notice their weekly knitting contest `owing to so much sickness: On October 15, Kenneth Mair (26) of Goderich Town- ship was the first person in the Clinton area to have died of the influenza. His obituary described him as 'in the prime of manhood' when he was suddenly struck down by the flu. In Goderich Township the 'New Era' reported `quite number of cases of Spanish Influenza in the district, some of them quite serious: Three days later, Elizabeth McAughey (26) died at her Clinton home of double pneumonia brought on by the influenza. McAughey had been married for a little more than a year and was considered by all 'a bright, interesting and winsome girl' with 'a host of friends who deeply regret her untimely passing.' Agnes Habkirk (8) of Tuckersmith died on October 20. Representatives of the town's religious denomina- tions met at St. Paul's Owen Memorial Hall. They unani- mously decided to close all churches for at least a week Central Huron Secondary School Opens its Doors to All Grade 8 Students and their Parents TUESDAY JANUARY 12TH (snow date - Wednesday January 13th) The excitement begins at 5:00 pm With a Spaghetti Dinner in the Cafeteria Band performs at 6:00 pm in the Large Gym Information Session 6:15 pm Tour of School 6:30 pm Refreshments available and Prizes to be Won until the flu epidemic sub- sided. The school board chose to keep the schools closed until November 4. The Clinton telephone oper- ators whom were 'depleted' by the flu epidemic asked for patience as reduced staff meant that it would take longer to place calls. The last week in October was the most deadly in the Clinton area. William Carter (26) appeared to have recov- ered from the influenza when he died after a relapse. John McAuliffe Sr., a conductor on the Grand Trunk Railway transported his dangerously ill son to London's Victoria Hospital where he died on October 25. Edna Churchill (30) who had 'always enjoyed good health' suddenly took ill with the influenza and died the same day. Miss Kate McTag- gart (58), the director of the Clinton Horticultural Society died of the influenza on October 26. A young teacher, Sadie Wood, who attended the Clinton Model School the previous year also died. Her body was sent to Bay- field for burial. On October 31, Effie Roth (20) suc- cumbed to the disease. Lacking firm council direction, the Women's Patriotic Society and the Young Ladies Patriotic Asso- ciation met in the council chambers on October 28 to 'discuss the best method to help those sick and distress in town owing to the flu.' The women struck nursing, food and clothing committees to organize a relief effort. The 'New Era' reported that Tuesday morning 'saw the women busily engaged about town taking care of the sick, seeing that food was supplied where it was neces- sary.' The 'New -Era' said 'this is a noble stand the women of Clinton have taken.' By November, the worst of the flu had passed. Local churches re -opened on November 10. The students at the Clinton Collegiate and public schools were instructed to be 'in their places' on Monday, Novem- ber 11 `so that lost time may be gained' due to the flu. Armistice celebrations on November 11 extended the school holidays by one day. The celebrations may also have prolonged the flu. The names of flu victims were listed in the local papers alongside the names of the war's casualties. In a reversal of fortune, Private J. Gorbutt of Clinton survived the war but his nineteen year old wife, Irene Gorbutt, died of the influenza on Novem- ber 6. She may have caught it from nursing a younger brother who died three days before. The death of Margaret Walker, a twenty year old Clinton student at the Lon- don Normal School on December 19, was all the more tragic for her grieving parents. Exactly two years earlier on December 19th, 1916, her brother, Private W. Wallcer, was killed in France. In late November and December, the influenza in Clinton abated but it contin- ued to ravage the townships. Since the burden of nursing the ill typically fell to women, young females tended to be the prime vic- tims. In Tuckersmith Town- ship, Lillian Haney (35) and Isabelle McQueen (23) died as a result of caring for their sick children. Another young mother, Margaret Campbell (29) of Goderich Township, who died on December 28, was the area's last fatality of the 1918 Influenza epidemic. Epidemiologists disagree on the origins of what became known as the Span- ish Influenza which claimed as many as 100 million lives between 1918 and 1920 but they all agree that the pan- demic was one of the worst disasters in his- tory. Although Spanish Influenza is estimated to have killed 50,000 people, it is seen as only a footnote to the Great War. In Clinton, like the rest of Canada, the Spanish Influenza epidemic was largely forgotten as peace and normalcy was restored but the world was never the same again. • GODERICI=' L7.19 524 7181:. ! MOVIE INFORMATION... • .�r viriviiv.rnovielEnks.caN �BQQ- 65.3 6