Floyd Robertson, the 24- year-old kid of Benjamin and Margaret Robertson of Hope, died Oct. 3 in Indianapolis, a victim of the worldwide pandemic. In addition to his moms and dads, he left his bride of 16 months, 2 siblings and four siblings.
The year was 1918.
Floyd was the very first of 23 Bartholomew County servicemen who would lose their lives to the “Spanish Influenza” while in training for military service in World War I. He had gone to Indianapolis to discover to be a U.S. Army truck chauffeur on the battlefields of France.
Six more young soldiers– from the Hope area alone– would pass away over the next two weeks while in training school: Julius Roupp, 27; William Pumphrey, 30; Frank Burbrink, 25; Otto Shepherd, 23; Frank Wilcox, 24; Harry Carman, 18.
The young men likely contracted the influenza in camp in mid to late September, however showed little or no signs at.
Like hundreds of others– especially those in training in Indianapolis military camps– they returned house on weekend passes throughout September, unconsciously spreading out the disease to liked ones and buddies.
The very first civilian deaths from the flu came right after. One of the first was 4-year-old Fredia McNealy, who lived with her moms and dads, Mrs. and Mrs. Frank McNealy south of Newbern.
By November the pandemic would blow up all over Bartholomew County.
The county kept no data on the number of “Spanish Flu” deaths, doctors stating so lots of were ill and passing away in their care that they had no time at all to keep records.
Still, we understand from the stories in “The Night Republican” newspaper from 1918 and 1919 that illness was all over and deaths were lots of.
Likewise from those short articles, we can assume the death count would have been even higher had local doctors, health administrators and government officials not gotten the severity of the circumstance and instituted early procedures we now call “social distancing,” together with public and businesses closures.
Local health authorities very first gotten word of the regional danger in a report from the U.S. Cosmetic Surgeon General on Sept. 16, 1918, pointing out New York and Boston were in the middle of a huge spread of the disease and the pandemic was likely to strike Indiana quickly. On September 26, Dr. F. D. Norton, a Columbus medical professional serving on the state’s Medical Defense Board, notified local physicians that the circumstance was aggravating.
On Oct. 1, Dr. Norton traveled to Camp Sherman in Chillicothe, Ohio, to deal with Roy Finkle, a regional soldier from Petersville– the very first known case of the infection with a regional connection. When Norton returned the next day, he said 1,000 soldiers currently had the infection and 13 had actually passed away that week.
On Oct. 10, the Bartholomew County Health Department and the City of Columbus bought all “social gatherings” to end and closed all “pool halls and cigar shops.”
A lot of Columbus homeowners disregarded cautions, saying the illness produced no need for action. Even Dr. J. H. Morrison, county health commissioner, stated he just knew of one influenza case and he believed the majority of the reports were simply common colds.
A week later on, health authorities reported the flu was spreading out quickly around the county and the local Red Cross chapter, headed by W. G. Irwin, formed a committee to examine medical supplies. They situated 150 gauze masks to be utilized by emergency workers– 100 to be kept in Columbus and 50 to be sent to Hope.
They likewise located additional sheets, pillow cases and products to send to the brand-new Bartholomew County Healthcare facility, which had only opened the previous year and had couple of beds.
The Red Cross likewise released a list of precautions to be taken to help avoid the spread, including hand cleaning and other health steps.
They asked citizens to stay out of groups, cover their mouths and noses with masks when possible and not leave their houses with symptoms of a cold or a fever.
Columbus cases of the influenza were minimal for the rest of October. Clifty Town had a spike in cases, however paper reports said the problem seemed to be under control.
Then came November.
Elizabethtown followed the lead of Jonesville, with six households stricken with the disease the following day.
By Nov. 19, the city and county health departments were describing the health crisis as “important” and recommending citizens to stay home and use masks. Masks, nevertheless, were limited.
Dr. Bertha Clouse, health officer for Bartholomew County Schools, began day-to-day sees to schools, sending out all kids and teachers home at the first indication of symptoms. Within a week, she asked all schools to close. Health authorities also recommended the closing of all churches, taverns, restaurants and other places where crowds of individuals collect.
Medical services were extended thin and local medical professionals confessed they might do little to alleviate the suffering. One physician told the paper he wanted the county had actually found out more from an influenza pandemic that had actually struck 25 years earlier.
The Columbus mayor and the city board disputed whether to continue to pay the increasing variety of city staff members who were off work with the influenza. Ultimately, the city chose not to “make these payments indiscriminate” after the mayor warned such pay might keep individuals off work longer than they “truly need to be.”
On Nov. 20, the Red Cross revealed a scarcity of nurses making home check outs and said families with symptoms ought to go to the new county hospital for care. A couple of days later, with the health center full, health authorities told everybody to stay home and not even go to a medical professional’s office.
Ordered closings and the ban on public events expired momentarily when a dispute amongst city health authorities and federal government leaders on Dec. 1 failed to extend the restriction. After a week, the ban was re-instituted as case numbers continued to grow.
The restriction became raised Dec. 27, after cases fixed 2 or three a day locally.
By the end of Jan. 1919, only a few cases of the influenza were still popping up each week. Schools, churches and other meeting place were resumed.
By early March, regional health authorities were stating triumph. A few cases returned in the fall of 1919, but the brand-new spread was far short of the pandemic of the previous year.
When the Spanish Influenza Pandemic lastly had subsided, couple of health experts– and even fewer everyday citizens– could say precisely why it had ended within a few months.
The majority of everyone agreed: regional actions to isolate cases, restrict public events and promote health had been significant elements.
Others touted the immunity gotten by those who contracted the disease, however lived.
History, however, holds a statistical response that is tough to refute.
Pursue beating the pandemic begun when local citizens began to take the hazard seriously, follow the encourage of health experts and interact to “do the best things”– on their own and others.
Bud Herron is a retired editor and paper publisher who resides in Columbus. He acted as publisher of The Republic from 1998 to2007 Contact him at editorial @ therepublic.com.
