Forgotten Plague—The Spanish Flu in Northern Minnesota

In 2022, our understanding of epidemics and pandemics is far greater than it was ten years ago. It is not difficult to imagine the fear and confusion the epidemics in the twentieth century caused. When we think of quarantines, whole towns shutting down, sick lists, and the race for vaccination, we could just as easily be talking about 2020 as 1918. What sets the more recent pandemic apart from the great influenza epidemic of the early twentieth century is that we were not on the backend of a gruesome war, the largest and deadliest the world had ever seen. The unimaginable losses of hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded soldiers in Europe and America was about to be compounded by a sickness that would leave 50 million people dead worldwide and over 675,000 dead in the United States in only a few months.

Because the flu did not originate in America, it makes sense that the first ones to fall victim to the sickness were returning soldiers who infected one another within military training camps. As troops from across the world returned to their home countries, they spread the disease to their families, friends, and entire villages. Fort Riley, Kansas, is believed to be ground zero for Spanish Influenza in the United States in March 1918. Over the next few weeks, cases in civilians began cropping up in areas around Kansas, and by May, with more troops being drafted and enlisting, their travels across the nation rapidly spread the disease. Over the next six months, waves of the flu emerged across military training camps in America (32 large training camps in all), and then on to the neighboring towns, and then to the major cities. 

While we hear often about the extraordinary risk of influenza around this time, Roseau County was instead suffering an outbreak of tuberculosis by the fall of 1918. The outbreak was not believed to be caused by climate or soil conditions, but instead was believed to be due to the negligence of individuals getting regular check-ups with their doctors to prevent the disease before it overcame them. 

October 1918 brought with it a rapid increase in cases, and it was at that time that the flu came to Warroad, MN. It was Adelard Guibault's death overseas, announced in the Warroad Pioneer on 10 October 1918, that seemed to tip the scales against Warroad's security from the flu. Until Guibault's death, there was not even a whisper of the flu in Warroad to be seen in the papers. Contrast this with the the report from Joseph Guibault Sr., who traveled to New York to retrieve his son's body, who stated that his son was one of hundreds of bodies piled in New York, all overseas victims of the flu (WP  10/17/1918). 

The very next week, the front page of the paper carried with it a guide for dealing with the Spanish Flu. Unsurprisingly, the instructions for care look remarkably similar to those produced by the CDC in 2020:

Directions for Care of Spanish Influenza

Owing to the prevalence of the disease known as Spanish Influenza or "Flu" in and about this county, we, the County Board of Health, issue these instructions:

To the Village and Township Boards:

Close all indoor meetings, public, semi-public or private; where any considerable number of people congregate; except schools, and these to be closed if any considerable number of pupils or immediate families of same are infected. Isolate all cases until a medical officer orders [your] release. This means not only person infected, but also one nursing him. In case of doubt, isolate until all suspicion is allayed. No fumigation needed. Members of township boards constitute local boards of health and will be held responsible for carrying out these instructions and will be protected on any reasonable action they may take.

To the Public: 

Symptoms of Spanish Influenza—headache (severe); backache, pains in bones and extremities; high fever; feel "awful sick and weak." Home Care Before Physician is Called—Go to bed; KEEP WARM, take castor oil and hot drinks, such as lemonade, ginger tea, etc. Keep patient in a separate room from other members of the family. All nasal, throat, and other discharges from patient should be carefully destroyed. Report to local board of health for further action. Those in direct care of sick people should protect their own nose and throat by covering with a cloth while caring for patient, and dip hands in antiseptic solution before going to other parts of the house. Careful observation of these precautions will greatly help in preventing the spread of this disease

Signed, Roseau County Health Board

Dr. J. L. Delmore, County Health Officer

Martin Widsten, Chairman

O. J. Winjum, Secretary

There were a few cases reported in Roseau County on October 17. In response to this, and to the instructions outlined by the County Health Board, all public meeting spaces were closed to the public. Despite notice that schools could be left open for the meantime, the city council and school board of Warroad determined that the school should close to protect the health of the town. Citizens were told that "the disease itself is not fatal, but if not given the proper attention it quickly runs into pneumonia which very often results in death. Therefore people cannot be too careful...It is spread principally through public meetings and gathering of crowds of grown-up people, children and old people not being as susceptible to infection as the middle aged, and particularly those who have been weakened by other disease or by hard work." 

As we compare the Spanish Flu to the COVID-19 outbreak of 2020, Editor Widsten compared the flu to "the grippe," referring to the Pandemic of 1889–1890 that ranks among one of the deadliest pandemics in recorded history. Although it was once believed that the "grippe," also called "Asiatic Flu" or "Russian Flu," was a strain of influenza, scholars now believe that the 1889 outbreak was a form of coronavirus. 

We, of course, know that some of the information given to the Editor would turn out to be untrue. The Spanish Flu did pose a serious health risk, to people of all ages. As early as October 17, the newspaper was reporting "sick lists" to track the spread. As we attempt to list them all in this post, note that we are only including listings of people in the surrounding area who are sick. There are also numerous instances of relatives of local citizens dying elsewhere in the state and across the country, and at rapid rates. 

Reported Sick 17 October 1918

• Mrs. Georgiana Mayher
• Joseph Carson
• Mrs. Noel Berard

On October 24, the number of total cases in Warroad was listed as 36 at the time of publication, with only 3 listed as serious. Euclid Dufault and Otto Hassenstab were appointed as "special police" to contain the spread by enforcing isolation of cases. Unlike the week before, the message of the Pioneer was one of seriousness, noting that "thousands are dying from it every day." 

Reported Sick 24 October 1918

• Oscar LePage
• The Eno family, Clearriver Township
• Mrs. Emil Johnson and son
• Deceased
• Raymond James Firkus, aged 20 months, Laona Township

As the epidemic grew, the Red Cross chapters of this area changed course from the war effort to enlisting nurses to care for the already overrun health boards around the county. A temporary hospital was set up to treat the more serious cases from the eastern section of Roseau County.

Reported Sick 31 October 1918

• William H. Prelvitz, at Camp Grant, Illinois
• J. P. Landbeck 
• Joseph and Laura (Stoskopf) Barth family 
• Otto Hassenstab and daughter 
• Carl Carlquist family
• Mayor Theodore F. Spreiter
• Robert Hart
• Lee Townsend family
• E. A. Linder
• The Waldron family
• The Bachtel family
• Charles Olson family
• Delia Goulet
• Deceased
• Louise Goulet, aged 12 years, daughter of Peter Goulet
• Josephine Goulet, aged 14 years, daughter of Peter Goulet

Dr. Laurence Parker, a well-known and eccentric figure of Warroad, was the first to receive a supply of influenza vaccines in this part of the county. It was unknown as of November 7 if the vaccine would prove effective due to its newness. 

As the end of the war drew near, Editor Widsten wrote: "Few people will be likely to forget, as long as they live, the closing months of the great war. The strenuous days when we are face to face with one of the worst epidemics the world has seen will leave a very vivid impression on the mind. We can now begin to appreciate the feelings of the boys in the trenches, the people living on the edges of a volcano, and other situations where danger is a next door neighbor."

Reported Sick 7 November 1918

• Milton Guhlke
• William Begg family
• Archie E. McDonald family
• Opal and Joie Bernard
• John Dumais family
• Deceased
• Louis "Bud" Bemis, aged one year, son of Louis Bemis Sr.
• Delia Goulet, aged 16 years, daughter of Peter Goulet
• William O'Donnell, aged 16-17 years, son of Neil O'Donnell
• Mrs. Clarence McKeever, aged 21 years, daughter of Henry Nash
• Edna McLaughlin Stoskopf, aged 25 years, wife of Lawrence Stoskopf
• Alice McGrath Lang, aged 25-30 years, wife of Gust Lang
• Adolph Engstrom, aged 27 years
• Clarence McKeever, aged 28 years
• Richard Neumiller, aged 28 years
• John A. Erickson, aged 35-40 years
• Ed Naff, unknown age, son-in-law of Max Sigel of Warroad

Because there is no copy of the 11 November 1918 paper, we cannot report the death toll for that week and must instead move forward two weeks from the last report. In that time, the war has officially come to an end. And while many rejoiced over this change in tide, this also brought with it serious danger, as hundreds of thousands of men returned from overseas, they brought with them a renewed vigor of the disease.

Reported Sick 14 November 1918

• The Voaklander family, America Township
• William H. Neal
• O. P. Larson
• Claude Blevins family
• John G. Stein
• Deceased
• Stella Searles, aged 15 years, daughter of Fred Searles
• Hans Neumiller, aged 18 years, son of Louis Neumiller of Rocky Point
• Mrs. Fred Searles, aged 40 years
• Anna Norquist, aged 75 years, wife of Emil Norquist

Reported Sick 21 November 1918

• Mrs. Ray Stewart, Moranville Township
• Fred Hoyez
• Arthur Olson

It seemed, for the moment, that the flu had passed its worst state in eastern Roseau County. The sick list was growing shorter and deaths, even of distant relatives, dwindled over the next few weeks, though some continued to fight the disease.

Reported Sick 28 November 1918 (Thanksgiving Day)

• Mary Ellen Morris
• Mrs. Vernon Berry
• Deceased
• Mrs. Gustaf Wollberg, aged 44 years
• Edward McCagherty, aged 80 years, Warroad Mayor from 1907–1909

At the start of December 1918, the ban on public meetings was lifted and all schools were ordered to resume, owing to the drastic decrease in flu cases in the county. In more tragic news, the burial of Fred Searles' wife and daughter was waylaid when the clothing belonging to the women was stolen while the bodies were being readied for burial in Roosevelt. A Mary Bender and Mrs. Thomas Butterfield were taken before the court, but no evidence sufficed to proved the accused were guilty. The pair were acquitted and, soon after, two unnamed suspects were arrested (WP  12/05/1918).

The first returning troops arrived in New York at the end of November, bringing with them the potential for another influenza wave to hit the United States. In European nations, health officials reported that an uptick in tuberculosis cases was on the rise with the return of troops, as well as influenza cases. This panic had not yet reached America, and the sick list in Warroad was still being tallied, though with less urgency.

Reported Sick 5 December 1918

• Max Sigel
• Sivert Selvog

On December 12, the Pioneer noted that a second wave of influenza had struck in town "after a lull of three weeks." Some 30 new cases were reported to Roseau County's Board of Health, though they appeared to be milder cases compared to the first wave. Schools were once again closed and would not resume until after the holiday season, unless otherwise determined to be unsafe in January 1919. Likewise, public business spaces and village meeting areas were once again closed.

Reported Sick 12 December 1918

• William Zippel family
• Martin Widsten family
• John E. Wahlberg family
• Amed Soderstrom family
• J. Ditty family
• Herb and Mary Hardy family
• Mrs. Amanda Brooks
• William Harrison
• Napoleon Goulet
• John Southwick
• Alfred Lawson
• Elizabeth Sourdiff
• William Sutton
• George Marvin Sr.
• A. A. Gruhlke
• Julius Anderson
• Peter Asp
• Miss Merenes (local teacher)
• Miss Clark (local teacher)
• Mrs. Milton Sigel

Reported Sick 19 December 1918

• Frank Hawley
• Herb Voaklander
• Many who were on the sick list the week previous

Reported Sick 26 December 1918

• Mrs. Ben French, Moranville Township
• William Boos
• Elmer Brandli, Clearriver Township
• George Engle, America Township
• Mary Harker, America Township
• Deceased
• Elizabeth Sutliff Hoyez, aged 29 years, wife of Fred Hoyez
• Rosa O'Donnell Sutliff, aged 59 years old, mother of Elizabeth Hoyez

Reported Sick 3 January 1919

• Henry Streiff
• Harry Thompson, Clearriver Township

It was decided by the Warroad school board that classes would resume on January 6, 1919. Approximately 8 weeks of school was lost the previous year due to the epidemic of flu. The Superintendent of County Schools issued the following statement:

Owing to the prevailing epidemic thruout [sic] the county this school year, our work has been much retarded. Schools have been closed from one to two months in some instances, and the attendance has been exceedingly poor during this period where the schools were not closed. After New Year, we trust that the atmosphere will clear up to such an extent that the normal condition will again prevail in the school world. We solicit the aid of parents in bringing the attendance to a good regular standard, thereby making it possible for the children to make up in some measure what has been lost. We also trust that the teachers will realize the added responsibility attached to their work under the present conditions. In order to make up as much as possible, we recommend that the program be so arranged that special attention be given to essentials only. 

 

We like to think that a new order of things has been ushered into the world as a result of the lessons in the past, and to it we should lend our best talents in order that all sacrifices offered upon the alter of human freedom, shall not have been made in vain. Let our schools enroll in this work by intelligence training of the men and women of tomorrow.

In 1918, the total number of influenza cases in the state of Minnesota was reportedly 123,773, with 7,269 deaths. This averaged out to approximately one in eighteen cases, about 5.5%, in Minnesota compared to a 0.01% death rate for COVID-19.  

There were no more deaths caused by influenza reported in Warroad and the surrounding area in January and February 1919, though several fell ill in the early weeks of the new year. After January, the illnesses seemed to clear up, with most listed after that time being those who suffered for multiple weeks. Many nearby townships were hit much harder. It was another two months before more deaths cropped up, at the end of March, when 9 local residents were reported to have died. Unfortunately, it is unknown who these were referring to, as no mention of names or localities was included in the brief news report.  

In mid-April, a few more cases of influenza were cropping up in the populace, likely owing to the steady stream of returning soldiers arriving home. KaKayGeesick's family was reportedly struck hard by the disease, with both father and daughter catching pneumonia as a result. His daughter, whose name was not given, sadly passed away the week of April 14, 1919, leaving behind a son, aged 3-4 years old. At the time, the family was reportedly residing at Comlins Point (may be referring to Collins Point or Collins Island on Lake of the Woods).

Reported Sick 24 April 1919

• Sadie Powers Collins 
• Victor E. Lundbohm

Reported Sick May 1919

• Christiana Selvog
• Anna Selvog
• Ambrose Engle
• Luke M. Fish, Camp Dodge, Iowa
• Adela Schaeffer
• Verna Schaeffer
• Audrey Hoyez
• Mrs. Max Sigel
• Lavaun Squire
• Edel Marie Toombs
• Deceased
• Alice Carlquist, aged 16 years, daughter of Carl and Emma Carlquist
• Sadie Powers Collins, aged 46 years, died of TB resulting from Spanish Influenza, wife of city photographer David Collins

The second wave of the flu in eastern Roseau County ended with the death of Mary Ann Reinhart, aged 71 years, mother to Russell and Lee Reinhart, in June 1919 while residing in Cedarbend Township. She had been sick for several months up to that point and it is believed that her weakened immune system caused by the flu was what caused her later illness and death. 

It would be another six months before the third and final wave of the flu virus hit, in early 1920. A front page article in the Pioneer would remark that the disease seemed less severe than the previous year, with many sick, but few dying. However, Editor Widsten remarked:

To most people the flu does not seem to be as severe a visitation of illness as they had expected, and when they recover they are often in a hurry to get out and attend to their work. 

Don't. 

That is the point of greatest danger. Most of the deaths in the last epidemic, a little over a year ago, came from relapses. The doctors tell us that the disease leaves the lungs in very bad condition, and that the introduction of cold air before they are healed causes them to blister and brings on pneumonia. 

At any rate the flu is one of the most insidious diseases there is. Be careful when you have it, and for some days after you are thru [sic] with it. (Warroad Pioneer 02/05/1920)

 

Meanwhile, Dr. Parker advised the community that many of those who had previously suffered the flu had built up a slight immunity and were therefore relatively safe from contracting it again. Likewise, he noted that "the present epidemic is very mild, as compared with the other one. The cases then were nearly all violent ones, with high fever right from the state. This time most of them are only a little worse than a bad cold."

Despite the assurances that the flu was not near as bad as the one before, some schools in Roseau County elected to close their doors for a time. The church in Moranville Township shut its doors until the disease had passed. Paranoia and fear was compounded by the smallpox outbreaks appearing in neighboring areas, such as Zippel Township in Lake of the Woods County. 

The mixed messaging between the County Board of Health and people of the community is interesting during this time. While the Board of Health was asking organizations to halt meeting for a short time, they were still touting that this wave of the virus was far lighter than the previous. That may have been true, but  many schools in Roseau and Lake of the Woods County were closing their doors, and many residents were being added to the sick lists. Of particular interest was one railway man, William Beck, who remarked to the Pioneer that "there are many deaths from influenza and pneumonia all along the line and there is hardly a day but what there are coffins being shipped in the baggage car and they are piled up at terminals same as they were in the epidemic over a year ago." 

By the end of the third wave, which lasted 6–8 weeks, four known individuals from Warroad and the surrounding area had perished, as well as two known deaths from the Buffalo Point Indian Reservation, which was struck particularly hard by the disease. The dead included:

• Robert James May, aged 7 years, heart complications caused by the flu
• Gottfried Nelson, aged 33 years, Northwest Angle
• Charles Rand, aged 40 years, Principal of Williams High School
• Charles Barclay, aged 51, Cedarbend Township
• A man known only as "the Major," Buffalo Point
• Unnamed mother of Chief Jim Thunder, Buffalo Point*

It's evident that the influenza epidemic hit Roseau County as hard as it did everywhere, though eastern Roseau County seemed to have fewer deaths than those reported in areas of Lake of the Woods County or further west, in Greenbush. It's true that things could have been far worse than they turned out here, as can be said about our more recent experiences with COVID-19. 

However, at the end of the epidemic, the question still remained: what was Spanish Influenza, and where did it come from?

You might guess, given its name, that Spanish Influenza originated in Spain. However, this is rather inaccurate. The reason for this misnomer stems from the intense censorship of World War I newspapers, which prohibited many types of reports that might otherwise have been broadly covered in newspapers of the time. Because Spain was a neutral country during the war, reporters were free to discuss the flu there, giving the false impression that the disease's origins came from Spain. Calling it the Spanish Flu also produced an added war benefit by shaming the Spanish government for refusing to choose a side in the war (similar to the use of the name 'China Virus' to refer to COVID-19).

Unfortunately, censorship of the media means we have very little information about the actual spread of the disease or much about its effect on European nations in the first few months after its appearance. We now know that the disease was an H1N1 Influenza A Virus, which causes a physiological reaction in humans in which the immune system begins releasing excessive amounts of pro-inflammatory molecules. These molecules are the body's way of fighting infection, but when released in excessive amounts, they can cause the immune system to attack healthy cells, leading to organ failure and death. While influenza is known to target children and the elderly—primarily because their immune systems are underdeveloped or weakened—the 1918 Flu was unique in that it caused an unusually high rate of death in young adults. This is thought to be the result of wartime rationing leading to malnourishment and poor hygiene, overcrowding of medical and prisoner camps, and the expansion of the global market at the turn of the century. In effect, the flu, which might have been a more minor epidemic by itself, was exacerbated by the effects of war and the unusually high rates of travel between nations at this time.

The 1918 Spanish Flu Epidemic is the second largest epidemic in recorded human history, with a global population loss of between 1–5%. It sits just behind the Black Death of the fourteenth century in terms of scale. So be sure to get your flu shots, because we just never know when the next one might hit. 

________________

*There is significant debate about the heritage of Chief Jim Thunder, and while that is an important conversation, we ask that readers show respect for the death of his mother to a terrible illness. Thank you!

As this is my final blog post as manager, I want to thank everyone who has and continues to support this blog. I hope you will welcome updates from the new Museum Manager in the future. 

~Erin Thompson