KOSSUTH COUNTY AND THE SPANISH FLU EPIDEMIC OF 1918 - PART 4

The State Board of Health reported that 54,000 cases of influenza had been reported in the state of Iowa during the months of October and November.  Many cases went unreported if a doctor was not in attendance so it was impossible to document how many individuals had actually been infected. 

Bancroft Register
December 5, 1918

On December 5, 1918, the Bancroft Register published an article stating that the epidemic had “about worn itself out in Bancroft” as no new cases had been reported for several days.  Local physician Dr. J. A. Devine had been carrying a heavy load for weeks but the newspaper paid him credit stating “his hard and untiring efforts have been the cause of saving many lives without doubt.” 

Although the disease had slowed at Bancroft, it seemed to be spreading in the farms in Kossuth County.  It was almost impossible to find any help for the families who were ill.  The Swea City Red Cross chapter offered $4 per day to anyone who would help nurse destitute sufferers from influenza.  The death rate continued at an average of slightly more than one per day.  Local undertaker W. E. Laird reported 62 funerals in Algona and nearby towns since October 1^st directly attributable to the outbreak.

DEATHS ELSEWHERE

In addition to the deaths of so many Kossuth County residents, more losses were felt by the passing of relatives and friends who died outside county borders.  Bessie Palmer was employed as a fitter at the Chrischilles & Herbst store where she had worked for six years.  A native of Ireland, Bessie had come to the United States nine years before.  After receiving the news of the death of her sister who lived in Liverpool, England, she traveled to Fort Dodge to convey the news to another sister who lived there.  Bessie herself contracted influenza while there which was followed by pneumonia from which she died after nine days’ illness.

A Germania native died at Moline, Illinois, after contracting the disease while on duty as a police officer.  Roy Liesveld exhibited bravery and heroism for his work with influenza patients, often carrying them to and from the ambulance to deliver them to the Red Cross emergency hospital.  A victim of the typhoid outbreak of the previous summer, it was thought that he had not fully recovered, leaving him more vulnerable to the flu.  At the time of his death, his wife and five-year-old daughter were both patients at the city hospital, ill with influenza.

HARRY SEELY COMES HOME

The month of December did bring an answer to a problem the Seely family from Whittemore had been dealing with for some time.  Their son, Harry, had been in the service for eight months, seven of which he had spent in the hospital at Camp Dodge.  As his illness drug on, his mother had mortgaged her farm near Whittemore and used the money to go to Des Moines to make daily trips to see him and to work for his release.  His doctors agreed that his condition permitted a discharge, but due to red tape, he remained hospitalized.  In August, the family received notice of the death of their youngest son, Bert, while fighting in France.  Mrs. Seely was overcome with grief, almost to the breaking point.

Channeling her sadness into action, she wrote one last letter to H. L. Eddy, Secretary of the Public Welfare Bureau with the Des Moines Chamber of Commerce, whom she knew had a personal acquaintance with President Wilson.  Begging him to get a discharge for Harry, she wrote, “The doctors at the hospital say he has done enough for his country.  He is all I have now as my other son was killed in action in France last August, while fighting for his country.  Won’t you write to the president, Mr. Eddy, telling that you are personally acquainted with the boy’s parents and that if I take him home, he will get well?”

Kossuth County Advance
December 5, 1918

Eddy did write the president and hoped for an answer.  Perhaps President Wilson did remember Eddy with whom be became acquainted while the two waited for a street car back in 1911 or perhaps he simply decided to take pity on the poor mother who wanted her sick son to be sent home so she could nurse him back to health.  Whatever the reason, Secretary Eddy did receive a brief letter from the adjutant general stating that Harry had been granted a furlough.  The waiting was finally over – Harry could go home.  (He would go on to recover and two months later would report back to Camp Dodge for service).

FAMILIES SUFFER GREAT LOSSES

The Whittemore and Fenton areas suffered their share of illness and losses in December.  Dr. E. A. Nash of Fenton reported that he had treated 175 cases of influenza together with 12 cases of pneumonia since late October.    A well-known young man, Arthur Klatt, passed away on the 6^th, followed by his sister, Mrs. L. E. (Carol) Mueller, who died on the 9^th.  Besides their parents, Mrs. Mueller was survived by her husband and four small children.

So many families lost more than one member to the epidemic.  On December 10^th, Anna Studer Haverly passed away, leaving four children between the ages of 2 to 8.  Her brother, Dan Studer, was the first serviceman from Kossuth County to die of the disease.  The entire household of Robert Dodds became sick with the flu including William Palmer and his wife who happened to be there at the onset.  All were on the road to recovery until Robert’s condition worsened and pleurisy set in, taking his life.  His brother Richard traveled from his home near Des Moines to attend the funeral, but became ill during the trip.  He died at his mother’s home in Algona just ten days after his brother’s death.  The Joseph Baldwin family of Whittemore lost a son, Richard, age 11, and a daughter, Beulah, almost 2, within three days.

Upper Des Moines Republican
December 4, 1918

As the number of flu cases began to subside across the country, doctors began to predict the widespread outbreak of respiratory diseases such as pneumonia, bronchitis and even tuberculosis if citizens did not keep their guard up and continue practicing good hygiene habits.  They encouraged the habit of spending time outdoors in fresh air, as was the protocol at tuberculosis sanatoriums, as well as right living and good food.

SOMBER HOLIDAYS

Christmas that year would be different than any other before it for the residents of Kossuth County.  Many seasonal gatherings were cancelled, while others went on as planned.  Several area churches put together baskets of toys and clothing to be delivered to families in need, especially those who had suffered thru the epidemic.

Kossuth County Advance
December 19, 1918

There were so many mixed emotions.  As a nation, the end of the war brought a whole new meaning to the Christmas wish for “Peace on Earth.”  On December 11, 1918, the Upper Des Moines-Republican printed a short article which read, “Many American homes will have a glorious Christmas with their sons at home from France.  Other homes where a son will never return, will be filled with sorrow.”  For the families that had lost a son as a casualty either on the battlefield or from disease, their homes were filled with sadness seeing the empty chair at the table.  Likewise, those homes from which influenza and pneumonia had stolen loved ones bore the same feelings of sadness and loss.  And sickness still reigned in many residences where the holiday passed with little fanfare.  Two more county residents – Rena Johnson of Germania and Earl Sabin of Algona – died on Christmas Day.

It was with both hope and trepidation that Kossuth County anticipated the dawning of 1919.  What would the new year bring?

Kossuth County Deaths from Influenza/Pneumonia December 1918
Name	Location of Death	Age	D/O/D	Record*
Martha Kopen (Koppen)	Algona	25Y 2D	12/02/1918	KCDR
Raymond Ekness	Fenton Twp.	19Y 5M 19D	12/04/1918	KCDR
Britha Ellingson	Ottosen	47Y 2M 24D	12/04/1918	KCDR
Arthur Klatt	Fenton	24Y 14M 16D	12/06/1918	KCDR
Alfred Reinhard Richter	Titonka	2Y 9M	12/06/1918	KCDR
Peter J. Wyman	Whittemore	41Y 9M 16D	12/08/1918	KCDR
Fred Wright	Algona	65 to 70	12/08/1918	Obit/NA
Baby Hardgrove	Algona	10M	12/08/1918	Obit/NA
Mrs. Lue (Carol Klatt) Mueller	Fenton	29Y 1M 6D	12/09/1918	KCDR
Walter Pratt	Algona	8Y 0M 8D	12/09/1918	KCDR
Hugo Johnson	Swea City		12/16/1918	Obit/NA
Roy Brown	Algona	6Y 9M 24D	12/10/1918	KCDR
Anna Haverly	Wesley	30Y 1M 25D	12/10/1918	KCDR
Ethel Bailey	Fenton	21Y 4M 27D	12/11/1918	KCDR
Katherine Ebert Christ	Germania	51Y 4M 28D	12/11/1918	KCDR
Robert Dodds	Algona	34Y 1M 8D	12/11/1918	KCDR
August Ohm	Fenton	26Y 7M 7D	12/11/1918	KCDR
Baby Wylie or Wiley	Harrison Twp.	9M	12/1918	Obit/NA
Richard Harold Baldwin	Whittemore	11Y 0M 16D	12/12/1918	KCDR
Esther Elnora Kucheweuther (Kuchenreuther)	Wesley Twp.	16Y 3M 11D	12/12/1918	KCDR
Beulah Bernice Baldwin	Whittemore	1Y 10M 15D	12/15/1918	KCDR
Albert R. Leek	Portland	30Y 5M 2D	12/16/1918	KCDR
John W. Looft	Wesley	35Y 10M 35D	12/16/1918	KCDR
Ella Elmina Robinson	Wesley Twp.	28Y 6M 1D	12/20/1918	KCDR
Sarah Patterson	Germania	23Y 3M 29D	12/20/1918	Obit/NA
Richard E. Dodds	Algona	31Y 28D	12/21/1918	KCDR
Grace Cleo Hackerson (Hackerman)	Wesley	25Y 6M 24D	12/21/1918	KCDR
Harley Lester	Ramsey Twp.	28Y	12/21/1918	KCDR
Ernest Herman Pompe	Lone Rock	24Y 11M 11D	12/21/1918	KCDR
Rena Johnson	Germania	22Y 10D	12/25/1918	KCDR
Earl Sabin	Algona	31Y 9M 18D	12/25/1918	KCDR
Christine Anderson Olson	Bancroft	56Y 11M 28D	12/26/1918	KCDR
William Hintz	Algona	21Y 26D	12/27/1918	KCDR
Minnie (Almina) Smith	Swea City	23Y 6M 28D	12/27/1918	KCDR
Emery Chapin, Sr.	Sexton		12/30/1919	Obit/NA
Sarah Eckstein	Algona	39Y 1M 23D	12/30/1918	KCDR
*KCDR=Kossuth County Death Records  -  Obit/NA=Obituary/News Article ( ) show corrections to the original record

Until next time,

Kossuth County History Buff

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