Deb Day Jansen BS ’75, MS ’77
Colleges and universities have relied on quarantines and other public health guidance to survive pandemics. The Spanish Flu of 1918 and Covid-19 in 2020 are no exception. The public health plans for both pandemics in the state of Michigan, city of Ann Arbor, and on the University of Michigan campus have many similarities. Both pandemics required wearing masks and closing public entertainment and schools. The University in both pandemics considered cancelling classes.
Some thought the Spanish Flu of 1918 started in Spain, but it originated in the heartland of the United States. It spread very quickly throughout military camps in the US where soldiers were training for World War I. After training, the infected soldiers shipped out on packed transport ships to the war in Europe.
Here is a timeline in for the 1918 Flu in Ann Arbor and on the University of Michigan Campus:
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April 1918: The U.S. War Department created the Student Army Training Corps (SATC).
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September 1918: By September, UM had 3,750 young men in SATC and a naval training unit. Most of them lived in Waterman Gymnasium, the old Michigan Union, and fraternity houses. The first cases of the Spanish Flu in Ann Arbor were reported in late September 1918. Symptoms were like a common cold with irritation of the mucous membrane of the nose, mouth, and throat. Very little was reported in the newspaper about the Spanish Flu as World War I was nearing its climax.
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October 1-15, 1918: Nearly 2,500 Americans had died from the pneumonia that came with the Spanish Flu. University of Michigan SATC members were denied any passes for leave. The Michigan State Board of Health developed posters that read: “Do not cough, sneeze, or talk directly into another’s face.”
On October 7, a member of UM SATC died from pneumonia, shortly followed by eight more, including five additional SATC members, the wife of a dentistry professor, and a chemistry instructor. The UM Medical School Dean Victor Vaughn was called upon by the US government to advise on the developing pandemic.
UM Football Coach Fielding Yost canceled a varsity football game against Camp Custer, an Army camp near Battle Creek, as the Spanish Flu was spreading in the camp. He rescheduled the game with Mount Hope College. The UM football team held the national championship in 1918. The Wolverines were undefeated, but played just five games that fall due to the pandemic and war time travel restrictions.
By mid-October 135 SATC members had influenza and members were confined to quarters. Old Michigan Union Building and Barbour Gymnasium were converted to an infirmary to handle the overflow of patients from local hospitals. Seniors in the Medical School were designated to care for the sick and two Army trucks were sent from campus to Detroit for extra oxygen tanks. 6-10 deaths of SATC members were reported daily.
Michigan Governor Albert Sleeper requested that all public gatherings, including church services, be suspended. He added that it would be a mandatory order if the request was ignored. Ann Arbor Public Schools closed, and movie houses, which were one of the major forms of entertainment in Ann Arbor, were also shuttered.
University Health Services stated that the wearing of masks was essential to containing the spread of the flu, and UM President Harry Hutchins made it mandatory for the faculty and students to wear face masks, which were made from several layers of cheesecloth with ear loops. Red Cross volunteers sewed masks for campus wide distribution, and concerns were raised that students may not wear masks correctly or wash them properly.
he University considered cancelling classes, but University Health Service head Dr. Forsythe stated classes should continue, as the classrooms were well-ventilated and students would be wearing masks. He felt sending students home would spread the flu on trains and in their hometown; and if they stayed in Ann Arbor but did not attend classes, the flu would spread, as students would have more time to socialize and roam around Ann Arbor.
October 16-31, 2018: Cases were declining on campus, but on October 30, 11 additional campus deaths were reported. City of Ann Arbor Health Officer Dr. Wessinger, warned against easing any precautions, and stated that private residences, boarding houses, and dormitories should be thoroughly cleaned, windows left open as much as possible, and clothes thoroughly brushed. On the last day of the month, three more UM SATC students died, but no new cases were reported. If the trend continued, public health authorities planned to reopen Ann Arbor Public Schools. Movie theaters would remain closed and public gatherings would still be banned.
November 1918: Movie theaters in Ann Arbor re-opened on November 9. A day later, Hill Auditorium was filled for a United War Work meeting and the UM SATC band played at the event. The following day was Armistice Day, marking the end of World War I. There were enormous parades in the streets of Ann Arbor and on campus, with various “patriotic performances” and “peace dances.”
Many activities that became long standing traditions in Martha Cook were impacted or delayed by the flu in 1918. For instance, The Michigan Alumnus from November 1918 reported the formal dedication for Portia originally planned for that fall was postponed due to the flu.
The Martha Cook Annual published in June 1919 stated, “Owing to the epidemic of influenza, our Christmas Breakfast was a purely family affair, but we arose just as early and sang as heartily as though our customary guests were present. And feeling not so much on our best behavior, we even danced at breakfast with a pine branch in our hair. Our ‘flu’ dances, too, were impromptu homey affairs where one left his mask at the door and breathed freely again, unimpeded, and safe from SATC discipline until the bugle called. Later in the spring, there was a formal reception given for Dr. Barnes, Professor of Public Health Nursing, to which the faculty [was] invited.”
The records from 1918 and 1919 indicate that one-third of the world’s population was infected with the Spanish Flu. The majority of the victims of the Spanish Flu were healthy people between the ages of 20-40. Up to 50 million people died of the Spanish Flu around the world, with 650,000 deaths in the United States. More than 15,000 died in Michigan, with 58 citizens dead in the city of Ann Arbor. The on campus deaths included 57 members of SATC and two student nurses. More people died from the Spanish Flu than during World War I, which was going on at the time.
References
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Tobin, James (2020), Two Weeks in 1918, Michigan Today, March 26, 2020.
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The Michigan Alumnus, November 1918, page 73.
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The Martha Cook Annual (June 1919).