1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic

With the COVID 19 pandemic upon us, many people have a renewed interest in the 1918 flu epidemic.  Just like today, the Kutztown area was not immune to the pandemic, and the entire community took the necessary precautions as well as helped their neighbors in ways other than “social distancing.”

The 10 October 1918 issue of The Patriot reported that the influenza epidemic had not hit the Kutztown area, but the “town is under strict orders to obey the regulations set down by the State Department of Health.”  The regulations were listed in the PA Acting Commissioner of Health Dr. B. Franklin Royer’s proclamation:

To the People of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:

Our Commonwealth is threatened by a serious epidemic of influenza, a highly communicable disease, which in many cases develops into an extremely fatal type of pneumonia.

In order to as fully as possible protect the lives of our people as well as our essential war industries, the Department has issued an order closing all theaters, moving picture palaces, amusement places, saloons, dance halls, and all unnecessary public gatherings; forbidding unnecessary visiting of the sick, and requiring all funerals, no matter what may have been the cause of death, to be private.

For the public good, as well as for our individual safety, the Department of Health calls upon all good citizens to help make this order effective.

Avoid crowds and places frequented by large numbers of people; stay at home and do not use the street cars or trains except as your duties or employment may absolutely require. Crowded cars afford unusual facilities for spreading the disease; make them less dangerous for those who must use them in necessary industry.

Your hearty co-operation is necessary in this grave emergency.

Wholesale liquor dealers, bottlers, fraternal organizations and social clubs are requested to discontinue the sale, delivery or serving of liquors for the period during which the hotel bars and saloons are closed.

Compliance with this request is expected on the part of loyal dealers and patriotic organizations. Those who have been affected and in some instances greatly inconvenienced by the direct order are willingly and cheerfully obeying its requirements.


(signed)

B. FRANKLIN ROYER,
Acting Commissioner of Health.

But next week, the 17 October 1918 front page had an article entitled “OVER 50 CASES OF INFLUENZA.”  The Kutztown Board of Health, lead by U. B. Ketner, closed the public schools and barred Normal School (now Kutztown University) day students from traveling through town.  Among serious cases reported are Mrs. H.D. Kutz (whose entire family was also ill, causing them to close their Kutztown bakery), C. C. Deibert, Austin Rhode, Ed Stufflet, and Emma Snyder.  One death was reported – Mrs. Charles Heffner. All ill people were quarantined and not allowed to leave their homes unless cleared by Health Officer Ketner. Other regulations:

Parents are requested to keep their children in the open air, but also keep them at home, as much as possible, preventing them from playing in crowds. Until further notice, all stores are to be closed every evening at 6 o'clock. Until further notice all soda fountains are to be closed. Until further notice, all restaurants and hotel lunch rooms are to be closed at 8 o'clock every evening, including Saturday evenings. All families having influenza or grippe are to be quarantined. Until further notice, no public sale or other public meeting is to be held in the borough. The Board of Health asks the people of Kutztown for their best co-operation in this matter in order to prevent the spread of influenza or grippe, and by so doing the threatened epidemic, can be averted.

By the following week (24 October 1918) seven deaths and 110 cases of the flu had been reported.  Several Kutztown women were already nursing the sick in their homes: Victoria Schwoyer, Mable Heffner, Lona Hepner, and Mrs. N. Z. Dunkelberger.  The Board of Health put out a call for more nurses and discussed opening a hospital at the Town Hall to care for people who had no one to take care of them in their homes.  It was also reported that Kutztown railroad station agent, C. C. Deibert, had succumbed to the flu. He was 34 years old. Death due to the flu reported in the obituaries (Kutztown residents):  Edna Scheidt Hinkle and her nine-year-old daughter, Gladys; Calvin Dries (aged 32), and two-year-old Anna Mary Oswaldt.

The lead story in the 31 October 1918 issue of The Patriot – TOWN OPENS A HOSPITAL – reported 52 new cases of the flu in Kutztown, causing the Town Hall to be converted into a hospital for flu patients.  The first patients were Mr. and Mrs. Central Moser, Mrs. Calvin Stein, Gertrude Rahn, Emma Snyder, and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Rhode and child of Bowers.  Two trained nurses, Mary Grim and Bertha Henry, tended the sick with help from Lona Hepner, Rosie Grim, Victoria Schwoyer, Annie Livingood, Anna Kline, Dorothy Deisher, Mrs. Charles Kuhns, Olive DeTurk, and Ella Ziegler.  All churches were closed in Kutztown to prevent the spreading of the flu. Ten total deaths reported. Kutztown deaths reported in the obituaries: Harvey J. Christ. Marguerite Ellan Stern Serfass, Mrs. George H. Bieber.

The 7 November 1918 issue focused on the news about the World War I armistice; however, there was also a front-page story about the flu epidemic in Kutztown declining.  The Kutztown Emergency Hospital remained open with 12 patients: three from Kutztown and nine from surrounding areas. Since the hospital opened on 27 October, it served17 patients with three deaths and two discharges.  Deaths reported in the obituaries: Central Moser (age 31) and his wife, Annie (age 23). Annie’s mother, Mrs. Calvin Stein was a flu patient in the Town Hall hospital when Annie died.

The 14 November 1918 issue reported that the flu quarantine was lifted at the Normal School allowing it to resume its usual activities including day students and children at the model school.  The Kutztown Emergency Hospital reported 18 patients in the hospital with 11 vacant beds. The patients were: David Bower’s five children, Mrs. Morris Greenawalt and five children, Carrie Williams, Henry Dunkel, Charles Rhode, Solon Rhode, Mrs. Aaron Noll, and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Rhode.  Patients discharged: William Roberts, Emma Snyder, and Lottie Rhode (daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Rhode).

The 21 November 1918 Patriot featured a small article declaring that the Kutztown Emergency Hospital would close as soon as the 12 remaining patients were well enough to be discharged.  The obituaries included several deaths due to the flu. None of the decease, however, were Kutztown residents.

No news of the hospital was reported in the 28 November 1918 issue; however, the obituaries included Roy M. Sellers, son of Dr. E. J. Sellers of Kutztown.
 

The lull in flu news was broken in the 5 December Patriot with an article entitled “FLU” FLARING UP and the subtitle “Was Supposed to Have Died Out, But Live Embers Were Still About – One Family of Eight Down – 24 in Hospital.  Patients in the hospital – the William Hess family (all eight of them) from Richmond Township, Lizzie Levan, Curtis Angstadt, Jane Burkert, Agnes Meitzler, George W. Kohler, Mrs. Henry Kern, Katherine Kern, Florence Hilbert, William Hess, Alice Hess, Leroy Hess, Viola Hess, Edna Hess, Calvin Hess, Harris Hess, Anna Hess, Oscar Hess, Raymond Snyder, Esther Adams, Henry Adams, Clarence Adams, and Charles Mertz.  Patient Henry Adam (aged 19) died. New cases reported, but the sick stayed in their homes – Linda Keinert, Mrs. Walter S. Dietrich and sons William and Daniel, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Springer, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Sicher, Mrs. Fred Fisher and son Carl, Mrs. Alice Leibensperger, Mrs. Howard Berger, and Allen Grim (son of Professor and Mrs. J. S. Grim, Normal Hill).

On 12 December it was reported that the “hospital cases are improving.” Ten total patients were in the hospital: Richard Snyder and his sister Myrl (both from Greenwich Township), George Kohler, Mrs. Alice Stump and her daughter Catharine, Ward Kieffer, Oscar Hess, William Ramer, and Raymond Snyder.  Kutztown deaths reported: Henry C. Adam (in the previous edition of The Patriot, he is listed as Henry Adams), Edwin Helmerich, and Charles L. Mertz.

“HOSPITAL NEEDS CASH” was the headline of one of the front-page stories on 19 December.  Readers of The Patriot were encouraged to follow the example of J. P. S. Fenstermacher, ex-postmaster of Kutztown, who donated $10 to the cause.  Herman’s Playhouse scheduled a benefit showing of “A Dog’s Life,” a Charlie Chaplin film, to raise funds for the hospital. Twelve patients were reported in the hospital with six newly admitted, including Mrs. James Stein of Highland Avenue and four of her children and Neda Swoyer of Lyons.  Kutztown deaths reported: George Ramer and Richard Snyder.
Other than a reminder about the charity showing of “A Dog’s Life” at Herman’s Playhouse, no news of the Kutztown Emergency Hospital was printed in the 26 December Patriot.  No Kutztown resident deaths from the flu were reported.
The Patriot brought in 1919 with a report in its 2 January edition that a turkey dinner served at the Kutztown Emergency Hospital.  The turkey was donated by the executive board, lead by Burgess George C. Herman (president) and B. F. Druckenmiller (secretary).  Kutztown flu death reported: Mrs. Howard Dellicker.

The Berks County Emergency Committee’s tour of the Kutztown Emergency Hospital was reported in the 9 January edition.  They were impressed. The Patriot article was subtitled, “County Emergency Committee Here to Inspect.  Couldn’t Find Words Strong Enough in Praise – Everything Up to the Best.”  Kutztown flu death reported: Mrs. William G. Fisher
The 16 January issue of The Patriot featured a story entitled, “NO CLOSING AS YET,” with the subtitle, “Emergency Hospital Still Badly Needed – There are 12 Patients in Comfortable Beds Now and no Telling How many More the Morrow Will Bring.”  The patients: Mrs. E. M. Angstadt, Mrs. David Yoder, Warren Trout, William Roberts, Mabel Roberts, Margaret Roberts, Mrs. Milton Heffner and her children Emma, Howard, Edwin and Ida. No Kutztown flu deaths reported.

No news of the hospital was reported in the 23 January issue, but Kutztown Emergency Hospital patient Mrs. E. M. Angstadt died from the flu.  In later issues of The Patriot, it was reported that Mr. Angstadt sold his house and household possessions after his wife’s funeral and boarded at the Pennsylvania House.

Mrs. Salem Bock was a new patient reported in the 30 January issue.  She was seriously ill with pneumonia. Other patients were either discharged (Mr. and Mrs. David Yoder) or “on the fair road to recovery.”  Kutztown flu death reported: Cora Reimert, who died as she was being admitted to the Reading Hospital.

The 6 February 1919 issue of The Patriot is missing from the historical society archives, but the 13 February issue reported the death of Mrs. Salem J. Bock (nee Catherine Snyder), a patient at the Kutztown Emergency Hospital.  At the time of her death, her husband was on his way home from France where he fought in the war. Kutztown veterinarian David Levan’s death was also reported, but the obituary claimed his pneumonia was caused by tending to animals in the cold weather rather than the Spanish flu.
The 20 February 1919 issue of The Kutztown Patriot summarizes the history of the hospital:
 
THE WORK IS DONE
DOORS ARE CLOSED
EMERGENCY HOSPITAL DID WONDERFUL SERVICE DURING EPIDEMIC
Wrote a Shining Chapter in Kutztown’s History That Will Serve as a Pattern to Coming Generations – Community Spirit of the Right Sort Afforded Relief and Solace to Scores of Sick and Cared for Whole Families.

After four months of intensive noble work the Kutztown Emergency Hospital closed its doors on Saturday and is now a thing of history.  Its course was of such a nature and the community spirit back of it so high an order that everyone who had anything to do with it and all those who contributed towards it may well feel proud.  It established a sample that will act as an incentive to future generations.

When the Spanish influenza invaded this town and section in the latter part of October our wide-awake citizens at once put their heads together and discussed the best means of combating the epidemic.  The board of health took the first step. On October 24 (1918) it engaged Mary Grim as visiting nurse and she and Health Officer U. B. Kettner were out day and night ministering to the sick until the hospital was opened.  Meanwhile the board of health had gotten in touch with Dr. Stites, superintendent of the state sanatorium at Hamburg, who readily responded to Kutztown’s distress call. Much credit is due him for his part in the relief work.  He came here personally to look into the situation and offered beds, bedding and a complete outfit if Kutztown desired to pen an emergency hospital. After a few days of deliberation among leading men, a joint meeting was called by Chief Burgess (George) Herman of the board of health, town council, and the local branch of the Red Cross.  At this meeting it was unanimously decided to open an emergency hospital at the Town Hall and Dr. Stites was so informed. This was on October 25. The next day, October 26, the sanatorium’s motor truck arrived from Hamburg with a full outfit for 27 beds, the capacity of the hall. Things moved fast by this time. The fire company willingly granted the use of the second floor of the Town Hall for the purpose.  A large force of men and women volunteers appeared in the morning to clean up the place and by evening October 26 the hospital was opened.
 

At the meeting above referred to an executive committee was appointed, which was the governing body to the end.  They governed wisely and unselfishly and deserve the thanks of the entire community. The members were: George C. Herman, president; Frank Druckenmiller, secretary; R. P. Albright, treasurer; George W. Bieber, C. C. Fiscus, O. H. Dietrich, C. D. Herman, Dr. J. S. Grim, Rev. S. N. Dissinger, and Jacob Kemp.

The volunteers to clean the hall and assist otherwise were: Mrs. U. S. G. Bieber, Mrs. Charles Kuhns, Mrs. E. P. DeTurk, Mrs. Edgar Krauss, Mrs. William Yaxtheimer, Mrs. Howard S. Sharadin, Mrs. T. R. Luckenbill, Mrs. George Weaver, Mrs. Nicholas Meitzler, Mrs. Alice Bloch, Mrs. Katie Merkel, Mrs. Ellen Bieber, Mrs. John Schaeffer, Mrs. Alice Stump, Mrs. George Glasser, Mrs. Jacob Weidenhammer, Mrs. Francis Kline, Mrs. A. S. Christ, Mrs. J. B. Esser, Miss Katie Weidenhammer, Miss Annie Hilbert, Miss Mary Miller, Stephen Esser, E. P. DeTurk, M. F. Greenawalt, Llewellyn Snyder, Solon D. Grim, Raymond Beck, J. L. D. Kohler, Jacob Kieffer.

The Executive Committee appointed Miss Mary Grim as head nurse and day nurse and Miss Rosana Grim as night nurse. Misses Beulah Henry and Emily Winters, of Reading, substituted on several occasions. Other appointees were: Orderly, U. B. Ketner; fireman, C. F. Folk; cook, Mrs. Jacob Kieffer; wash woman, Mrs. Sbylla Snyder. These were assisted by volunteers. The nurses were ably assisted by the Red Cross volunteers, who were: Misses Victoria Schwoyer, Lona Hepner, Helen Esser, Ida Yoder, Dorothy Deisher, Lillian DeTurk, Julia Kemp, Olive DeTurk, Mabel Heffner, Anna Livingood, Anna Kline, Eva Kline, Miriam Levin, Ella Ziegler, Gertrude Rahn, Marion Christman, Laura Hepner, Meri Ahlandt, Mrs. N. Z. Dunkelberger, Mrs. Oscar Rhode, Mrs. U. S. G. Bieber, Mrs. Charles Kuhns, Mrs. E. P. DeTurk, Mrs. Edgar Krauss, Mrs. William Yaxtheimer.
The physicians who visited the hospital regularly looking after their own and other patients were: Drs. Henry W. Saul, N. Z. Dunkelberger, E. K. Steckel, E. L. Hottenstein, A. C. L. Hottenstein, S. E. Rager and S. A. Brunner.
The patients came from Kutztown, Monterey, Bowers, Lyons, Moselem Springs, near Fleetwood, Krumsville, Grimsville, Stony Run and surrounding territory. They are all full of praise for the close attention and fine treatment they received at the hands of the nurses and their willing assistants.

Names of Patients Emma Snyder, Sentral Moser, Mrs. Sentral Moser, Mrs. Hattie Stein, Miss Gertrude Rahn, Mrs. Maggie Zerfass, Charles Rhode, Mrs. Charles Rhode, Lottie Rhode, Mary Greenawalt, Walter Greenawalt, Robert Greenawalt, Esther Greenawalt, Mary Greenawalt, Mrs. M. F. Greenawalt, William Greenawalt, William Roberts, Sr., Mrs. Aaron Moll, Clarence Bower, Charles Bower, Helen Bower, Mamie Bower, Florence Bower, Charles Roth, Solon Grim, Henry Dankel, Carrie Williams, Edgar Greenawalt, Mrs. Alice Greenawalt, Mildred Greenawalt, Norman Greenawalt, Mrs. Raymond Beck, Raymond Beck, Jr., Harry Berg, Mrs. Llewellyn Meitzler, Edna Meitzler, Jacob DeLong, Jr., Paul Christman, Mrs. Lizzie Levan, Mabel Wanner, Irene Wanner, Jacob Wanner, Curtis Angstadt, Mrs. Jane Burkert, Wayne Brown, Agnes Meitzler, George W. Kohler, Mrs. Katherine Kern, Katherine Kern, Lillian Kern, Anna Kern, George Kern, Florence Hilbert, William Hess, Mrs. Alice Hess, Leroy Hess, Viola Hess, Edna Hess, Calvin Hess, Harris Hess, Anna Hess, Oscar Hess, Raymond Snyder, Esther Adam, Henry Adam, Clarence Adam, Charles Mertz, Mrs. Alice Stump, Catharine Stump, Ward Kieffer, George Ramer, William Ramer, Richard Snyder, Myrle Snyder, Neida Schwoyer, Mrs. Emma Stein, Ella Stein, Annie Stein, Arline Stein, Willis Stein, Frank Danner, Florence Angstadt, Mrs. Clara Fister, Gene Fister, Frederick Fister, Pearl Roberts, Marguerite Roberts, Mabel Roberts. Richard Roberts, William Roberts, Jr., Warren Trout, Mrs. Odella Heffner, Emma Heffner, Ida Heffner, Erma Heffner, Edwin Heffner, Howard Heffner, Mrs. E. M. Angstadt, Mrs. Ida Yoder, David Yoder, Mrs. Sabylla Snyder, lla Snyder, Eva Snyder. Paul Heffner, Mrs. Bertha Kieffer, Clinton Funk, Mrs. Elizabeth Miller, Dorothy Miller, Mrs. Emma Hollenbach, Clara Hollenbach, George Hollenbach, William Knjttle, Mrs. Katie Bock and Sabylla Snyder.

There were nine deaths. Most of the patients who died were seriously ill when brought to the institution. The names of the dead are: Nov. 2. Mr. and Mrs. Sentral Moser, she dying at 2 a. m. and he at 11.45 a. m.; Oct. 30, Mrs. William Serfass; Dec. 5, Charles Mertz; Dec. 4, Henry Adams; Dec. 9, George Ramer; Dec. 12, Richard Snyder, Jan. 21, Mrs. E. M. Angstadt; Feb. 6, Mrs. Salem J. Bock.  (Note:  Clinton Funk had a relapse a week after he was discharged and died on February 25.)

Highest number of patients. 27 (which occurred several times); total number of patients, 113; capacity of beds, 27; deaths, 9; hospital opened, Oct. 26, 1918; closed, Feb. 15, 1919. The three last patients had sufficiently recovered to be taken to their homes. Some of the volunteers have been cleaning up early in the week in order to turn the place over to the fire company in the best of order.

There were still flu deaths after the closing of the hospital, but the pandemic seemed to be fading.  The 27 February flu obituaries included one for 13-year-old James W. Schlegel of Dryville and the aforementioned Clinton Funk.  The issue also included an editorial calling for a permanent hospital in Kutztown.