By Melora Neaves, Stevensville
This past April, my Grandmother, Viola Woolsey Overton, a second-generation Stevensville daughter, turned 100. She was born at the end of the fourth wave of the Spanish Flu. She had an Uncle, Harry Woolsey, who at 41 died at the beginning of the fourth wave in February 1920. This was the weakest wave, ending in late March. He is buried here in Stevensville.
The Spanish Flu, also known as H1N1, started in January 1918, but failures to take measures caused it to become rampant in Army camps by April 1918. The first wave lasted the first quarter of 1918, and was relatively mild. The controls were isolation, quarantine, good hygiene, disinfectants, masks, and limiting public gatherings, which were applied unevenly. During this time, schools would have closed for the summer, people were social distancing due to farm work, and travel wasn’t as readily available, so the summer months would flatten the curve.
In September 1918, the second wave hit Army camps around Boston. Between September and November, the second wave peaked in the U.S. This wave was much more deadly than the first, and was spread by troop movements. Death was prevalent through all age groups.
In January 1919, the third wave hits and subsides by summer.
We’re about six months into this new Pandemic, and already feeling worn down by the fear, the unknown, the anger, hostility, and divisiveness. H1N1 proved masks and social distancing were effective, but then people became complacent, and hostile, so again it reared its ugly head.
My question is, do we really want to go through years of this, when we’re already tired of masks and the constant awareness it takes to remain safe? Is it going to take multiple deaths of those we hold dear to make us take this seriously? This isn’t about money, it’s about saving our nation, and to do that, we all have to participate in the guidelines. This isn’t about “me”, it’s about “us”. I know I don’t want to be having to do what I’m doing now to stay safe again this time next year. It’s truly exhausting.
There are major differences between Covid-19 and H1N1. H1N1 killed from bacterial pneumonia. Now we have antibiotics. During H1N1 we didn’t travel as much. H1N1 was the FLU. Covid-19 is a Corona Virus, like the common cold. It’s viral, not bacterial. Summer is a time for travel, visiting places, family, friends.
I don’t remember the last time I had the flu, but in March I caught a cold that lasted for weeks, requiring three trips to the doctor, fevers that came and went, five bottles of cough suppressant, and two prescriptions of cough suppressants. I was tested for the flu and strep. It was neither, it was a cold.
Covid-19 scares me horribly. I wear a mask, always. Period. Because I care about you.
The Spanish Flu killed 675,000 Americans during its span. We’re now at 135,000+ and climbing daily. There’s a lot more of us now, and if we don’t flatten the curve, we’ll make H1N1 look minor.
I hope my grandmother lives to see the end of this Pandemic, but that won’t happen unless we all do our part.
Craig Johnson says
Glad to hear from the pro-choice people in the comments. It’s comforting to know that they will be fighting to preserve roe v. Wade
Roger Mitchell says
“I hope my grandmother lives to see the end of this Pandemic, but that won’t happen unless we all do our part.”
I hope your grandmother lives through this time until it’s over as well (and many years beyond that), but please don’t try to guilt manipulate or blame anyone else if she dies before then.
Making a statement like that sounds like you believe your grandmother’s demise is a foregone conclusion unless everyone else does what you want them to do–wear a face mask. Unfortunately, your comment that, “This isn’t about me…”, is contradictory to everything else you wrote, which really is all about you and your grandmother.
Take care of yourself. Take care of her. Wear a mask if it makes you feel better and safer. Quit wearing it when you want to. Stay home. Don’t get within six feet of other people. Do what you have to in order to ensure your own health. That is your prerogative and I will back you up 100%. All I’m asking from you is that you do the same for me.
Live your life. Let me live mine.
Mike Mercer says
I understand the fear you have as I look after my 96 year old dad, well we actually look after each other, and neither of us wears a mask. Even the best N95 respirators are unlikely to show much effect; the virus is a third of the particle size they filter. Masks and HEPA filters are depth filters, which are random meshes that impede the paths of particles. Impede does not mean stop. Push the particles long enough, and they will get through. Put enough particles into the filter, and they push through those ahead.
I admire your desire to protect others but please be aware that these masks impede not stop the virus; that’s not a conspiracy theory but medical fact. According to studies, to be safe the filters should be changed at least after two hours of use.