Samuel Wesley Marion Jr., a blue-eyed boy with waves of dark brown hair, was born in Dobson on a chilly Oct. day 1918 — just a few hours before his father was buried at Piney Grove Baptist church.
Sam W. Marion Sr., once a teacher, was deputy register of deeds for Surry County and had just been selected to be the Republican candidate for Register of Deeds by the party leadership. Just 27 years old, he contracted influenza that developed into pneumonia. Healthy on Friday, he was dead three days later.
The same edition of the Elkin Tribune that announced the sadly coincidental birth and burial for the Marions noted that “Mr. Brady Marion, brother of the late S.W. Marion, is reported to have pneumonia.”
This was the second wave of the 1918 outbreak of influenza, what became known as the “Spanish” flu and October was the cruelest month of a cruel year. More than 195,000 Americans died in that month alone.
Seasonal flu was a well-known illness across the United States, generally causing high temperatures, body aches, coughing, and extreme lethargy for a few days. Sometimes, especially in the very young and very old, the disease developed into pneumonia which could easily kill the victim. Viruses were unknown until the 1930s and penicillin to treat opportunistic bacterial infections wasn’t discovered until 1928.
There had even been epidemics before; 1830-33; 1836-37; 1847-48; and 1889-90. There had been deaths but not in an unusual quantity and, while the numbers affected were higher than normal, they hadn’t debilitated the country.
This year, 1918, would be different with the massive movement of people around the globe for the First World War. In a time when many areas were still isolated, without communication to the outside world, and when war and starvation meant records were confusing or non-existent, it is estimated that as many as 500 million people contracted the Spanish flu worldwide and somewhere between 20 million and 50 million people died as a result.
Twenty-two million Americans, fully a quarter of the population, came down with the virus; 675,000 died.
There are competing theories about the origins of the 1918 pandemic. It is believed that a respiratory illness in China in 1917 that moved through Russia and hobbled the German army may have been the beginnings. It became known as the Spanish flu, not because it originated there but because Spain, which remained neutral in WWI, did not censor it’s press so the extent of infections and the number of dead were widely reported. Most other countries limited such information in an attempt to keep morale high and resources focused on the war effort.
The first significant instance in the US was at an Army camp in Kansas when 1,100 soldiers became sick in the spring of 1918 and 38 died.
Cases dropped off with the heat of the summer, as would be expected for the flu and many thought it was done.
The virus seems to have mutated in Europe and swept across the battlefields and traveled home with soldiers and sailors.
The mutated strain, with blistering fevers and hemorrhaging, not only spread more rapidly but killed those in the prime of life. Previously healthy adults age 25-35 became ill and died in staggering numbers, sometimes in as little as 24 hours.
The editor of the Mount Airy News railed at the lack of official action on Oct. 17. “Since starting here two weeks ago it has gradually spread until it is now estimated that it is in as many as 100 homes and that as many as 300 people have had it.” He talked of deaths “where pneumonia has developed.”
“The schools closed themselves when half the pupils stayed at home. The moving picture show shut down of its own accord. Many citizens urged that the churches and other public assembly places be closed, but the leading citizens of the town, many of them, did not approve of this action and nothing official has been done to stop the spread of the disease.”
Elkin’s leadership took action on Oct. 12, five days after Marion’s death. Mount Airy followed suit on Oct. 17. They still weren’t sure what caused the flu but they knew it transmitted from person to person easily. Today we know one of the most effective weapons in fighting the flu is handwashing.
Brady Marion, by the way, recovered. He died in 1973 at the age of 78. Be well, everyone, and remember to wash your hands.
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Mount Airy had a health officer at least as early as 1918. The county, however, created its health department in 1920, in part, as a response to the ongoing flu pandemic. Dr. Lester Lonnie Williams was Surry’s first health director. The department, now 100 years old, still serves the county with the stated mission to “protect and promote personal, family, and community health; ensure a safe and healthy environment; and to prevent or control the incidence and spread of disease.” This photo of an unknown clinic or activity at the Surry County Health Department on Moore Street was taken in 1920.
https://www.mtairynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/web1_Health-Clinic.jpgMount Airy had a health officer at least as early as 1918. The county, however, created its health department in 1920, in part, as a response to the ongoing flu pandemic. Dr. Lester Lonnie Williams was Surry’s first health director. The department, now 100 years old, still serves the county with the stated mission to “protect and promote personal, family, and community health; ensure a safe and healthy environment; and to prevent or control the incidence and spread of disease.” This photo of an unknown clinic or activity at the Surry County Health Department on Moore Street was taken in 1920. Mount Airy Museum of Regional History
Medicines, promising to cure everything from tuberculosis to “women’s problems,” quickly added the Spanish Influenza to the list of diseases their product, usually a combination of various flavorings, caffeine and alcohol, could cure. And, as with many other advertising campaigns of the day, they made use of their product seem vitally patriotic. Imagine my surprise when, while reading the Mount Airy News this week, I saw “Hellam, Pa” on this ad. It’s the town I grew up in. The lady who wrote the testimonial, Edna Mae Crumbling, and her husband, Emory, went to church with my great-grandparents. Small world!
https://www.mtairynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/web1_Health-Ad.jpgMedicines, promising to cure everything from tuberculosis to “women’s problems,” quickly added the Spanish Influenza to the list of diseases their product, usually a combination of various flavorings, caffeine and alcohol, could cure. And, as with many other advertising campaigns of the day, they made use of their product seem vitally patriotic. Imagine my surprise when, while reading the Mount Airy News this week, I saw “Hellam, Pa” on this ad. It’s the town I grew up in. The lady who wrote the testimonial, Edna Mae Crumbling, and her husband, Emory, went to church with my great-grandparents. Small world! Mount Airy Museum of Regional History
Dr. Campbell Atkinson Baird was Mount Airy’s Health Officer during the pandemic. He passionately argued with the town council to implement October 1 federal and state health officials’ recommendation to close all “public meeting places” from schools, to churches, to theaters. They declined for a crucial three weeks. Baird ran his private practice from an office on Main Street before moving it to his residence on Cherry Street, seen here in the mid-1900s.
https://www.mtairynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/web1_HOUSE-.jpgDr. Campbell Atkinson Baird was Mount Airy’s Health Officer during the pandemic. He passionately argued with the town council to implement October 1 federal and state health officials’ recommendation to close all “public meeting places” from schools, to churches, to theaters. They declined for a crucial three weeks. Baird ran his private practice from an office on Main Street before moving it to his residence on Cherry Street, seen here in the mid-1900s. Mount Airy Museum of Regional History
Red Cross nurses were, in many cases, the only medical professional victims of the flu had access to. US Surgeon General Rupert Blue sent a telegraph to the American Red Cross national headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 1, 1918, asking the American Red Cross to “assume charge of supplying all the needed nursing personnel” to care for victims of the pandemic across the nation and “to furnish emergency supplies” when there weren’t enough locally. The Red Cross spent more than $2 million and hired and trained more than 18,000 nurses and volunteers to support the nation’s public health workers. This picture of wounded British soldiers showering their American Red Cross nurse with flowers when she contracted the flu ran on the front page of the Elkin Tribune October 1918.
https://www.mtairynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/web1_RED-CROSS-NURSE.jpgRed Cross nurses were, in many cases, the only medical professional victims of the flu had access to. US Surgeon General Rupert Blue sent a telegraph to the American Red Cross national headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 1, 1918, asking the American Red Cross to “assume charge of supplying all the needed nursing personnel” to care for victims of the pandemic across the nation and “to furnish emergency supplies” when there weren’t enough locally. The Red Cross spent more than $2 million and hired and trained more than 18,000 nurses and volunteers to support the nation’s public health workers. This picture of wounded British soldiers showering their American Red Cross nurse with flowers when she contracted the flu ran on the front page of the Elkin Tribune October 1918. Mount Airy Museum of Regional History
On Oct. 17, 1918, the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners passed ordinances forbidding spitting on the sidewalk or in stores or other public places, theaters or “other place(s) of amusement” to operate, crowds to congregate anywhere from stores to schools to churches. Drinks must only be served in bottles unless served in single-use paper cups. “Congregating in barber shops and the depot” was unlawful except for business. Violators incurred a $50 fine.
https://www.mtairynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/web1_ORDINANCE.jpgOn Oct. 17, 1918, the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners passed ordinances forbidding spitting on the sidewalk or in stores or other public places, theaters or “other place(s) of amusement” to operate, crowds to congregate anywhere from stores to schools to churches. Drinks must only be served in bottles unless served in single-use paper cups. “Congregating in barber shops and the depot” was unlawful except for business. Violators incurred a $50 fine. Mount Airy Museum of Regional History
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