SPANISH INFLUENZA TOOK SCORES OF LIVES

The Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918 swept the globe and left 15 million to 20 million people dead, including 548,000 Americans and hundreds in Southeast Missouri.

In Cape Girardeau, Hazel Painton was the first victim of the Spanish influenza. She died at her home on North Middle Street Oct. 10, 1918.

The illness spread quickly and left families devastated.

On Jan. 7, 1919, the Southeast Missourian newspaper reported that Nora Heiser died. Her stepfather, John Henry Masters, had died a few days earlier. She was the fifth member of the family to die in three weeks from Spanish influenza.

Violet Lomax remembered the epidemic and counted herself lucky to have survived. She was a young girl during the outbreak.

"A lot of families had at least one or two who died," she said in a 1993 interview. She was thankful that just one member of her family had been killed by the influenza.

Lomax lived at Kewanee at the time of the epidemic.

"I lived on the farm there, and there was a graveyard not very far away," she said. "It seemed like all the time wagons were pulling up and families were burying someone else."

The illness struck fast. Lomax recalled a woman who died on Sunday. Her husband died on Tuesday.

City officials took steps to stem the spreading disease. Schools and churches were closed, and public gatherings prohibited.

In 1918, Halloween parties and Christmas activities were banned.

During 1918 and 1919, the Southeast Missourian newspaper pages were filled with reports on the influenza.

On Oct. 11, 1918, Cape Girardeau's City Council adopted a measure to prevent the spread of the disease, closing theaters, churches and schools, and prohibiting social functions and public weddings. Pool rooms were required to close at 8 p.m., and saloons were required to prevent assemblage of patrons by denying them the right to loiter after needs had been supplied.

On Nov. 16, 1918, the newspaper reported that 19 people from Allenville had died of influenza, representing 10 percent of the town's population.

On Dec. 9, 1918, it was reported that more than 300 cases of influenza had developed in the past five years.

Cape Girardeau County recorded 127 deaths from influenza. The highest death count in the area was in Pemiscot County with 185.

Other county death counts were 28 in Bollinger; 48 in Madison; 121 in Mississippi; 113 in New Madrid; 47 in Perry; 12 in Reynolds; 177 in St. Francis; 35 in Ste. Genevieve; 142 in Scott; 153 in Stoddard; and 74 in Wayne.

For a short time in November and December, city officials lifted the ban on public gatherings. Schools opened. Picture shows and the library were back in business.

Churches were permitted to hold morning services, but children younger than age 14 were not allowed to attend.

Soon the influenza worsened, and the restrictions again were imposed.

As 1919 progressed, news of the epidemic dwindled along with the number of cases reported.

Health officials have said a repeat of the Spanish influenza epidemic today would be highly unlikely given modern medicine and communication systems.

However, the threat of influenza annually generates interest as people are urged to get flu shots.