Wearing a flu mask in Phoenix in 1918


If you're a history buff, you know about the flu epidemic of 1918, which killed about 500 million people worldwide. And if you're reading this at about the time I'm writing this, in June of 2020, you know about the the current pandemic, COVID-19 (Coronavirus 2019 - the year it was discovered).

Here in Glendale (a suburb of Phoenix) and in all of Maricopa County, there's a new regulation requiring the wearing of masks when in public places. And today I got to wondering what people thought of all of this back in old-time Phoenix, so I looked at the Library of Congress site, and found this wonderful cartoon.

When I'm out and about I've seen a variety of masks, and also people who kinda look like that strong-willed lady there. I like to exercise in the morning, and I tend to hang my mask over my ear, like the guy smoking the cigar, when I'm out riding, but I mask up quickly when I'm around people.


My favorite image from that cartoon is Smith - who is asking who the hell you are? Anyway, as you can tell, I'm OK with the regulation, and if wearing a mask shows people that I care, it's worth the inconvenience. Besides, I have a wonderful cloth mask that the Woman In My Life gave me, which is dove grey with polka dots, and even is designed to fit up over my pointy nose without fogging up my glasses.

The science behind how viruses work was very puzzling to most people in 1918, and speaking for myself, it still is. Nowadays we have electron microscopes that can actually see a virus, but if you showed me a picture of one I wouldn't know if it was a virus or the surface of Mars. So I have to trust doctors, scientists, and (sigh) politicians, who I hope have my best interests at heart. It stands to reason, though, that's what these people do - they want us to remain healthy and alive, and pay taxes.


I also found this cool little ad from Goldwater's, which sounds a lot like what is happening nowadays. "Shop in safety, wear your flu mask, it's easy." Or you could shop by phone and have stuff delivered. The phone would have been as new a piece of technology to a lot of people as the internet is today, and hopefully there were good people who were willing to help people who didn't understand the new technology. I've ordered things online and to me it's as easy as picking up the phone, but I know people who think that I'm some kind of genius.

Thank you for wearing your flu mask with me in 1918!

Here's the link to the LOC page: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/data/batches/az_jojoba_ver01/data/sn84020558/00202195507/1918113001/0348.pdf
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