Hope for better days ahead

Many unforeseen changes have unfolded in our local communities since the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services announced the state's first cases of COVID-19 on March 13. Schools, businesses and churches were closed. Working from home, social distancing, teleconferencing and distance learning became a way of life.

In today's world, preventative measures to protect the masses from the coronavirus are practiced regularly including hand sanitizing, diagnostic testing and contact tracing. No such resources were available during the 1918-1919 Spanish flu pandemic.

A look back at events during the Spanish flu outbreak sheds light on the trials and tribulations local residents endured. Knowing what it was like during the flu pandemic over a century ago offers perspective on our current situation.

As World War I raged overseas, the influenza pandemic swept through the country claiming more lives than the Great War. It is estimated that about 500 million people were infected with the virus worldwide, and reportedly 675,000 people died in the United States.

A mild form of the Spanish flu first moved through Montana in the spring of 1918. Later that year, a more deadly second wave hit during a three-month period from October – December, infecting 35,500 Montanans according to the Montana Historical Society records. More than 5,000 people, approximately one percent of the state's population, died during the pandemic.

According to State records, Missoula County suffered the third-highest mortality rate in Montana with 227 flu-related deaths, after Silver Bow and Yellowstone Counties.

Soldiers stationed at Fort Missoula were among the first victims of the flu, and the virus quickly spread to the civilian population. Soon St. Patrick's Hospital became overwhelmed with influenza patients.

Missoula's saloons remained open during the fall of 1918 but the churches were shuttered. Instead of attending church services, residents could read a Sunday newspaper column titled, "Your Pastor Speaks to You Here." Sermons from all the local clergymen were published including Presbyterian minister John N. Maclean.

In Missoula, the city health officer kept a log of influenza cases but it is not clear if flu cases or mortalities were officially recorded in the rural areas of the region.

In 1918, many Swan Valley homesteaders were busy making improvements to their property. One such homesteader Hans Monrad moved his wife Anna, his young son Jens and infant daughter Gyda to their cabin near Elk Creek. Tragedy struck when Anna and her children became sick with the Spanish flu.

In an interview with Suzanne Vernon, Gyda Monrad Newman, a longtime resident of Swan Valley, commented, "My mother died when I was six months old. There was a man at the Gordon Ranch that got the flu. He came down to our house and he gave my mother and my brother and me the flu. My mother died, and this man died. They wrapped them in canvas and put them out in the woodshed until they could haul them out."

When Jens and Gyda were well enough to travel, Hans loaded the family into a sleigh, including the body of Anna, and they traveled to Missoula. The family then took Anna's body by train to Glendive, where she was buried.

One of the few women who homesteaded in Swan Valley, Mary Anne Whalen suffered a tragic loss when her husband, Roderick Whalen died of the Spanish flu in Missoula in 1918. Whalen's great-granddaughter, Sharon Gressle, commented, "It was after his [Roderick's] death that Mary Anne asked her son-in-law, Bill Deegan to find a homestead site for her in the valley."

Unlike today's world of mass communication and advanced technology, sources of news were not readily available in the rural areas of Montana. The Drummond Newspaper, one of the few local news sources in the early 20th century, included a column about Ovando news of the day. In the November 21, 1918 issue, several victims of the flu were noted: "The latest influenza victims are Mrs. C. G. Muchmore and two of the children and G. L. Gibson and one of the little boys." In the same edition of the newspaper, it was reported that the flu pandemic disrupted mail delivery in the Ovando area: "Owing to bad roads, influenza and various other disastrous happenings, the mail delivery was rather irregular last week." Then as now, many schools were closed: "The school in the Montour (sic) district opened Monday having been closed for several weeks."

The December 19, 1918 edition of the Drummond News reported an astounding rise of flu cases in Phillipsburg and surrounding Granite County: "An increase in the number of flu cases at the 'Burg (68 were reported the first of the week) and a few new cases in other parts of the county so alarmed the board of health that they issued a new order prohibiting meetings or public gatherings of any kind. The order is not directed against the schools but intended more particularly to prevent public dances and entertainments where people crowd together in warm, ill-ventilated quarters."

Unaware that a third wave of the flu virus was about to hit, the editor of the Drummond News reported a bit of hopeful news in the same edition of the paper: "There will be no services at the Catholic churches of Drummond and Hall next Sunday but there will be services on Christmas day instead. There will be Mid-Night (sic) Mass in the Helmville church."

Then as now, evaluating the full impact of the pandemic on our communities has been difficult, however, the one recurrent theme has been an unwavering hope for better days ahead.

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Right now, we're all chronicling a historical narrative of our own COVID-19 pandemic experiences. Whether it's through photos, emails, blogs, Facebook posts, or tweets, we're leaving our mark for future generations to interpret. The Documenting COVID-19 in Missoula County: A Community Archive Project is an effort to collect and archive stories and documents that reflect the experiences of Missoula County residents and organizations.  Everyone is invited to submit documents, photos, and narratives to the University of Montana Library at https://www.lib.umt.edu/asc/covid-project/about.php.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact Sharon Gressle at 406-493-1168.