100 years ago … actually 103
103 years ago, i.e. the end of 1918, WWI was just over with the Armistice of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month: 11/11/1918.
In March of 1918, the first documented case of “Spanish flu” was in Kansas. There is some confusion and/or wartime censor suppressed news that the original outbreak was in Spain. The flu was caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus.
And while most flu outbreaks disproportionately kill the young and the old, the 1918 pandemic had unusually high mortality for young adults. Scientist’s explanations are that the virus was particularly deadly because it triggered a cytokine storm … hmm … where have I heard that ??? Additionally, there were no drugs or vaccines to treat it at that time.
I am currently reading a book series that takes place in late Summer/early Autumn of 1918 in Pennsylvania, U.S. The parallels to many things happening now are interesting and thought provoking. In addition to the impending pandemic, which was initially thought to be confined to the military, there were the “at war” restrictions: rationing of food, clothing, fuel and other materials needed for the war effort as well as the “Espionage Act of 1917” and “Sedition Act of 1918” which fueled a government/law enforcement oversee of public opinion. Holy Cow! That makes some current thinking about mask requirements being tyrannical a bit of a non-starter!
As I have read current opinion, I have often thought: “Really!!! Have you not read history of WWI and WWII ? Have you not read of the restrictions that were years in place and all that was part of the war effort ?” The whining of many of us is appalling to me.
Stepping off my soapbox … almost …
The other things that struck me as I progress through the series of 1918 goings on … the amount of changes in 100-103 years! On one hand, 100 plus years seems like a long time, but as a person who is 66, with grandparents born in 1900-1910, 100 years seems not so much.
Automobiles: motors to autos to cars … current vehicles being governed by chip sets …
Air travel: yes, well … there was some commercial air travel in the late 1920’s. I remember flying to NYC approximately 1967 in a propeller plane, where my family was in a “compartment”. Flight was very exciting, I disliked NYC intensely, which maybe explains me being in Montana :)
Telephone: infancy of rotary dial to smartphone … holy darn cow!! and much of that happening exponentially in the last 10-12 years.
TV – television – telly – streaming video. My first memory of television was grainy black and white. And then a red-green color version in early color tv. And now “big screen tv” which I do not have because I am happy streaming whatever to my iPad/iPhone/computer and smallish smart TV … all at high definition!
Women’s rights: in the U.S. women got the right to vote 8/18/1920 … a scant 101 years ago. It was an arduous undertaking … suffragist movement and push back and good grief!!! It really was not so long ago that women gave all rights and money/property/income to their husbands on marriage. When you consider the timeline, it is just three generations from today.
Some minutiae: toaster in 1918 was just evolving to an appliance that toasted on both sides!! As a toast aficionado, this was a very important detail to me!
As we barrel to the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022, I think it behooves all of us to reflect on the past and consider what the past has to contribute to our future.
6 Responses to “100 years ago … actually 103”
A shame to say, but most people today don’t read anything of history. Having had and survived polio in 1944, I well remember the rules/regulations of being quarantined and all that went with it. Guess that’s why I gravitated to the science fields as a student/adult. Ignorance is curable, but stupidity is forever!
A sad Amen to that.
As someone very interested in history I really enjoyed your post. My mother was born in 1918 and I well remember her telling me about the coming of plastic! Both my grandmothers died in their 30’s – one from septicaemia and one from diphtheria – so I never met them. That wouldn’t happen today.
Growing up in New Zealand, we actually had no telephone or TV when I was young. My parents didn’t want them. But we did have all the vaccinations.
And NZ was the first country to give women the vote in 1893. Maybe one reason there is a woman PM, and not for the first time.
In Greece women didn’t get the vote until the 1950’s and in the post war years life was very difficult and primitive here. No electricity in most places, very bad roads and lack of infrastructure.
Thanks for the look into Greece and New Zealand, Margaret! I am learning some New Zealand history (1950-70’s) from the Essie Summers books I told you about and she did write of NZ being the first country to give women the vote. I think there is a tendency here in the U.S. to think that “we” are on the cutting edge of everything and again … much due to not educating ourselves on world history/conditions. We really have no excuse now with the ease of getting information about everywhere and everything.
The advent of plastic :) !! I remember a kind of suspicion/mistrust about items made of plastic and then we got over it and now we are trying to eliminate use of it.
Plastic! I remember when we were kids that Mum would wash and reuse every plastic bag again and again. Most of our toys were wooden (made by Dad or Grandpa) or paper or cardboard, the exception being dolls. But we had doll each, not the hundreds kids have today. And stuffed toys knitted by Mum. All bottles were glass then, too, and straws were waxed paper. in my childhood I would never have imagined drinking water from bottles and not from the tap. What destruction in one generation!
NZ in the 50’s and 60’s was like an outpost of England – we still had the English school system with French compulsory ( the only French speaking people were hundreds of kilometres away in Tahiti and New Caledonia and we never met one) English cars, and English magazines which came by ship and were six months out of date. But we had a much better life, with plenty of food, freedom to play outside, beautiful scenery and a very egalitarian society.
About the English school system … the books that got me thinking about writing this post are by R.A. Wallace and the series is “The Glennon Normal School Mysteries”. I had to look up “Normal School” and found that here in the U.S. somewhat similar to the English School system you describe and Normal Schools being teacher’s colleges. The series is set in Pennsylvania and the term used in New England which at that time was only 100 years from being old England kind of.
I grew up in the play outside era also. I think we were/are far behind NZ as far as being an egalitarian society, though … despite our constitution :(
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