Social distancing in the 1908 smallpox epidemic

Some days I have to continually remind myself that not everyone appreciates my sense of humor. Even I, at times, wonder if I really said what just flew out of my mouth. In these days of “political correctness” I find the term self-isolating to just be ridiculous. How, if you have no friends or family nearby, do you do that? Did they call Santa Clause back to drop cigarettes, alcohol, milk, and sugar pops down the chimney? And, since no one can know who you are or where you live because of health privacy laws, how does the local newspaper boy determine if he just handed the paper to an active case of Covid 19?

There was not any question of who, what, when or where during epidemics in early McCook. If you think today’s standards of social distancing are draconian, take a look at this notice in the McCook Tribune, January 17, 1908: “A meeting of great importance was called Thursday afternoon, January 16, 1908, by Mayor Fahnestock to consider the epidemic of small pox which threatens our city, and the consensus of opinion brought out the fact that the city would be placed under strict surveillance. These measures were considered necessary owing to the rapid spread of smallpox. Many of the people are refusing vaccination and the epidemic threatens to be serious if prompt measures are not taken at once. It was decided to close all public and private meetings, lodges, schools, churches, dances, clubs, parties and gatherings of all kinds and to increase the police force sufficiently to guard all quarantined houses and thoroughly carry out all orders of the Board of Health and City Council. Nurses will be engaged ready for such cases as need care and attention. The children must stay at home and not leave the home yard. The citizens will do only the necessary trading at the stores and leave as soon as purchases are completed, going either home or to their place of business and not congregating to talk. All stray and unlicensed dogs will be killed and any cat or dog crossing the quarantine line about a house (usually 30 feet from house) will be at once killed. No deliveries will be carried into a house but in unquarantined houses carried to the porch only and in quarantined places to the 30-foot line. Guards will have full authority to strictly enforce the quarantine laws. A bureau of Public Vaccination will be open with a physician in attendance for the purpose of vaccinating free any and all persons desiring same, and the board of health urge everybody to be vaccinated, whether done before or not. Thorough vaccination is the only true preventative and should be repeatedly done until successful. All trade tickets and books should be at once burned and later replaced wither by new ones or some proper medium of equivalent exchange. The co-operation of all citizens is asked in the enforcement of quarantine and the protection of the city. All persons are requested to notify the Board of Health of any and all cases of sickness. Dr. C.L. Farnestock, Mayor & Dr. S. C. Beach, City Physician.”

If you wonder how they knew who was quarantined, they posted a sign on the door just in case you missed the police guard. Your name was quite often in the newspaper with updates on your recovery or subsequent death. From what I have found, during some quarantines they closed whole neighborhoods as in a scarlet fever outbreak. The 1907 city ordinance spelled out what diseases would result in quarantine of a home: Cholera, bubonic plague, yellow fever, small pox, scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles, typhus, meningitis, tuberculosis, consumption, typhoid fever and any other disease considered dangerous or contagious to the public health.

If it seems that I am treating Covid 19 frivolously, please understand that I am not, because if I were, my daughter would probably lock me in the house due to my advanced age so I would not be exposed. I just think we need to look at the past sometimes to gain some perspective today.

SWNGS library remains closed but you can always join us online at www.swngs.org to research.