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The Covid 19 pandemic has rekindled awareness of the ravages that epidemics bring and what we should do to stay safe and healthy. This pandemic has also brought back some long forgotten memories from my childhood; stories about how our family faced health crises. When I was growing up in Houston in the 1950’s, my mother, brother and I lived with our grandparents. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents and remember many stories they told me. But one event in particular has been whispering to me for several weeks now – how my grandmother and her family dealt with the horrific 1918 Influenza pandemic.
In 1918, the final year of World War I, a rapidly spreading deadly virus emerged. The infection exploded and spread to nations and communities on every continent. Because the first widely reported outbreak reportedly occurred in Madrid, Spain in May 1918, the virus became known as the “Spanish Flu.” However, the strain had erupted months earlier at a U.S. Army camp in Kansas and the troops took it with them to Europe where it spread like wildfire throughout the world.
My grandmother was a teenager growing up on the family horse farm in Kentucky in 1918. She told me that the flu epidemic hit their small community of Crab Orchard, Kentucky like a whirlwind. My grandmother, Floss, had three sisters and three brothers who lived with their parents Lem and Louella Teater. The Teater family raised and trained horses and grew tobacco – after all they were from Kentucky. The children worked with the horses and many tasks on the farm. To the best of my memory, she recalled “we hitched up the horses to the wagon and went to town. Our parents had everyone wear masks with mustard and told us not to touch anyone or anything.” I vaguely recall that she told me that they wore red ribbons for protection from the virus.
This remarkable story stayed with me all these years. My family followed and passed along what many people call superstitions and what historians state are folk traditions. From my grandmother I learned never to leave a hat on the bed, to be sure and come back through the same door from which I had left, and definitely turn around if a black cat crossed the road in front of us. Whenever my brother and I had a cold or were “under the weather,” she prepared the traditional family recipe: bourbon, lemon and a little honey. Again, my family was from Kentucky.
Regarding the mustard masks and the red ribbons, I decided to conduct some research to see if people relied on these folk remedies to fight the influenza. Mustard has been used for generations because it contains anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties. People have been using mustard to combat colds and respiratory ailments dating back to the Roman Empire. My grandmother’s family probably used some type of mustard paste or oil to apply to the masks. As to the red ribbons, authorities on folk traditions report that the color red was used to scare the virus away. In many cultures, the color red was believed to protect people from disease and was a symbol of good health. Red is recognized as a symbol of life, love, courage, vigor and strength.
By the spring of 1919, one third of the world’s population had been infected and at least 50 million people were dead – a number exceeding the reported 40 million people who perished during the bloody years of World War I. When the Great War ended on Armistice Day, November 11 , 1918, the influenza killing fields continued to mushroom throughout the world. The 1918 to 1919 influenza epidemic was the greatest disaster in modern history. Fortunately, all my Kentucky relatives survived. What happens in the 2020 Covid 19 pandemic is yet to be determined but this could potentially rival its predecessor for its devastating impact.
Just like people who lived through that historic pandemic, today we all need to exercise caution, wash our hands, maintain a proper physical distance from one another, and to heed knowledgeable and reliable health and public officials on preventive measures. This is a major lifestyle change for most people, but we must take precautionary measures. My family and I plan to do our part. In addition, I may be sporting a red flower and wearing a mask. And I won’t hold back on the mustard. Lessons learned.
Patrick Cox