Before coronavirus, Seattle was under siege by the deadliest flu in history. Here's what life was like.

Before coronavirus, Seattle was under siege by the deadliest flu in history. Here's what life was like.

Policemen in Seattle wearing masks made by the Red Cross, during the influenza epidemic. December 1918.

SEATTLE — As the coronavirus epidemic threatens Seattle, warnings to remain inside are starting to echo the city's 1918 crisis, when the Spanish flu forced many into lockdown.

My great-aunt Violet Harris was 15 when it hit. Partly out of boredom, she began keeping a diary. Her family and friends eventually emerged unscathed, if a little stir-crazy, from the tedium of having schools closed, mandates that masks be worn outside at all times and restrictions on group events.

At least 16 people have died in Washington state because of coronavirus, with most of the fatalities occurring in the greater Seattle area. The city's major employers, including Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook, have told employees to stay home for at least three weeks. Local universities have called shifted to online classes for the rest of the quarter, including the University of Washington's 47,000 students.

The city faced a much different health crisis a century ago. Many people mistakenly believe that Seattle was an epicenter of the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918, which killed as many as 50 million people as it raged around the globe. That's partly because one of the iconic photos of the global pandemic shows a line of Seattle policemen all wearing masks. 

That's actually the opposite of what happened, said Leonard Garfield, executive director of Seattle's Museum of History and Industry. 

The epidemic had been spreading through the world in the spring of 1918 but was little reported, in part because national leaders didn't want the fear of it to affect public support for World War I.

The flu reemerged in the fall of 1918, hitting major cities like Boston, Cincinnati and Philadelphia hard. Seattle, home to about 400,000 people at the time and at the far northwest of the country, didn't begin to see cases until slightly later.

"That gave Seattle some time to prepare," said Garfield. "As they saw it coming, they acted fairly quickly. One of the first things they did was to close down large public gatherings and the schools."  

At the time, my Great Aunt Vi, as our family called her, was a junior at Lincoln High School. For her, the biggest — and happiest — news of the day was that the schools were closing.

On Oct. 5. 1918, she wrote in her diary: “It was announced in the papers tonight that all churches, shows and schools would be closed until further notice, to prevent Spanish influenza from spreading. Good idea? I’ll say it is! So will every other school kid, I calculate. … The only cloud in my sky is that the (School) Board will add the missed days on to the end of the term.”

In the early 1900s, public health infrastructure was only just beginning to be developed and Seattle was a little ahead of the curve, Garfield said.

"There was a fairly progressive civic mindset in Washington state at that time. Seattle had a brand new city public health officer and there was a state public department, as well," he said.

None the less, the disease began to spread. It was, as usual, a rainy October. Vi had borrowed her best friend Rena's umbrella but heard hard news from a neighbor when she went to give it back.

On Oct. 18, 1918, she wrote: “She said Rena was sick and could hardly walk. I walked on a bit further when I met Mr. B. (Rena’s father) dressed in his best. He said Mrs. B and Rena were sick. That it was the flu and I’d better not go in. I didn’t. … I’m awfully sorry about the B’s. They seem to get everything that comes along. I hope they will be up soon. .... It is too bad, but then no one can take the chance of getting the flu. It’s too dangerous. I think they ought to go to the hospital. Mr. B. can certainly not give them the proper care. I hope he doesn’t get it. Then they would be in a fix.”

Rena's family later recovered. 

On October 27, 1918, Vi wrote: “Rena called me up. She is well now …. I asked her what it felt like to have the influenza, and she said, ‘Don’t get it.’”

Seattle was important economically and to the war effort because of the large concentration of shipyards and army and navy stations in the area, one reason why such drastic measures were undertaken, Garfield said.

Oct. 28, 1918: “It says in to-night’s paper that to-morrow all Seattle will be wearing masks. No one will be allowed on a streetcar without one. Gee! People will look funny — like ghosts."

There were immediate shortages of the masks. Vi's father Cornelius was sent out to buy the family of seven masks but could only find three. Violet pasted articles from the local paper about the fashions in masks in her diary.

Oct. 31, 1918: “I stayed in all day and didn’t even go to Rena’s. The flu seems to be spreading, and Mama doesn’t want us to go around more than we need to.”

Violet spent the next two weeks reading and sewing on a new dress for school and trying out new recipes from the paper, including one for fudge that turned out so badly she had to throw half the batch out.

Finally, after almost six weeks, restrictions on public gatherings were lifted. Vi was happy to get to go out but not thrilled at going back to school. 

Nov. 12, 1918: “The ban was lifted to-day. No more .... masks. Everything open too. 'The Romance of Tarzan' is on at the Coliseum (movie theater) as it was about 6 weeks ago. I’d like to see it awfully. .... School opens this week — Thursday! Did you ever? As if they couldn’t have waited till Monday!”

Nov. 14, 1918: “Our teachers were pretty lenient to-day. Except Miss Streator (her Latin teacher.) She gave out the words just the same as if we hadn’t had 6 weeks to forget them in. I got 75.”

Violet lived until 1954, having experienced an event that quickly faded from the public's memory.

"It was called the forgotten illness," said Garfield. 

But Seattle's quick and draconian action was important in stopping a disease that is estimated to have killed more than 1,500 people in the city and somewhere between 700,000 and 1 million people across the United States, said Garfield.

"Some people say the action we took pretty seriously slowed the spread of the infection and helped hasten the end," he said.

MMW