"Flu Masks" On the Train in Nov. 1918: Was This the Spanish Flu Pandemic

From the November 21, 2018, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"There is always a first time for everything, and passengers on the 7:40 this morning saw DeKalb people board the train wearing 'Flu' masks.

"This is the spirit of cooperation here in the city of DeKalb that is going to keep a serious epidemic from getting a foothold here."

Was this the Spanish Flu Pandemic near its beginning, or just a regular winter onset flu?  Sources say the first observed case took place in Haskell County, Kansas, in January 1918.  The first recorded victim of the flu was Army cook Albert Gitchell at Fort Riley, Kansas, on March 4, 1918.

If this "Flu" mask incident in DeKalb was the Spanish Flu it was way in advance of the bad breakout in 1919.

--Cooter