Influential Figures We Lost in April 2022-- Part 5: Harris, Gottfried, Hatch, Mower and Judd

APRIL

ESTELLE HARRIS, 93

**  She hollered her way into TV history as George Costanza's short-fused ,other on "Seinfeld" and voiced Mrs. Potato Head in the "Toy Story" franchise.  Died April 2.

Serenity Now!!

GILBERT GOTTFRIED, 67

**  Actor and legendary standup comic known for his scorched voice and crude jokes.  Died April 12.

ORRIN HATCH, 88

**  The longest-serving Republican senator in history who was a fixture in Utah politics for more than four decades.  Died April 23.

DR. MORTON MOWER, 89

**  A former Maryland-based cardiologist who helped invent and automatic implantable defibrillator that helped countless heart patients live longer and healthier.  Died April 25.

NAOMI JUDD, 76

**   Her family harmonies with daughter Wynonna turned them into the Grammy-winning country stars, the Judds.  Died April 30.

Loved their songs.

Prohibition Hangover-- Part 3: No 'Intoxicating Liquor' Over 0.5% and Some Successes

By the time the constitutional amendment was ratified in January 1919, many states had enacted their own prohibition laws.  That October, Congress passed a law detailing how the federal government would enforce Prohibition.  

It was known as the Volstead Act in recognition of its foremost champion, Representative Andrew Volstead of Minnesota.  The law banned the manufacture, sale and transport of any "Intoxicating liquor" -- beverages with an alcohol content of more than 0.5%, including beer and wine.

Statistically, Prohibition was not an utter failure.  Deaths from alcohol-related cirrhosis declined as did arrests for public drunkenness.

--CootDrink

He Fired When Ready-- Part 4: 'You May Fire When You Are Ready, Gridley.'

So, Commodore Dewey is ready to destroy the Spanish fleet, but he almost had to do it without the service of his friend (they had met during stateside lighthouse duty), Charles Gridley.

For several months, Gridley had been seriously ill, suffering from some dysentery and an unspecified  liver condition (now believed to have been cancer).  Some days, he could barely get out of bed.  But, if the fleet was going into battle there was no way he was going to miss it.  He'd gone 33 years between battles and this likely might be his last chance.  He pleaded with Dewey to let him participate.  Dewey relented and let him.

Under cover of darkness on the night of April 30th, Dewey and the entire U.S. Asiatic fleet sailed past the Spanish batteries on Corregidor and into Manila Bay.  The Spanish were not expecting the Americans to do this at night and their ships were anchored at Cavite, a small peninsula in the bay that allowed them protection from the weather and tides.

As the sun rose on April 1st they found themselves bottled up.  There was nowhere to go but to make a run for safety.

At 5:41 AM, Dewey turned to Gridley and gave a brief, informal order that went on to become very famous U.S. Naval words:

"You may fire when you are ready, Gridley.

Fire he did.

--Cooter

The Sergeant Floyd Monument in Iowa-- Part 1

From the National Park Service.

The Sergeant Floyd Monument commemorates Sergeant Charles Floyd, Jr., the only  member of the Corps of Discovery to die on the journey

Writing in his diary on July 31st, Floyd noted, "I am very sick and has ben for Sometime but have Recovered  my helth again."

However, that recovery proved short and he soon took a turn for the worse.  The night before his death, William Clark remarked, Serjeant Floyd is taken verry bad all at once with a Biliouse Chorlick we attempt to relieve him without success as yet, hr gets worst and we are much allarmed at his Situation, all attention to him."

In August 20, 1804, Floyd passed away, most likely from peritonitis, caused by  the inflammation or rupture of his appendix.  He died from an illness that even the best doctors of the day could not have cured.

--Cooter

Survived Two Pandemics a Century Apart: Anna & Helen

From March 23, 2021, ListVerse "Top 10 Luckiest Unlucky  People Whose Luck Nearly Killed Them" by Jonathan H. Kantor,

 As we all know now, surviving a pandemic is no walk in the park.  Well, how about surviving two of them, a century apart?  Getting infected can be deadly.  It certainly was with the influenza strain A/H1N1 that devastated the world between 1918 and 1920.

The Spanish flu killed  some 20-100 million people, thanks to the fast spread and speed  at which the virus killed infected people.

Two people who were infected back then and managed to survive that first pandemic were Anna del Priorie and her sister Helen, who were young children in that first one.  

While they weren't the only ones to survive that one,  they are among a small group to survive both of them.  Anna and Helen  were 105 & 107 years old respectively when they were infected by COVID-19.  Despite their advanced age the second time they both managed to beat the odds and survive a second time.

--Cooter

The Spanish Flu of 1918-- Part 8: Boy, Those 'Cures'?

People tried all sorts of remedies, many of which were advertised in local newspapers and today sound atrocious as medical cures.

Menthoeze, for example, was widely sold in town and consisted of goosefat mixed with turpentine for an inhalation treatment.  Quinine tablets along with an elixir derived from opium were highly recommended for fever and pain.

A children's concoction called California Syrup of Fig was sold by local pharmacies.  Made up almost entirely of fig syrup, it also contained 25 percent Senna, an herbal laxative, as well as 6 percent alcohol.

It's a miracle that residents survived the treatments!  But the point is, they did survive and despite large numbers of lives lost, Belvidere and Boone County (Illinois) eventually conquered the virus, not through horrific syrups, but through isolation, quarantine and protection.

By October 25, 1918, cases were down to three per day with very few deaths and Belvidere Mayor W.W. Ray petitioned the State Board of Health to have restrictions eased after weeks of closure and isolation.

So, it may seem like 2020 was the worst year ever, but we have come through bad times before.

--DaCoot

The Spanish Flu of 1918-- Part 7: Businesses Hit Particularly Hard

Like any communicable disease, case counts were higher in larger factories, institutions and residential facilities.

National Sewing Machine had hundreds out daily, with the highest number of sick employees at over 400 in one day.  Most plants had similar numbers with over half of their workers out sick.  The financial stress on businesses who had already suffered through fuel shortage closures earlier in the year was devastating.

Three Red Cross nurses were assigned to Belvidere to visit the sick in town regularly and driving services to transport the ill to and from medical services were provided free of charge.

With schools closed, local teachers were quickly trained in medical services and sent out to homes to supplement local care.

Sure Sounds a Whole Lot Like We Have Going On Right Now.    --Cooter

The Spanish Flu 1918-- Part 6: No Spitting Allowed Here

Continued from February 6, 2021.

Well, I got tied up with some mighty interesting stories about Blacks for Black History Month.  Lots of stuff I didn't know.  I like anything dealing with history and sadly, didn't know much about the people I was writing about in February.

But since you-know-what is still with us, I will start this up again.

In Belvidere, Illinois, schools, churches and theaters were closed as the pandemic unfolded before even the state banned attendance at any public gathering effective October 18, 1918.

Once the ban took effect, funerals, weddings, lodge meetings, government meetings/councils and hospital visits were not allowed.  Also the state mandated masks for anyone in contact with the public outside of their own families.

Belvidere took even a further step by banning bonfires and any sort of outdoor burning in town to ease the suffering of the sick.  Anyone who coughed or sneezed in a Belvidere public establishment was ejected.  Spitting in public was outlawed and spitters were arrested.

--Cooter

The Spanish Flu Outbreak of 1918-- Part 2: Lots of Similarities 1918 and 2020

My grandparents lived through it, but my parents did not as Dad was born in 1928 and Mom in 1930.

Most cases of the virus made their appearance within three to four days.  Common symptoms included fever, cough, sneezing, headache, body ache and bloodshot eyes. However, many cases developed into bacterial pneumonia, meningitis and severe ear infection that struck suddenly and spread to the brain.

One day a person could feel perfectly fine and the next could be severely ill.  Many deaths were actually attributed to the secondary infections that could not be fought with weakened immune systems.  (Sounds a bit familiar.)

With limited antibiotics and no vaccines, United States hospitals and morgues filled up quickly and to overflowing.

--Cooter

Some More 2020 Deaths in August and September: Trump, Thompson, Rigg, Hibbert, Brown and Sayers

AUGUST

ROBERT TRUMP, 72

President Donald Trump's younger brother.  Died August 15.

JOHN THOMPSON, 78

Hall of Famer who became the first black coach to lead a team, Georgetown, to the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship.  Died August 30.

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SEPTEMBER

DIANA RIGG, 82

British actress whose career stretched from the 1960s spy series  "The Avengers" to the fantasy juggernaut "Game of Thrones."  Died September 10.

TOOTS HIBBERT, 77

One of reggae's founders and most beloved stars.  Died September 11.

TIMOTHY RAY BROWN, 54

He made history as "the Berlin patient," the first known person to be cured of the HIV infection.  Died September 29.

GALE SAYERS, 77

Running back who entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame and whose fame extended beyond the field for decades thanks to a friendship he had with a dying Chicago Bears teammate.  Died September 23.

Polio Scare at the Fair in 1920

 From the September 9, 2020, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1945, 75 Years Ago.

"Officials of the Sandwich Fair have announced that children are welcome to attend the fair, which opened today, and that there is no truth to the rumors that children are not being allowed on the grounds.

The officials state that there is no polio in the area and that the rumors that children were being barred from the grounds because of the polio scare are not true."

Something to think of in these coronavirus days.

--Cooter

How America Struggled to Bury the Dead in the 1918 Flu Pandemic-- Part 1

From the February 12, 2020, History site.

The terrifying, lethal influenza virus that swept across the world in 1918-1920,  history's deadliest pandemic, which claimed the lives of approximately 50 million people worldwide and 675,000 here in the United States.  Nearly 200,000 Americans died of it in October 1918 alone.

The sheer number of bodies overwhelmed undertakers, casket makers and grave diggers.  At the same time, a prohibition on public gatherings that included wakes and funerals compounded the grief of stricken families who could not properly mourn their deaths.

The mass mortality led to macabre scenes.  In Baltimore, the Red Cross nurses reported going to disease ravaged homes to discover sick people in bed next to the dead.  In other cases, corpses were covered with ice and left in bedroom corners where they festered for days.

Inundated  undertakers stacked coffins in funeral homes and even in their living quarters.  In New Haven, Connecticut,  six-year-old John Delano and his friends played outside a mortuary, scaling a mountain of caskets piled on a sidewalk, unaware of the contents inside them.  "We thought,  -- boy, this is great.  It's like climbing the pyramids."

--Cooter

See If You Can Guess the Date of These Headlines from the Seattle Daily Times

Help Bar Deadly Influenza from Seattle

CHURCHES, SCHOOLS CLOSED

Epidemic Puts Ban on All Public Assemblies

Seattle to Make Fight on the Disease

Police Ordered to Close Public Places

Guess the Date of These Headlines.

***********************************

Here's some more front page headlines to give you a clue:


Only One-Half of City's Quota for Loan Subscribed

Blast Shatters Dozens of Towns in New Jersey

New Wage Scale in Shipyards to Run from August 1

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These might help even some more:

Americans and French Smash Foe

U.S. Troops Smash Huns in Argonne

************************************

The date of the newspaper is October 5, 1918.  The so-called Spanish Flu Pandemic was going on as well as World War I.  Today we have the COVID-19 Pandemic and Black Lives Matter.

--Cooter

Death of a 5-Year-Old in DeKalb By Disease in DeKalb in 1920

From the May 27, 2020, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illininois)  "Looking Back."

1920, 100 Years Ago.

"Bernard Welstead, 5-year-old son of Claude Welstead of 120 Cotton Avenue, passed away last night at 9:30.  The cause of his untimely death was the children's disease now prevailing, measles.

"It will be remembered that his mother, Mrs. Hazel Hetchler Welstead passed away from pneumonia about a year and a half ago."

And, the Spanish flu was still around as well.

Diseases Killing People Is Not a New Thing.  --Cooter

Tuberculosis in DeKalb County in 1920

From the May 6, 2020, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1920, 100 Years Ago.

"DeKalb County is to have a visiting nurse  to work in conjunction with the anti-tuberculosis movement.  She will be engaged continually in a survey of the county to discover the tuberculosis cases and attend to their treatment and entrance, where possible, at the sanitarium."

************************

"Dr. J. Stanley Brown, president of the DeKalb County Anti-Tuberculosis League, says that at the present time there are 93 cases of tuberculosis in DeKalb County at the present time and a large number of suspect cases."

Other Epidemics in the Past.  --Cooter

Pandemics in Chicago-- Part 5: Almost a Lethal Mistake

Before the advent of antibiotics, brandy was a common treatment for cholera.  "Most of the medicines given really only functioned as sedatives,"  Selzer said.

"In one case in 1866 it worked too well -- a patient was knocked out so thoroughly that the family thought he was dead and called for the undertaker.  The coffin arrived just as he woke up.  The same may have happened when Philo Carpenter, Illinois' first pharmacist, was digging graves for victims of the epidemic, one of the men he was about to bury stirred back to life."

--Cooter

Pandemics in Chicago-- Part 4: The 1866 Cholera Epidemic

A military leader sounding the alarm about a disease spreading?  And, not knowing the causes of it or what to do for sure?  Sounds a bit similar to what we have these days.  Who says history does not repeat itself.  Personally, at age 68, I never thought I'd be in one of these disease events right now.  I kind of thought that was a thing of the past.

The causes of cholera weren't well known at the time.  One thought would be considered an ugly xenophobic speculation that immigrants coming to the city caused it.

A thousand Chicagoans would die in the next cholera epidemic in 1866, including Dr. Daniel Brainard, founder of Rush University and hospital, who had studied the disease a lot.  The Tribune called the disease "the grim destroyer" and it killed about a third of the people who caught it."

It was after this third wave that the city began working to fight it.  They still didn't quite understand where it came from. but they'd figured out that good sanitation would help.

--DaCoot

A 100-Year-Old WW II Veteran Philip Kahn Dies of COVID-19, His Twin Brother Died in the 1919 Influenza Pandemic

From the April 23, 2020, CNN  by Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio, CNN.

Philip Kahn, 100, died April 17 of the COVID-19 flu.    He lost a twin brother in the 1918 epidemic a century earlier.He was the oldest WW II veteran in Nassau County, New York, and had been fearful of another pandemic striking during his lifetime.

His grandson Warren Zysman said:  "It was something he brought up quite frequently.  I would have conversations with him, he would say to me, 'I told you history repeats itself, 100 years is not that long of a period of time.' "

Kahn and his twin bother , Samuel, were born on December 5, 1919.  His brother died weeks later

The 1918 influenza pandemic , also called the Spanish Flu, killed an estimated 50 million people globally and 675,000 in the United States.  As of April 22, there were over 46,000 deaths in the United States and an estimated 19,000 in New York alone.

Mr. Kahn was a sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Force  during the war and acted as an engineer and co-pilot and received two Bronze Battle Stars.

After the war, he worked as an electric foreman and helped build the World Trade Center.

Before becoming ill, he lived on his own in Long Island and walked two miles a day.  he was aware of the coronavirus as he watched the news every day and in the last few days before his death, he started having the symptoms.  He took a test for it, but the results were not given until after his death.

1918 Influenza in Butler County, Pa.,-- Part 2: The "Grippe" Spread Quickly, Very, Very Quickly

On September 23, 1918, Dr. Phillip E. Marks, director of  the Bureau of Infectious Diseases in Pittsburgh, seemed to shrug off the seriousness of this new epidemic, saying it was nothing more than an attack by  the "old fashioned Grippe" (the common name for influenza at the time)

He said, "If persons will take care to sneeze into their handkerchiefs, there will be no danger of the germs spreading."   That danger, however was becoming quite clear by the beginning of October, some seven days later as the influenza had enveloped Pennsylvania, that's how fast it was spreading.

By October 5,  Dr. W.L. Steen, Pennsylvania State Commissioner of Health,  ordered all public places of entertainment closed and prohibited all public gatherings.  Two days later, the Butler Eagle reported 139 new cases, bringing the total number of cases there to over 1,100.

Sounds Familiar, Doesn't It?  --Cooter

Pandemics in Chicago-- Part 2: Graceland Cemetery, Lincoln Park Cemtery and Cholera

Adam Selzer is a local historian who earns a living taking people on small tours/walks around Chicago pointing.  Obviously, right now, die to the "V" those are not underway.  You can go to his Mysterious Chicago Facebook page to take one of his tours ala virtual.

Strangely, he was working on a new presentation "Health Scares Through History" tour through Graceland Cemetery in Chicago when all this "V" hit.

Graceland Cemetery opened in 1860, but you will find gravestones that predate that as many graves were relocated here from smaller cemeteries, family cemeteries and the city cemetery that used to be at Lincoln Park.  This one was closed because people were afraid the bodies buried there were affecting the drinking water.  (They didn't realize it, but these decaying bodies were causing the deadly cholera.

Cholera was major killer throughout the 19th century in Chicago and around the world.

--Cooter