Part 2: A Sacred Promise

Here's a little ditty about the flu pandemic that Bessie shared with me:

Book about Pandemic

"I had a little bird

His name was Enza.

I opened the window

And in-flew-Enza!"

The 1918 flu pandemic (a.k.a. the Spanish Flu epidemic) spread to nearly every part of the world.  Why was it called the SPANISH Flu Epidemic?  Spanish journalists were some of the only ones reporting on a widespread flu outbreak in the spring of 1918 because they weren't censored and thus, the pandemic became known as the “Spanish flu.” 

The world population at the time was 1.8 billion.  To put this in perspective, it infected a third of the entire world population (which was only 1.8 Billion people) at that time, killing 3-6% of those. 

The virus took more people than the Black Death (Bubonic plague) of the Middle Ages, but there were some similarities.

Science has discovered it killed its victims via a cytokine storm (overreaction of the body's immune system). In simple terms, those with stronger immune systems died. This explains why most victims were healthy young adults.

The virus swept over the nation in three waves of disease. The first wave's (in the Spring) symptoms are the classic flu of our own times - fever, aches, cough, runny nose. This was the wave Bessie's Grammie Small and Aunt Georgia caught so that when the second wave hit, their immune systems were weak.

The second wave hit between September and December 1918, and resulted in the heaviest loss of life. The victims had all the first wave symptoms, but they quickly escalated into a vicious type of pneumonia. This most destructive of all the waves, hit Bessie's parents.

In October of 1918 Janet received a visit from a woman who wished to congratulate her on the birth of her baby (Valeda was born in September). The next day, this lady came down with the flu.  Although we cannot be certain, it is likely this is where Janet caught the virus.

Janet Giberson Small

Janet became ill first and just before she died, Howard came home from work ill. Howard was staggering home in such a way that a policeman followed him, wondering if he was drunk.

At first, the couple was cared for in their home by Howard's mother, Maud. In Bessie's words: "It was a hard job to get nurses because they were so afraid of catching the flu."  

Note: after studying a bit about the pandemic, it was more likely due to shortage of nurses. Many caregivers died in the pandemic.

I was told Howard and Janet were kept in separate bedrooms and both were delirious. At times, Janet thought she was in singing in her church's choir and Howard thought he was being worked very hard, mentioning working with sacks of grain.

Janet passed away Sunday, Oct 20, 1918 at the age of 28.

Note: her death certificate claims Typhoid Fever was the cause of death and "La Grippe" (the flu) was secondary. I am firmly convinced this was incorrect. You can read more about it on Wikipedia which states the Flu of the Pandemic was often misdiagnosed (in 1918) as Typhoid Fever among other diseases. 

On an educational note, Typhoid Fever is caused by consuming contaminated water or food. The incubation period is usually one to two weeks (she was dead in a week) and the duration of the illness is about four to six weeks. The patient experiences poor appetite, headaches, generalized aches and pains, fever, lethargy, diarrhea. The Pandemic Flu victims experienced all of the above symptoms and more. In short, Janet was a victim of her times and lack of information confused the doctors. She had the THE flu, which should have been listed as cause of death.

Bessie wrote what she had been told of her mother's death: "When they took Mama away in the casket, they said Joy, who was nearly 5 years old and the oldest, cried and cried and wanted them to bring his mommy back."

Janet in her casket

In the Bangor Daily News of 21 Oct 1918 her death was announced as following: "Mrs. Jennie B. Small, wife of Howard E. Small, died on Sunday at the family residence, 43 Division Street, of pneumonia.

Howard Edwin Small

The fatally-ill Howard was moved from his own residence to his parent's house after Janet died. He knew his wife had died and must have known he was not going to recover because at some point, during a break in his delirium, he secured a promise from his mother that she would keep his four children together.

Note: His death certificate claims he died of pneumonia and a secondary cause was an obstruction of his bowel (blockage in his intestine) which the Surgeon would not operate on because of the pneumonia. Again, Howard was a victim of the ignorance of the times in which he lived. The flu caused complications (most people died from the bacterial pneumonia) and among them were hemorrhaging from mucous membranes, especially from the nose, stomach, and intestine. This was likely why the doctor thought Howard had a blocked intestine.

Bessie wrote of her father's death: "They had finally been able to get a nurse, and Grammie started in to see Papa (as we called our father), and the nurse locked the door and would not let her in. So, Grammie went up the back stairs and down the front, and by the time she got there to the other door, the nurse let her in, and Papa had died. This was awful hard for Grammie to take, as she loved Papa dearly."

Personal Note: This information chills me - why did the nurse lock Maud out?  They hired this woman.  How many employees would lock their employer out?  Maud had already seen what the flu did to Janet, so it isn't as if she had no idea what was going to happen.  Logic tells me that if someone goes to that extreme they are doing something I would not approve of.  There are only two possible scenarios.  At worst, the woman murdered Howard (she had plenty of time to do this).  At best, she was trying to spare Maud the heartbreak of seeing Howard go through the final stage of the virus-induced pneumonia. Either way, I do know one result came of this:   Bessie never willingly let her children or husband out of her sight when they were getting their tonsils out, etc.

Bessie mentioned her father had only been ill for five days. It is fact that he died five days after his wife on Oct 25, 1918 at the age of 30 (not 29, as the obituary and the death certificate mention). He had celebrated his 30th birthday in May.

In the Bangor Daily News of 26 Oct 1918 his death was announced as following:

"The death of Howard E. Small occurred Friday at the home of his father, William L. Small, 61 Kenduskeag Avenue, after a short illness of pneumonia. Mr. Small was employed before his death by the Farmers Union, on Broad street, Bangor, Maine. He was held in high esteem by many friends, who will learn with sorrow of his untimely death. He was 29 years of age. His death is a particularly sad one, his wife having died Sunday and he leaves four small children, Joy Clarence, Laurel Maud, Bessie Amelia, and Valeda Irene Small. He also leaves his parents, Mr. and Mrs. William L. Small, and a sister Mrs. Herbert L. Ward, all of this city."

Other members of the extended family offered to take some of the children, but Maud kept her sacred promise to her son to keep the children together.

The Small family orphans about 1920

It was a daunting task to raise four toddlers (ages 4, 3, 2, and 23 days old) at the age of 51.  In the early 1900's the average lifespan of a woman was 54. Thankfully, Maud did not have to do it alone.

Bill and Maud Small
a few years before the pandemic

Her 60-year-old husband, William (Bill) had already lived longer than the average 53 years allotted to men of the day and age and he would continue to beat the odds and help raise his four grandchildren.

Of enormous help in raising the orphans, was Georgia, their only daughter, who lived around the corner at 18 Division Street.  Georgia had recently (four months earlier) been married to Herbert Leslie Ward. The children loved and respected them and spent time with the couple, who would remain childless (Georgia was unable to carry a baby full term).

Georgia Small

Bessie told me she wondered if perhaps heaven had planned it that way so her Aunt and Uncle could help her grandparents raise the four orphans.