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10/17/1918, p. 2

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10/31/1918, p. 1

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"The Jonesboro Schools have been suspended on account of the Spanish influenza."

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"The Jonesboro Schools have been suspended on account of the Spanish influenza."

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It was announced in the October 17th, 1918 edition of the Herald and Tribune that Jonesborough schools would close to prevent the spread of influenza. By fall of 1918 the strain of influenza that was called Spanish flu had become a worldwide epidemic. By fall of 1918, the worldwide epidemic was rapidly spreading through Jonesborough and the surrounding area. Schools in Jonesborough remained closed for two weeks; schools in surrounding areas also closed in the following weeks.

There does not seem to be a concise timetable for school closures. Local schools during this time period tended to be smaller and more central to various communities. It seems likely that schools would close as a direct response to a rise in cases in each community, although a defined county or school-by-school plan does not seem readily available. Dr. Huffaker's advice column, published in Greeneville on the same day, advised a community-by-community approach. As health officer he advised against closing schools that did not have any evidence that the flu was present without personally going through their territories. We are not sure if his opinion changed as the disease spread throughout the region.

In times of uncertainty when seemingly unprecedented action is being taken, it can be helpful to look to the past for insight. In 1918, in the face of an unforeseen spread of influenza, schools closed their doors to either prevent the spread of the disease or to react to the growing number of cases impacting their area. As we find ourselves in the midst of widespread school closures to address the current spread of coronavirus, we can take solace in the past and recognition that this is not the first time that our communities have faced school closures to address health care issues.

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10/17/1918, p. 1

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"The hospital at the college is full up and most of the private homes have been taxed to take care of the afflicted students."

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"The hospital at the college is full up and most of the private homes have been taxed to take care of the afflicted students."

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While we have been focusing on the influenza outbreak in Washington County, this week we have been looking at other areas in the region for context. This article from the Greeneville Sun reports the arrival of flu at Tusculum College and the surrounding community.

The report, published on November 19th, indicated that the college had largely escaped the influenza outbreak until mid-November. Johnson City had early reports of outbreak in September, Jonesborough in early October. Once the outbreak finally arrived in Tusculum, however, it arrived swiftly.

Like many areas, the hospitals were overrun, and response fell to private homes and the community at large. Some Greeneville residents were sent to the city for treatment, while many remained in their homes. One reason that many were able to stay at home was because of the mild nature of the symptoms that were showing up--a high fatality rate was not expected.

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11/19/1918

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11/07/1918, p. 1

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12/26/1918, p. 2

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"Prof. H.V. Taylor is in the city having again closed school on account of the flu."

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"Prof. H.V. Taylor is in the city having again closed school on account of the flu."

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There were no known African American newspapers operating in Jonesborough during the flu pandemic of 1918, making it difficult to find news about African American communities. Local papers focused on white communities, which means that the vast amount of material skews our understanding of how African American communities responded to the pandemic. The newspapers in this exhibit are mostly centered around news that largely excluded African Americans, which can have the effect of leaving African Americans out of the historical narrative.

There was less routine weekly coverage of African American news in the Herald and Tribune and other local papers, but community notes sections would occasionally feature news that was impacting black communities. We can look at this article to get a feel for how African American communities were responding to and impacted by the pandemic, and by piecing together the information that we do have such as this article and county death records, we can try and get a better picture of African American history during this time period.

This local news update ran in the Herald and Tribune on December 26, 1918. Like other news and notes updates this article highlights several miscellaneous items of interest. In this news roundup there area a few references to school and school work, all of which shed some light on how the flu was impacting African American education.

District Supervisor of East Tennessee Lillian White was in town looking after school work, and Professor Taylor was among a group of visitors that called upon the public school and gave interesting talks. There is an implication of some level of school operation being maintained with work being submitted and reviewed, although it cannot be stated for certain that the talks at the school were to school children and not a general community event. But Professor H.V. Taylor's arrival in the city is due to school "having again closed...on account of flu." The implication here is that school had been closed, reopened, and then closed again. This information is in line with other schools in Jonesborough and the surrounding area that closed and reopened at different intervals throughout the fall of 1918.

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