Glimpse of the Past: Wells death was state's first recorded for Spanish infuenza

Mar. 13—The Free Press

Faribault County has the very dubious honor of having the state's first confirmed death from a strain of flu that in 1918-1919 held the world in its grip.

Army Pvt. Raymond Paulson died from what was popularly known as the Spanish flu shortly after returning home to Wells for a visit. More than 10,000 Minnesotans died in what was then the most severe pandemic in recent history.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website describes the illness as an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. There is no consensus regarding where the virus originated.

It is estimated that about 500 million people, or one-third of the world's population, became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States.

The high mortality in healthy people, including those in the 20- to 40-year-old age group, was a unique feature of this pandemic. While the 1918 H1N1 virus has been synthesized and evaluated, the properties that made it so devastating are still not well understood, according to the CDC website.

There was no vaccine at the time to protect against influenza infection nor were there antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections. Control efforts were limited to isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, use of disinfectants and limitations of public gathering.

The label of "Spanish flu" came from the fact that King Alfonso XII of Spain was among those who came down with the illness.

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson fell victim to this dreaded illness in 1919 while he was at the Versailles Peace Conference in France.

In the United States, it was first identified in military personnel in spring 1918. Soldiers living in cramped barracks often slept no more than 3 feet from each other, making it an ideal setting to spread the illness.

By March 11 that year, more than 100 soldiers were in the hospital. Within a very short period of time, 522 soldiers at Fort Riley were hospitalized.

Faribault County historian A.B. Russ has compiled the following information about Raymond Paulson and Faribault County Spanish influenza statistics:

Paulson was 17 when he enlisted in May 1918 in the Army. He served as a musician with bands at Fort Riley, Camp Hancock, and Fort Oglethorpe.

When the influenza struck hundreds of its recruits, the military first concluded the illness was a new form of pneumonia. Because at the time there was a much greater need for hospital orderlies then musicians, Paulson's base commander decided to press the regimental band into becoming health workers to assist an overwhelmed medical staff.

When he stepped off a train at his hometown Sept. 18, 1918, he wasn't feeling all that great but didn't give it much thought. His trip home was leave from the military to recover from appendicitis and the subsequent operation.

Soon after he arrived at his parents' house, the family received a telegram from the Navy. Walter Paulson, Raymond's 22-year-old brother, had died from a strange form of "pneumonia."

The day after Walter's funeral, Raymond died. The day after that, their sister, Anna, died. Rev. C.W. Gilman, the pastor who conducted Raymond's funeral, met the same fate.

The state Public Health Service quickly marshaled its forces and started to generate regulations in an effort to lessen the spread of the flu. They closed all schools, banned public gatherings, required health workers and people exposed to the flu to wear cloth masks.

Spitting in public was forbidden. Rules went so far as to order coffins to be closed at funerals.

Some of the unusual ideas deployed included a ban on sales of ice cream and beverages at soda fountains and the shutting down of elevators in buildings of six or fewer stories.

The death records in the Faribault County Recorder Office reveals 101 deaths were recorded listing Spanish flu as the primary or secondary cause of death during the years of 1918 and 1919. Also individuals that were younger than age 40 made up the vast majority of those that died.

When Faribault County's 101 deaths are plotted using the victims' home addresses, the map shows access to the railroad seemed to play an important role in the spread of flu. The largest clusters of reported deaths were in Wells, then Blue Earth and thirdly Winnebago. All three of these communities had rail service. Wells had both north-south and east-west rail connections, as did Winnebago and Blue Earth.

There were no deaths recorded in Foster or Walnut Lake townships and there was only one death recorded for Dunbar Township. None of these townships had easy access to railroad travel.