In this column, we conclude with a view of the Spanish flu in the Northampton area and beyond.

In November 1918, the Cement News, for the first time, published how to treat yourself or your family if infected with the Spanish flu - go to bed, remain quiet, take laxatives, eat plenty of nourishing food, keep up your strength, remember nature is the only cure and always call the doctor.

Deaths were reported to be about one in every 400 cases. Those hit hardest are those who did not go to bed soon enough or got out of bed too early. Evidence was reported that the flu is spread by human contact, chiefly coughing, sneezing or spitting (many men chewed tobacco). While no cure existed, it was thought that quinine, aspirin or Dover’s Powders may be prescribed by the doctor to relieve aches and pains. Many over-the-counter and snake oil salesmen advertised like mad that their product was the best to rid your body of the effects of this disease.

The number of obituaries in the weekly Cement News was on the rise, and the most common cause of death was pneumonia. Due to the family celebrations of Thanksgiving, Pennsylvania reported 35,000 dead and infections at 500,000. An army of volunteers who worked in the improvised hospitals were thanked for their dedication and service at the bedsides of so many victims by the state Health Commissioner Dr. Benjamin Franklin Royer.

In the week before Christmas, the newspaper headline read “Deaths Harvest of the Week.” Before Thanksgiving, the number of cases in Northampton was on the decline. In early December, they were rising again. People were again urged to avoid crowds. This would create a disproportionate impact on the young, who always had a Christmas program at church or Sunday school. These would spread the illness even farther. In a resident school in Pennsylvania, 185 out of 187 students were infected. Many schools are forced to close again. Keep your children out of crowded stores, parents were told.

In the last month of the year, in Northampton, a family of five had deaths within that month. The first was a mother who had just given birth in the month. She was followed a few weeks later by her new baby. Within a few days, the baby’s older brother and older sister died one day apart. The family of five had only the father, James Haldeman, survive.

We hope you have enjoyed looking back at a period of our history 102 years ago, in almost the same time of year and under similar circumstances. The more things change, the more they stay the same in many ways.

The lesson may be that when confronted with a health emergency we have never seen before, we have no option but to make decisions that benefit the well-being of the greatest number of people.