In 1918, ‘the worst thing I ever knew’
By Shelby Boatman - For The News Journal
Editor’s Note: This is Part 2 of a 2-part series on how the nation, and specifically Clinton County, faced the pandemic of 1918.
Doctors overwhelmed
According to records, there were approximately 40 Clinton County doctors serving the community at the time of the pandemic.
The peak of the epidemic had officially hit the community and research was supporting that the assembling of crowds was causing mass spread. Suggestions of holding private funerals were made, and officials were declaring, “Avoid crowds and you are avoiding danger”.
Influenza was reported in Blanchester by the local paper on Saturday, Oct. 12 stating “influenza has struck the village, but in a light form…”