Prairie Lives
We have been learning about the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic from its origins in Kansas; to its spread across the nation, aided by the movement of troops during WWI; to its mutation into a more deadly form over the summer; to its reaching our region in the fall of 1918.
October 1918 was an awful month in our region. The influenza epidemic raged through the region, infecting hundreds and took at least twenty-six lives through October 17. The suffering and death continued through that month.
The Lyon County News-Messenger continued carrying front page coverage of October influenza deaths in its Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 editions.