My previous two columns were devoted to accounts of the impact of the great Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918âwhich extended through 1919 and the first four months of 1920âin Lake Geneva. While researching how the great Spanish Flu Epidemic impacted Lake Geneva, I read issues of the two Lake Geneva newspapers, the
Lake Geneva Herald and the
Lake Geneva News, which merged in April 1919 following the death of the
Heraldâs editor, John E. Nethercut, and the issues of the newly merged newspaper, also called the
Lake Geneva News, from April 1919 to April 1920.
As I noted in my two previous columns, accounts of the Spanish Flu in Lake Geneva competed for space in the Lake Geneva newspapers with articles about World War I. During 1918, prior to the end of World War I on November 11, 1918 (âArmistice Dayâ), many of the war-related newspaper articles were about or by Lake Geneva soldiers serving in France. In 1919, the
In my previous column, I reviewed the impact of the great Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 in Lake Geneva focusing on the Fluâs impact in 1918. The great Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918, however, extended throughout the year of 1919 and the first three months of 1920. 1919 and 1920 were significant years in Lake Genevaâs history.
Although the impact of the great Spanish Flu epidemic dominated much of the news in 1919 and early 1920, other developments competed with the Flu for space in Lake Genevaâs newspapers, most notably the return to Lake Geneva of residents who had served in the U.S. Army overseas in France during World War I.