Over the past seven days, news organizations have seemingly stopped portraying large gatherings as dangerous.

For months we heard that any space less than 6 feet from someone else could provoke major Covid-19 cases.. over the past week, media organizations did not mention those dire warnings once during the George Floyd protests..

With demonstrations across America turning less violent, major media sources have resurrected their warnings about the coronavirus.

Today the death toll in the United States reached 110,000.. Colleges warned of rebounding cases in their sports programs. And experts are sounding the alarm over what the protests coupled with economic reopening may mean for the virus over the coming weeks.

Despite the fear one thing is clear: Many are weary of masks.

As more of Pennsylvania–and the nation and world–opens for business post first wave of coronavirus, the frustration with masks is growing evident beneath the cloth exteriors.. people’s faces wince at the thought of long periods with the constrictive garb.. Stores and businesses will still require masks for some time, but some have opted against the fabric on the face.. They are a part of the mask rebellion of our new century.

As we always discuss on Coal Speaker, events of this nature seem unprecedented to our short-time minds. But if you took off in your time machine to buy newspapers during the great Spanish Flu 100 years ago, the headlines would be strikingly similar to those we see in 2020 — but just with the early 20th century phrasing and journalistic zeal.

Yes, people grew sick and tired of being sick and tired then as well.. And with the discomfort of a global pandemic, people still got sick of masks in 1919 too.

In the coal region area, 3,273 residents of Schuylkill County would be counted among the dead.. In just a 2 day period, it was reported that 41 residents of Minersville died.. Gilberton had 51 die in just one set of row homes.. Schools, theaters, and businesses closed then as well .. They slowly began to reopen after this initial shock..

And all the while, masks were being pushed as mandatory apparel to continue life in the then ‘new normal’ of the post Spanish Flu pandemic..

However, there were some debates on masks and sides taken..

THE DAY THAT DR. INCHES DIVIDED THE CONFERENCE

The Pittsburgh Daily POST reported this on December 13, 1918: Branding Influenza Mask as ‘fake’ splits Health Conference. Fake news today. Fake news then. The article detailed how the Health Commissioner of Detroit, James Inches, said that the use of masks and the closures of businesses was “pure fake” and harmful. The convention seemed mired in the mud of masks, and by the end of the day two factions formed: The pro mask and pro closing, and the anti mask and anti closing.

The fight over masks did not stop with Dr. Inches..
But the masks were winning. In October, the Wilkes Barre TIMES LEADER reported that Chicago was the latest to adopt a law to wear them.

Dr. Inches’ fear became true.. a second wave of the virus emerged and seemed to be much more deadly..

The masks were made mandatory around the world. As the Lebanon Pa “Semi Weekly NEWS” reported by running a United Press dispatch on February 19, 1919:

The Lancaster PA NEW ERA reported on January 19, 1919: FLLU MASKS IN CALIFORNIA SENATE.. They wrote,

California State Senators must wear “flu” masks before they will be admitted to the Senate Chamber. The body waived its constitutional immunity from the provisions of the city’s mask ordinance.

MASK WEARING HAD THE MEDIA THEN REPORTING THAT COURT ROOMS LOOKED LIKE KLAN RALLIES!

The rules to make mask wearing compulsory was met with some scorn beyond the media field debates. On December 13, 1918, the Harrisburg Evening News ran what would be considered today to a violence inciting headline.. They reported that “flu masks make court resembles Ku Klux Klan” .. not sure if “resembles” should have been printed as resemble. But we can forgive them for their typewriter error..

The news article went on to say that “Cleveland police courts look like a meeting of the Ku-Klux-Klan since the influenza epidemic has been raging here. All court officers, heeding the advice of the Red Cross, are wearing flu masks to ward off the disease, and also to set an example to the hundreds who visit the courts.”

BUSINESS LEADERS REBEL .. and lose.

A recent big debate in Pennsylvania was this: When would it be safe to get a hair cut again. The state decided that counties in the green phase would permit follicles to be sliced with rules for safety.

Back in 1918, hair stylists were hit hard as well.

In Ellwood City, PA, a barber named Andy Weber decided to ditch the mask and spite the government rule..

He went to court! And lost.

And after a hearing a took place the night of October 29, 1918, Weber agreed to wear the mask from now on. The New Castle HERALD in New Castle Pennsylvania reported this on October 30, 1918:

Mr Weber claimed that he did not have any intention of exposing anyone to the influenza.

The report went on to say that post court hearing, Mr. Weber “very cheerfully” agreed to wear a mask from that point on.

BASEBALL BECAME AMERICA’S MASKTIME

Today, we are weary with reruns on ESPN.. People are demanding NEW SPORTS.. and some are wondering if those games will be played in empty stadiums.

In 1919, during the second phase of the flu, baseball started amid the virus.. At that time, the Allentown Morning Call reported on March 3, 1919, that all team members and umpires during baseball games were forced to wear masks..

The MORNING CALL even reported that Truck Hannah of the Yankees was not permitted to take his mask off underneath his iron face guard ..

VEILS OF PANDEMIC STYLE. THE HOT GARB OF THE WINTER SEASON IN 1919

In the midst of world war and viral chaos.. media ran long ads portrayed as “news” in papers advertising flu veils to make women more ravishing. Nothing new under the sun.. today we have Facebook and Twitter.. then, we were conned in print.

Another ad, or perhaps story mixed with ad, joked “Don’t Flee; It’s only the “Flu” Veil”

The result of ads… This image from the time..

MEET THE MASK SLACKERS

FOR ALL OF THIS MANDATED MASK WEARING, THERE WERE DETRACTORS.

Enter the mask slackers.

They were the citizens who refused to wear masks or who protested against them during the time…

In Washington DC, anyone with the disease appearing in public could be fined $50 or more.. In Philadelphia, city streets were hosed down to keep the city sanitized.. New York City fined people who sneezed and did not cover their mouths …

But Mask slackers were fined $100 or pout in jail for up to ten days across many cities in America.

There was one horrific incident in San Francisco when a special officer for the board of health shot a man who refused to wear a mask as well as two bystanders.

The headline “Refuses to Don Influenza Mask; Shot by Officer,” a reporter for The Bellingham Herald described how the attempted arrest for refusal to wear a face mask led to the shooting:

On October 27, 1918, a special officer for the board of health named Henry D. Miller shot and severely wounded James Wisser in front of a downtown drug store at Powell and Market street, following Wisser’s refusal to don an influenza mask. According to the police, Miller shot in the air when Wisser first refused his request. Wisser closed in on him and in the succeeding affray, Miller shot him in the leg and right hand. Wisser was taken to the central emergency hospital, where he was placed under arrest for failure to comply with Miller’s order.

Nancy Tomes, a professor of history at Stony Brook University who has written about public health measures during the 1918-1919 flu pandemic says while there were pockets of resistance to mask-wearing in 1918 and 1919, it was not widespread.

And, unlike handkerchiefs and paper tissues, which Tomes says people began to use more regularly because of the pandemic, mask-wearing did not catch on in the United States after the ordinances ended.

Dentists also started wearing the during the pandemic then.. the Evening NEWS in Harrisburg pointed out during the evening of January 1 1919 that dentists may actually continue wearing them beyond the flu.

FASHION SOLD THE MASK.. AND MAY HAVE ENDED IT, TOO

It was not America that ditched the mask.. We had mask slackers, sure. . . but the women of Paris seemingly were the first to stop.

The Daily REPUBLICAN from Monongahela PA reported this on January 31, 1919: Women abandoned the veil! They took to cartwheel hats and did not want to hide their face.. The report said “America we are addicted to veils.”

But not in Paris.. The veil was first ditched there!

X X X

Since then.. and in modern times, a few examples of major magazine cover stories about flus and pandemics:

This time cover during the H1N1 pandemic appeared to be the most prophetic:

But maybe there is a silver lining.

After all.. when we go to the dentist we WANT our doc to wear a mask.. Right?

it all started during the 1918 pandemic!

This article appearing then from San Francisco:

They did.

And they certainly will as they reopening during the pandemic of 2020.

X X X

AND FINALLY, you thought the Ku Klux Klan headline was a little alarming, try this! The Lancaster PA INQUIRER regularly ran a somewhat xenophobic column by Kayem Grier in 1918 and 19.. On April 3, 1920, as the pandemic became history, this appeared: