By Rakashi Chand (she/hers), Senior Library Assistant
The COVID-19 Pandemic continues to loom over all aspects of our lives—well past the point any of us initially imagined—and our patience wears thin. Many wonder if there will ever be a return to ‘normal’.
In researching the diaries of people who survived the 1918 influenza pandemic, it is apparent that after a public health emergency was declared to stop the spread of the influenza, things seemed to settle and daily routines resumed.
Two collections at the MHS show how people managed, survived, and thrived during and after the 1918 Influenza Pandemic: the Eleanor Shumway diaries, 1913-1918 and the Clara E. Currier diaries, 1918-1932. In the diaries kept by Shumway and Currier there is one striking commonality. Both diarists record that on 29 September 1918 everything shuts down ‘on account of’ or ‘because of’ the Epidemic.
The Eleanor Shumway diaries consist of two diaries kept by Eleanor Shumway of Newton, Mass. while she was in her late teens and early twenties. The collection was acquired in October 2020. It accompanies the Eleanor Shumway scrapbook already held by the MHS, and the Eleanor Shumway photographs removed from the Eleanor Shumway Scrapbook. Entries in the diaries primarily describe her social activities, lessons at Newton High School, sports and other recreation, church and Sunday School attendance, and family matters. Beginning 16 September 1918, entries describe Shumway’s training as a nurse at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital.
Eleanor Shumway Line-A-Day Diary, cover
From 1914 to 1917 Eleanor consistently wrote in her Line-A-Day diary, but in 1918 she was not as consistent. Her entries trail off on 31 May 1918 and are left blank until 16 September when Eleanor records:
“Mon. Entered P.B. Brigham Hospital. Madeline Wentworth and I room together in a funny apartment house on Wigglesworth Street. 26 in our class. Very nice girls. 3 other girls on our floor.”
On 17 September she writes:
“Tues. Great time getting into our uniforms and over to breakfast at 6:40. Books were given out and we were given rules and regulations. In eve Madeline, Gertrude [–] and I walked up Parker Hill.”
18 September through the 26 September are left blank.
On 27 September 1918 Eleanor records only one line:
“Fri. Carried trays and took temperatures.”
28 September 1918:
“Sat. Carried trays for past [week? Hour] Got 1 O’Clock car home. Walked down street with mother and Mrs. Shute. In eve-ning wrote letters.”
On 29 September 1918, Eleanor notes the epidemic:
“Sun. Slept late. No Church because of Epidemic. Went to dinner at Taylors. May & [–] & I went to walk in woods. Came back at 10 with Madeline.”
Eleanor Shumway diary entry for September 29, 1918
30 September 1918:
“Mon. Patient for bed [evaluating] in PM. Madeline and I went down town. Did errands & went for dinner at café de Paris. Walked home & studied in eve.”
1 October 1918:
“Tues. Cleaned House. Beat rugs. Patient for Bed [making/walking] P. M. Madeline and I walked over to Coolidge Corner. Got eats and walked back. [–] supper. Danced in evening.”
The days go on filled with studying, exams, walks to Coolidge corner, dinners and even trips to the Orpheum Theatre. Life returned even more so as Eleanor wrote on 11 November 11 1918:
“Mon. End of the War. Fighting stopped at 6AM. Everyone wild with Joy. Bells rang, whistles the all day. Went in town with Mad. Stayed un till 7. Then went home. [–] The town had a victory parade.”
Again, the entries continue with walks, dinners, and nursing exams, until 12 December when Eleanor writes:
“Fri. Wallace Seaward died of influenza..”
Eleanor Shumway diary page, December 12th 1918
After a few more diary entries, mostly about Eleanor’s nursing exams, the last entry in the Line-A-Day diary is on 18 December 1918:
“Wed. Did lab work all day long. Dissected a frog in anatomy. In P. M> went down town to do errands. Didn’t accomplish much. Met Gerty & had a sundae at Baileys. Met [Stanley] May. Slept in Mary Ellen’s room.”
The Clara E. Currier diaries consist of three paperbound diaries kept by Clara E. Currier of Haverhill, Mass. (1 July 1918 to 31 December 1919, 1 January 1925 to 31 March 1926, and 1 January 1928 to 1932. Brief entries describe her daily activities; social calls; letters written and received; church and Sunday School attendance; sewing, gardening, and canning; sightings of early airplanes; attendance at minstrel shows; events such as eclipses and earthquakes; her attack of measles in 1925; family matters; and the weather. In 1918, Currier references the influenza epidemic and the end of World War I. The Clara E. Currier diaries were acquired in September of 2020.
Cover, Clara E. Currier diary 1918-1919
While most entries describe the weather, daily activities, meeting friends and family, and efforts to assist the Red Cross, beginning in September we start to see entries that reflect the impact of the Influenza Pandemic in Haverhill, Mass. On 22 September 1918, Clara writes:
“Went to Church morning and evening and S.S. A pleasant autumn day. Ada called, went to the Y.W.C.A. with flowers for Ethel who is sick with gripe or Influenza.”
On 29 September 1918, Clara mentions the epidemic:
“A beautiful day. No Church on account of Epidemic. Schools and theatres closed for the week. Took a little walk and called on Alice B. Laisdall. Wrote to Elsie and Mary.”
Clara E. Currier Diary page inclusive of September 29, 1918 entry
Skipping ahead a few days, the next mention on the epidemic is on Saturday, 5 October:
“A dull day. Went down town on errands. Influenza still raging.”
The days of October and November are filled with crocheting, dress making, jam making and calling on friends – and sometimes calling on friends while going to volunteer at the Kenoza Base hospital, which at the time was set up for Influenza patients.
On 7 December, she mentions being sick though she does not identify her sickness as influenza:
“A cold day. Awful tired and lame.”
8 December 1918:
“A dull day. Went to church in the a.m. and S.S. Am not feeling well. Wrote to Elsie and Mary.”
9 December 1918:
“A pleasant day. Don’t feel much better. Crocheted and knit a little.”
December 10, 1918:
“A beautiful winter day. Felling better but not very strong. Did a little sewing. Had a letter from Mary.”
Clara E. Currier Diary page describing her illness, December 1918
Clara recovered from her illness, and continued canning, sewing, and paying visits to friends. Based solely on the number of days she was ill, we can likely conclude that Clara was sick with and overcame the 1918 Influenza Pandemic.
