Spanish flu hits Bellevue | Heritage Corner
Published 2:36 pm Friday, March 8, 2013
On Oct. 1, 1918, a single gold star appeared on the front page of the Lake Washington Reflector. Quartermaster Herl F. Lincoln, the Reflector reported, was returning home from Boston on furlough when he fell victim to “pneumonia.” He was taken from the train directly to Seattle’s Providence Hospital where he died on Sept. 25.
It wasn’t until almost three weeks later that the Reflector published the actual name of Lincoln’s killer. On Oct. 20 the headline read “Everybody is Laid Up with the Spanish Influenza.”
Bellevue residents took precautions to prevent the spread of the disease: public gatherings were cancelled, residents were encouraged to stay at home, and hundreds of gauze masks were fashioned and distributed by local charities. However, despite these efforts, at least 11 Bellevue residents died of the flu. The flu was responsible for 1,600 deaths in the greater Seattle area, 700,000 in the United States, and 21 million worldwide.
Heritage Corner is a feature in the Bellevue Reporter. Material is provided by the Eastside Heritage Center. For more information call 425-450-1049.
