First Published Nov. 2, 2005

By Mark W. OlsonChaska flu epidemic headlines

The disease didn’t discriminate. It took the lives of Chaska baker Mathias Buesgens, 25, and Chanhassen farmer Reinhard Molnau, 32, and a young Chaska woman, Emily May Winkelman, 18.

The ‘Spanish flu’ continued infecting Carver County residents until it had played a role in the death of about 45 people.

The recent fear of an avian flu pandemic has renewed interest in the 1918-1919 outbreak, said Leanne Brown, executive director of the Carver County Historical Society. "It will be interesting to see what lessons can be learned, what can be done, what was successful and what was not," Brown said.

Chaska was among the hardest hit Carver County towns. Of 32 Chaska deaths registered with the county in 1918, 11 were caused by the flu or by complications, usually pneumonia, following the flu. Many of the deaths occurred in October/November 1918.

At one point, Chaska doctor N.H. Marshall worked with flu patients 24 hours a day for three days, the Herald reported.

Carver County death records demonstrate the flu’s pattern, typically causing death in two days to two weeks.

During the peak of the outbreak, the Chaska mayor ordered that schools, the movie theater and pool hall be closed. Local churches suspended services.

So many flu cases were reported at the Chaska sugar factory that work was almost suspended, the Herald reported. ‘Influenza continues its awful ravages,’ stated one headline.  

Simons brothers Lt. John Simons

The influenza epidemic claimed the life of Chaska native Army Lt. John Simons, whose body was shipped home from Pennsylvania for burial. A couple weeks later, John’s brother, Anthony, died from the flu. "My father was very close and had a tough time adjusting (to John’s death). He would say that they had a wonderful time together and they were really buddies," related JoAnne Murphy, of Edina, whose father Leonard Simons was a cousin of the brothers.

Following the death of the second Simons brother, "more fears spread," said Joan Simons, whose husband, Bob, was a grandnephew of the brothers. "They just really didn’t know how people were infected."

"In those days, the bodies were kept in the home, but the parents were afraid to even keep (Anthony) home. The casket was sealed,’"Simons said of the family history.

Mourners were so worried about the flu’s contagiousness that they gathered in a procession and said their rosaries across the road from the Simons’ Third Street home, instead of going inside to pay their respects, Simons said.

Joan’s own father almost died from the influenza outbreak. "My father was so sick that the doctor sat by bed that night trying to keep the fever down," Joan said. "When he broke the fever, he went into a horrible sweat so much he soaked the bed," she said.

Obituaries of several victims, many of them young adults, ran on the front page of the Chaska newspaper. The Herald printed tips on avoiding the disease, such as isolating those with the disease, avoiding close contact with others, using a handkerchief when coughing and sneezing. It also advised readers to ‘become a fresh-air crank and enjoy life.’

The virus led to an estimated 500,000 deaths in the United States, and possibly 100 million worldwide, according to the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy.

Influenza wasn’t the first Carver County epidemic, but it may have been the latest. In the early years of county settlement, it wasn’t uncommon for smallpox or scarlet fever to kill several children in a single family.

In 1876 alone, 74 Carver County children died during a diphtheria outbreak.

‘From the perspective of being a parent, the emotional toll that would take is pretty staggering,’ Brown said.

Flu cartoon from the Herald