The Pandemic of 2020 vs. the Spanish Flu of 1918
by Bruce Eaton and Christine O’Brien Beydoun
With thousands of years of history with modern man, it seems like almost every type of event has happened before. As we are (hopefully by now) coming out of the coronavirus’s grip, we thought a look back in history was in order. What we would like to highlight specifically is the Spanish Flu of 1918 and some of the similarities to that event. Perhaps it will also provide the reassurance that we can get through a pandemic.
While the historical 1918 Gardens Bulletins are silent on the topic (they were focused more on resident activity than on national events), FHGF board member Christine O’Brien Beydoun came across an article and imagery from untapped New york. What it shows is that many of the same precautions we are taking now are not so different from what people did back then, but it also shows that they weren’t undertaking some of the social distancing and sheltering-in-place that we have adopted. They also had many more issues with population density and sanitation issues in the Manhattan tenements (which inspired the Gardens Movement). We have learned a lot since then.
Please take a look at the gallery of images below, all from an untapped new york article on 3/17, here is the link:
Be well and stay safe.
The FHG Foundation
Christine O’Brien Beydoun — Bruce Eaton — Mina Malek — Maureen Shillet — Sinead Whelan — Emily Wilcox
