Even in tragedy, life goes on: Remembering Daily Life in 1918
For the past two semesters, I've been in classes that focused on Philadelphia's suffering during the 1918 Spanish influenza. The outbreak was undoubtedly tragic for the city, and thus most of the relevant historical materials paint an extremely gloomy picture of what life was like at the time. Yet, centering on this one event has sometimes caused me to lose sight of the fact that, even as the flu raged through Philadelphia, for many people, life continued as normally as possible.
This is one of the risks when studying history.
Because we can't possibly know everything, we focus on certain people, places, events, or things to learn about. Within our focus, it can be hard to zoom out and remember that other things were happening. For me, the #explore1918 posts have been a wonderful reminder that 1918, in Philadelphia and in the world, was more than the Spanish flu. It was also more than World War I.
For many people, 1918 was just another year.
With this lesson in mind, I decided to look at Philadelphia newspapers from some of the worst days during the flu outbreak. Instead of browsing for articles on the flu, I read the articles about what else was going on in a city that, though dealing with tremendous tragedy, pressed on.
In the October 3, 1918 issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the articles "ASKS FOR STATE AID TO FIGHT EPIDEMIC," "EPIDEMIC HITS TOWN," AND "EPIDEMIC HITS DRAFT," surrounded this advertisement:
Even in the midst of an epidemic, people still had to buy clothes.
That same issue featured this comic:
Even in the midst of a World War, people still had to laugh at sexist tropes.
Even in tragedy, life goes on.
Sources:
"Hallahan's Good Shoes," Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 3, 1918.
Knott, Jean, "Let the Wedding Bells Ring Out," Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 3, 1918.
This is something I think about a lot. I saw an ad for a grand piano in one of the newspapers I was looking through and was just struck by how incongruous it was with the dire headlines surrounding it. But I also reflect on how this manifests in our own time. I'm learning it's exhausting to be sad and stressed literally all of the time, and I feel like I can understand this tactic a little better, and maybe judge it a little less (even if it means my primary sources are less rich because of it)
Yes!
Reminds me a lot of current conversations about self-care and survival as resistance tactics. Very different issues of course (Spanish flu, Life Stress etc, and various forms of systematic oppression) but similar approaches to surviving hardships through trying to go about your normal life as best as you can.
That made me laugh out loud.
Looking for 919-921 Market Street at the atlases scanned for The GeoHistory Newtork - an incredible resource to know and use - gives a good idea of that shopping district.
What a neat tool! Thanks for sharing.