By Ashley Harper Written for Look Back at the Past, an initiative by the Township of North Dundas In the midst of the Great Depression, hundreds of people travelled to Winchester from all over Canada and the United States to attend Old Home Week—a grand reunion for current and former residents of the district. The idea was first proposed in the summer of 1933 by village reeve James H. Ross, who was also the owner and editor of the Winchester Press. The plan was immediately put into motion and Old Home Week Association was formed with Reeve Ross as chairman and local insurance agent Walter Moffatt as secretary-treasurer. Committees were organized, and residents and businesses all did their part to bring the plan to life. From August 4th to 8th 1934, hundreds of visitors came together in these streets to celebrate the one thing they had in common—their love of Winchester and its people. There were events for everyone, old and young, including parades, concerts, midway rides, horse races, street dancing, and sporting matches. The Press dedicated almost three full pages to covering the reunion.
One of the surviving legacies of these Old Home Weeks are two short histories of Winchester and Chesterville that were written to promote the villages and their progress. A Historical Review of Winchester, Ontario, written by Fern Workman, a long-time employee (and later owner) of the Winchester Press, was available at the reunion for just 25 cents. A History of Chesterville, written by businessman and former Dundas MP Orren D. Casselman, likely cost about the same.
Today, these brief snapshots of our communities are priceless.
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By Ashley Harper Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there have been a lot of comparisons between this virus and the Spanish Influenza, which ravaged the world in 1918-1919. Prior to that, most people were relatively unaware that just a century ago, our ancestors lived through the deadliest pandemic in recent history. Contrary to its name, the Spanish Influenza was not Spanish. The pandemic hit during a tumultuous time in our history; World War I had been raging for almost four years when the first cases were reported in early 1918. There was extensive wartime censorship in many countries, which prevented the press from publishing information on the disease. One nation that did not have this issue was Spain, as it had remained neutral during the war. Spain was one of the very few countries that was accurately and openly reporting on this sickness, and as a result, the virus became known as the Spanish Influenza. Much like COVID-19, the Spanish Flu came in waves. The first was in the spring and summer of 1918. Although still deadly, it was comparatively mild to later cases and has been likened to a bad bout of the common cold. Most cases appeared in urban locations, whereas many rural areas were relatively unaffected.
However, the peace and normalcy that this area had enjoyed was soon to come to an end. By the time the second wave hit in the fall of 1918, the virus had mutated. It was more severe and spread quicker than before, making it much deadlier. Those who survived the initial sickness were often faced with life-threatening secondary diseases, such as pneumonia and bronchitis. Unlike most illnesses, the majority of flu victims were between the ages of 15 and 45. The Spanish Flu was likely brought to North Dundas by returning soldiers or through travel to and from infected areas. However, it is impossible to know exactly when or how it arrived here as very little was reported until the disease was at its peak. Although it is somewhat gruesome, the easiest way to track the virus in the community is through the local death registry. And unfortunately, it left quite a trail to follow.
Although deaths were on the rise across the country, many people (including health officials) underestimated the seriousness of the pandemic. On September 24th, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. John McCullough, stated, "There is altogether too much made of the seriousness of this Spanish influenza...The epidemic is not so serious as measles." He was soon proven to be very wrong. In the weeks following Mert's death, the number of flu cases skyrocketed across the United Counties. Chesterville doctors Miles and William Brown (father and son) reported that they were handling about 300 cases in a week, and they later became so overwhelmed and overworked that a Dr. Smith from Montreal came to assist them. Doctors and medical officials at the time were faced with a serious challenge. Unlike today, there was no unified health authority for the United Counties—the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Board of Health (predecessor of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit) was not established until 1940. Prior to that, each municipality had their own Board of Health, which meant that practices and restrictions varied from one place to another.
On October 10th, the Chesterville Record announced that the village's Board of Health was closing schools and cancelling public meetings and church services. Similar actions were taken in the rest of North Dundas and some of the surrounding communities. Other places, like Morrisburg, did not enact restrictions for another two weeks. None of the local papers mentioned a mask mandate. As we have learned from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, having a coordinated response to this kind of public health emergency can have a drastic impact on the effectiveness of the restrictions. Less than a week after restrictions were put in place, North Dundas experienced its deadliest day of the pandemic. October 16th saw the Spanish Flu claim the lives of six residents in just one day. The death rate remained high throughout October as the virus ripped through the area, leaving devastation in its wake. By the end of the month, Winchester and Mountain Townships had lost 31 people to the Spanish Flu, including an infant and three toddlers. J. W. Forrester, the inspector of public schools for Dundas County, and Samuel Doran, Hallville's postmaster, were also among the victims. Five local children were orphaned and dozens more lost one parent.
On October 31st, the Boards of Health for Chesterville, Winchester Village and Winchester Township declared that all restrictions on public gatherings would be lifted. These announcements appeared in the Winchester Press and the Chesterville Record amid numerous obituaries of flu victims and articles reflecting the ongoing severity of the pandemic. Given the seriousness of the situation, which the Record called "particularly distressing", it is unclear why the Boards of Health decided to lift the restrictions so soon. The restrictions had been in place for a relatively short time—just over three weeks. In comparison to the timeframe of COVID-era lockdowns, that hardly seems like enough time to get the situation under control. While the restrictions did not solve the issue entirely, they do appear to have had a positive effect. Over the next two weeks, only two Spanish Flu deaths were recorded in North Dundas, both of which were in Mountain Township. One fatality in Chesterville (the newborn daughter of another flu victim) is also believed to have been related to the pandemic. During the second half of November, there were no flu deaths in North Dundas. The United Counties saw a similar gradual decline in flu fatalities during this time with some communities recovering faster than others. However, deaths still remained a daily occurrence in SDG and people were struggling to deal with their bereavement. But as things began to look up overseas, so too did the situation on the Homefront. November 11th brought a renewed hope to soldiers and civilians alike. Across the United Counties, people gathered in the streets to celebrate the signing of an armistice between the Allied and Central Powers, bringing an end to four long years of war. The war was not the only thing that ended that day; the devastating streak of pandemic fatalities was broken and for the first time in 33 days, no new Spanish Flu deaths were recorded in the entirety of SDG. This, of course, did not mean that the pandemic was over. However, it was the beginning of a period of considerable progress as the number of flu cases and deaths in the United Counties dropped significantly. Weeks passed without any flu fatalities in North Dundas. Although deaths had ceased in the community during this period, the disease had not entirely disappeared. Social columns from the local newspapers provide helpful insight into which areas had new cases and who had fallen ill. Obituaries of former residents and people from neighbouring areas were published weekly. Unlike in the early days of the pandemic, people knew not to underestimate the virus. Various articles warned not to rush recovery, with one stating, "If you have had the influenza stay in bed as long as you feel you should and then stay three days longer and ask the doctor what he thinks." Despite some lingering cases in the community, there was a lot of optimism. The Great War was finally over and the Spanish Flu was on the decline. It seemed as though the Christmas of 1918 would be a merry one. Unfortunately, the situation began to deteriorate quite rapidly in the days leading up to the holiday and only grew worse in the weeks that followed. On Christmas Eve, North Dundas recorded its first Spanish Flu death in 40 days: Luthera Hummel Froats, who left behind a husband and nine children to mourn her. Next was Daniel Belway of Mountain Township who died on New Year's Eve, one day before he was to be married. The areas surrounding Winchester Township were also hit hard during this time. The Forget family of Crysler lost all five of its members (two parents, a married couple, and a newborn son) within a week. Several people from the Dunbar area died, including Charles McMillan and his one-year-old daughter Clara on New Year's Day and New Year's Eve respectively.
North Dundas experienced 13 flu deaths in the month of January and one in Feburary. The last deaths in this community occurred in March: Norah Casselman Fulton of Maple Ridge died on March 4th and Martha Thompson Barkley of Mountain followed on March 21st. The last death in the United Counties was recorded near the end of April. In six months, the Spanish Flu killed at least 51 people in North Dundas (see Figure 1). As a whole, Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry lost at least 334 people. However, the number of victims may actually be much higher. During the pandemic, there were an additional 103 people in SDG (11 in North Dundas) who died of pneumonia, bronchitis, and related diseases. Because most flu victims died of secondary illnesses, it is possible that some of these deaths are connected to the Spanish Flu. This theory is supported by the fact that quite a few of the possible flu victims were related or lived very close to confirmed flu victims. The Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918-1919 undoubtedly left an impact on the residents of North Dundas. With the current state of the world, it is becoming easier to understand what our ancestors may have felt during that time—their fear, their anxiety, their sadness, their loss.
We can learn a lot about them by referencing our experiences in the present, but the opposite is also true: by looking into the past, we can learn about our own situation. If there is one lesson to be learned from the Spanish Flu Pandemic, it is this: our community and the people in it are strong, and no matter how difficult things may be, we will get through this together and emerge even stronger than before. |
CDHS publishes articles about interesting photos, artifacts, people, events, buildings, etc. that relate to the history of Chesterville and District. If there is something that you would like to see, email us at [email protected]
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