When the Spanish flu epidemic struck Tacoma in October 1918, the city was a bustling boomtown near a thriving military post during World War I.

With the war raging throughout Europe, elections being contested in the United States and revolutions springing up all over Europe, the world took little notice as the epidemic swept the nation from late August through the end of the year.

The News Tribune scarcely mentioned the outbreak, and instead focused on the war. The first wave of the flu appeared in Europe in spring 1918, but it wasn’t reported locally.

The first account of what was to become the worst epidemic in human history was published Sept. 19 under the headline, “Did U Boats Shoot Influenza Germs?” The article speculated that the Germans could have sent men infected with the flu ashore in the United States to infect people and spread the disease.

The article appeared as influenza began to ravage the East Coast, and contracting the flu became something for Americans to worry about.

Government officials noticed the large number of soldiers coming down with the flu and pneumonia, as well as the severity of the flu on Army posts.

With that in mind, the draft for men classified 1A – meaning they were fit to fight – was canceled at Camp Lewis on Sept. 27. Postponing something as major as a draft call alerted the community to the seriousness of the outbreak.

The flu claimed its first Tacoman on Oct. 7 with the death of G.W. Muir, a student officer at the naval training station in Seattle.

Next came an announcement that gathering places would be closed as a precaution. The Oct. 8 News Tribune reported that “26 theaters, 16 dance halls are closed; Commercial Club rally for members and Eagles’ Smoker put off.”

Mayor C.M. Riddell notified businesses about the closures so they could prepare. Churches and schools, however, could remain open, since they generally were well-ventilated, according to city health officer Dr. R.D. Wilson.

A Camp Lewis representative issued a statement to assure the public that there was no flu on the post.

Two new cases of flu appeared in Tacoma on Oct. 10. The next day a story explaining Spanish Influenza appeared on the front page of the Tribune below an article headlined “13 cases of ‘flu’ reported today.”

The article said the flu strain had originated with the German army and spread throughout Europe, arriving in America with more than 200 cases aboard a Norwegian merchant ship Aug. 12, 1918.

The story also told how to avoid the disease and described its symptoms.

By Oct. 17, Tacoma had 116 cases of the flu, with 40 to 50 cases reported each day. Camp Lewis was placed under quarantine Oct. 19.

As almost a side note to the Camp Lewis article was one that indicated the flu situation was getting worse in Tacoma with 92 new cases in one day.

On Oct. 22, The News Tribune reported that several local doctors had been accused of profiteering. It said they had been getting serum from Tacoma’s Health Department to treat flu victims, but then charged $2 for it “in violation of the agreement with the city.”

Getting treated was a problem of its own. Hospitals were overflowing, with doctors and nurses overwhelmed and new cases reported each day. Many doctors and nurses were sick themselves, and it was reported Oct. 23 that Wilson, the senior health official for Tacoma, had come down with influenza.

First Methodist Church in downtown Tacoma housed 80 patients because of overcrowded hospitals. Only Rosa Peterson, a Health Department official, was available to care for the patients.

Claiming lives at a steady rate, the flu took its first prominent Tacoman on Oct. 28 when Lloyd M. Kincaid, the youngest member of the Police Department, died hours after his 29th birthday. A captain on the Tacoma force, Kincaid had been a popular figure in the city because of his involvement with athletics and entertainment.

With the flu rampant, Mayor Riddell required everyone to wear gauze masks. The police swept the city Oct. 30 to check on residents. Businesses that didn’t comply were closed “by special edict from the mayor’s office.”

Even the mayor was reported to be wearing a mask “when he thinks about it and isn’t smoking.” Though the mask order was inconvenient, Tacomans followed it with fewer complaints than elsewhere in the country.

The epidemic eased in November. The News Tribune reported Nov. 1 that influenza had “for the past three days gradually declined.” Fewer cases were noted Nov. 2, but Riddell was not willing to lift the social gathering ban, which was becoming a nuisance for Tacomans.

Nurses remained scarce and in high demand. Wilson, who had survived his bout with the flu, observed in The News Tribune that “unless more nurses could be found, he would admit no new patients and close” First Methodist Church.

On Monday, Nov. 11, the “war to end all wars” came to an end. The next day it was announced that Tacoma’s ban on public gatherings would be lifted that week.

“City Back To Life Again,” The Tribune proclaimed when the day came. After more than a month of no public gatherings, no school, no church and no theater, the public emerged “unmasked and ‘fluless,’” and resumed everyday life.

For the residents of Tacoma, life had been altered dramatically in the last months of 1918. In the end, the city suffered 236 deaths from a reported 2,032 cases.

Travis K. Bagley is a student at Washington State University. This article is adapted from a class assignment.