1918: The Spanish Flu comes to Willow Creek

 

While Maurice is fighting in the trenches and Anna is fighting in the hospital, the reality of war is far away from Willow Creek. It may be in the news, charity organisations are working overtime and the young men's absence is surely felt, but it is still a far way off and as of yet no one the town people know has died in the war. Instead, matters closer at hand worry the people of Willow Creek. Like the new "sneeze malady" that the papers write about. Especially in the national papers that Joseph sometimes brings home from the club.

The news is of course worrying, and rumors have it that two women who were ill might have had this discase, though it is of course too early to tell. In the Whittaker household, Abigail has set Dolly to clean everything in the house extra carefully, but otherwise try to keep things as normal as possible. After all, the local newspapers urges calm, and writes that "Influenza does not spread, or become severe in warm, sunny weather, such as prevails during the greater part of the year in New Orleans." (Times-Picayune, October 1, 1918). 

As such she does not think it will be necessary to alter their lives too much. She can still see her charity group, go to WW1-relief rallies and see their extended family. Which is why when it's time for Harold to age up, the entire family (and the Duncans) gather at Frank and Emily's to celebrate this:

Emily in turn has her own problems. With the war going on, more and more women join the work force, and less and less women are interested in domestic work. After all, it's poorly paid with horrible working hours and virtually no time off. Even on Sundays, though you were supposed to be off, most domestic workers were expected to carry on working. 

Emily was no different in this respect from any other employer. No better, no worse, but Virginia is young, and with so many other job offers out there she now has options. After yet another evening of fighting and drinking in the household, she decides she has had enough. Dressing in something that is not a servants uniform, Virginia packs her bag and informs Emily she is leaving. There is no pleading Emily can do to persuade her to stay, and no new help to be found in times like these, and Emily is stuck with the house work she has never had to do before, like cleaning the dishes and picking up all the children's clothes.

Back at the senior Whittaker household, Josephine is bored and definitely not worrying about some silly sickness. With no school (she has no interest in university), and Nash being off fighting a war instead of marrying her, she has very little things to keep herself occupied. She's not one for sporting activities, and while she does know how to knit she thinks her mother's constant knitting is enough for the both of them. In fact, Josephine has very few real interests that can occupy her time, nor did she ever think she'd need them. 

At this point of life she had imagined she would be setting up a home of her own, planning and hosting dinner parties and meeting and greeting her husband's coworkers, possibly planning for her first child. Things that would be keeping her busy on its own. She had not counted on her life being on hold until a idiotic war in Europe was over. What does it has to do with them anyhow? At least she's not the only one. With virtually no young men left in town, all young adult women are left to do nothing but wait and work for charity organisations. Gathering, they talk of the rapid changes in fashion, of what to do when the men return, and gossip about the people in town.

For Abigail, the war takes up quite a lot of her mind. After all, nothing can be seen as more important than bringing Anna back home again, and to do so the war needs to end. Therefore, Abigail has very much taken Anna's urges for more supplies and the government's sale of war bonds to heart. She has never knitted more in her life, and with the Willow Creek charity group, she arranges for war rallys and charity gatherings to raise money for the cause. She is not entirely indifferent to the spread of the new illness, so she makes sure the latest party is hosted outdoors, in the park. It's a resounding success for such a small town, though of course nothing like the rallys they have in the bigger cities. In the paper she can read that a war rally in Lafayette Square attracted 50,000 people on October 5. In New Orleans, as in Willow Creek, the unfortunate downside is the massive spike in flu cases that results from this. 

Of course this is nothing Abigail knows anything about yet, nor does anyone else. Fall has just started for real, and no one they know has fallen ill yet. That is about to change, and in game that will look like this:

• A mod that reduces sickness has been removed. Anyone who gets sick will be assumed to have the Spanish flu, and a dice will be rolled for their survival (see the last point).
• Accidental death has been turned on for all families. Any non-military death will be accounted to the flu.
• For anyone who is sick a roll but will determine if someone who is ill lives or dies. This time I have decided to play it close to the actual number of a fatality rate of 2,5 %, which is roughly the equivalent of getting 2 in a roll of two dice.

Spanish flu death toll so far:

• Anna Villareal (Windenburg)
• Kaitlyn Templeton (Willow Creek)
• Christine Bradshaw (Willow Creek)

War death toll so far this week:

• Isaias Fletcher (US-soldier)