Coronavirus Philadelphia: City Cautionary Tale After Series Of Decisions Led To Huge Resurgence Of Spanish Flu In 1918
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- In 1918, the city of Philadelphia became a cautionary tale after a series of decisions led to a huge resurgence of the Spanish Flu. CBS3's Joe Holden spoke to employees at a funeral home that was around in 1918. They explain the similarities between then and now, and lessons learned.
Books from a century ago tell the story of a pandemic's effect on Philadelphia.
Charted in penmanship, page after page, these are the final arrangements of those dead from the Spanish Influenza of 1918.
"It gives a very good history of looking at who the people were that passed away, how old they were, what exactly they died from. For this case, pneumonia," said Pete Huf, with Donohue Funeral Home.
John P. Donohue's funeral home was based in West Philadelphia. His outfit buried so many victims of the flu in 1918, they ran out of room in their ledger and had to create an overflow book.
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The Donohue Funeral Home was located in West Phila. in 1918. So many people died then, caskets were lined along the sidewalks. At 4, 5, 6 — learning lessons from the past: they show us their death ledgers from the time of the Spanish Flu. @CBSPhilly pic.twitter.com/ZkkAXQpbyL
— Joe Holden (@JoeHoldenCBS3) April 27, 2020
They also ran out of room in their building and were forced to stack caskets outside.
"You didn't have enough room to store them inside so people we're trying to steal them at night so that they could bury their own," Michael Donohue said.
A picture circulating on Facebook warns of reopening society too quickly.
A second wave of the flu hit Philadelphia following a massive parade. It was deadlier than the first.
"What we don't want is we don't want to open up too early again and then have a really big second wave like we saw with the influenza pandemic in 1918," Villanova University biology professor Dr. Joseph Comber said.
While patience is wearing thin to reopen economies, Delaware County just confirmed the opening of a temporary morgue.
Donohue Funeral Home would normally average 20 funerals a week. Over the last seven days, that figure has tripled.
Funeral directors say, over the last two months, the pandemic has dramatically changed how they deliver their services, but the question remains: when will things go back to somewhat normal?