Imagine being able to sit down with the Surgeon General of the United States during the Spanish Influenza outbreak of 1918 and a top doctor from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the current COVID-19 crisis at the same time and ask them a few questions about the pandemic du jour. Well, […]
Author: Lerch Kimberly
Spanish Influenza vs. COVID-19
January 17, 2024
Hay Stove: Part Two
July 15, 2020
by Kimberly Lerch | Published: July 15, 2020 We left off on the last blog post just about ready to get some food into the hay stove. Let’s see what we should do to prep the food! Preparing the Food for the Hay Stove Cereals, soups, meats, vegetables, fruits, steamed breads and even puddings […]
Hay Stove: Part One
July 8, 2020
by Kimberly Lerch | Published: July 8, 2020 Are you an overworked farm wife? Short on time but long of mouths to feed? Between weeding the garden, scrubbing and hanging out the wash to dry, visiting your sick neighbors, baking goods for the church social, repairing worn clothing, taking care of the chickens, churning […]
Fancy Work (French and Eyelet/Cutwork Embroidery)
June 29, 2020
by Kimberly Lerch | Published: June 29, 2020 I love to do needlework; in particular, I love to do what is called “fancy work.” What is Fancy Work? Needlework encompasses all work done with the needle, whether it is necessary work or not. Darning, patching, repairing ripped seams, hemming, sewing buttons back on […]
Five Weeks in October: Week Five
June 19, 2020
by Kimberly Lerch | Published: June 19, 2020 October of 1918, the fifth week.[1] Last week read like an endless list of friends, neighbors, and loved ones in the area dying from this damned flu. We (I say we because, after a month of reading about these folks, I feel I know them) are told […]
Five Weeks in October: Week Four
June 18, 2020
by Kimberly Lerch | Published: June 18, 2020 October of 1918, the fourth week.[1] At the beginning of last week, they closed the Urbana and, a day later, the Champaign public schools. The state stepped in and forced the closure of all non-essential businesses and any schools that did not have a nurse on-site. By […]
Five Weeks in October: Week Three
June 17, 2020
by Kimberly Lerch | Published: June 17, 2020 October of 1918, the third week.[1] At the beginning of last week, “places of amusement” were ordered closed, only one church service was allowed per week, but residents’ children were still expected to attend school. Folks were becoming increasingly concerned by the flu directly affecting their community; […]
Five Weeks in October: Week Two
June 16, 2020
by Kimberly Lerch | Published: June 16, 2020 October of 1918, its second week.[1] At the beginning of last week, residents in Champaign County felt safe; not a case to be mentioned in the Urbana Daily Courier. Then, local folks had relatives in other locations become flu victims. By the end of the week, there […]
Five Weeks in October: Week One
June 15, 2020
by Kimberly Lerch | Published: June 15, 2020 In March 1918, what was later known to be the “first wave” of the Spanish influenza in the United States began quietly in Kansas as small outbreaks of a flu-like illness. At Camp Funston in Fort Riley, Kansas, approximately 100 soldiers suddenly fell ill from the flu. […]
The Spanish Influenza versus COVID-19
June 8, 2020
by Kimberly Lerch | Published: June 8, 2020 Imagine being able to sit down with the Surgeon General of the United States during the Spanish Influenza outbreak of 1918 and a top doctor from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the current COVID-19 crisis at the same time and ask them a […]