From Wikimedia, originally published in Illustrated Current News, New Haven, CT. Volume 1, no. 785, 1918, by Paul Thompson, HERE.
Pandemic
masks are back in the news again, and so I thought we would look way back to
1918, to see what people did during the Spanish flu
pandemic.
“But
Bandanaman, masks...”, you say, “normally you write about
survival and the wilderness!”
You’re
right, I do, and I would rather be out in the woods than in the city, but hey,
you have to be able to survive in the city as well as survive in the wilderness. So, you must be prepared for both, and remember
knowledge is power.
A picture of a Red Cross nurse wearing an influenza mask, from “How To Make Your Own Influenza Mask”, The Argus, Albany, New York, October 15, 1918, page three, HERE.
During
the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, the Red Cross of America, at least in the
city of Albany, New York, recommended that people make and wear masks to
protect themselves from the flu. So just
how did Grandma make them during the Spanish Flu pandemic, of 1918?
The 1918
Red Cross Pattern mask
An excerpt from “How To Make Your Own Influenza Mask”, The Argus, Albany, New York, October 15, 1918, page three.
On
page 3 of the October 15, 1918, edition of The Argus, an Albany, New York
newspaper, in an article called “How To Make Your Own
Influenza Mask”, the Red Cross provided instructions on how to make
pandemic masks from unbleached muslin1. Muslin is a plainly woven cotton fabric of
various weights, from sheer to coarse sheeting.
Unfortunately, the author of “How To Make Your Own Influenza Mask”
didn’t mention what weight (thickness) of muslin to use, so I am using an old
cotton sheet for my mask, it might not be the right weight, but at least it
will be the right pattern.
The 1918 Red Cross Pattern mask, created by the Author.
After
cutting out an 18 inch (45.7 cm) square piece of muslin, fold the cloth in half
and then measure down 5 inches (12.7 cm) and make a cut 3 inches (7.6 cm) long
in from the fold towards the sides, through both layers of cloth. Make another cut 1 inch (2.5 cm) below the
first cut, also 3 inches (7.6 cm) long, from the fold towards the sides. Join the two cuts together to make the eye
slit. Next sew on the two ties, one on
each side, at the edge of your mask just below the eye slit, 6 inches (15.2 cm)
down from the top of your mask. And you
are done!
The finished 1918 Red Cross Pattern mask, photograph by the Author.
To
wear the mask simply tie the ties behind your head and then pull the part of
the mask hanging down from your chin back and behind you head pinning the
fabric from the sides and bottom of the mask, there with a safety pin. I was unable to duplicate the 1918
instructions and pin the top sides of my mask back, there just wasn’t enough
fabric.
 |
Three views of the Author wearing the finished 1918 Red Cross Pattern mask, photographs by the Author.
For
your convenience, the entire “How To Make Your Own Influenza Mask” article, is
reproduced below.
“How To Make Your Own Influenza Mask”, The Argus, Albany, New York, October 15, 1918, page three, HERE.
For
more on pandemic masks read “COVID-19, And A Simple, Homemade Respiratory Mask
©”, HERE,
“COVID-19, And A Simple, Homemade Respiratory Mask, Part Two ©”, HERE,
or watch my video “COVID-19, And A Simple, Homemade Respiratory Mask ©”, HERE.
An excerpt from The Evening Gazette, Port Jervis, New York; October 28, 1918, page 7, HERE.
Don’t forget to come back next week and read “Dunk Testing
Matches...Say What!? ©”, where we will talk about UCO Stormproof Matches and
whether or not you can really dunk them in water and have them relight.
UCO Stormproof Matches, photograph by the Author.
I
hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me
on YouTube at Bandanaman Productions for other related videos, HERE. Don’t forget to follow me on both The
Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE,
and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free
to leave a comment on either site. I
announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at
bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.
That
is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!
Notes
1
My thanks to Donny Aben, from the Fort Brewerton Historical Society, in
Brewerton, NY (http://www.fortbrewerton.net/),
for first showing me the article from The Argus.
Sources
“How To Make Your Own
Influenza Mask”, The Argus, Albany, New York; October 15, 1918, page 3, https://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/search/pages/results/?SearchType=prox5&from_year=1725&to_year=2019&ortext=&andtext=&phrasetext=&proxtext=how+to+make+your+own+Influenza+mask&proxdistance=5&dateFilterType=range&date1=01%2F01%2F1725&date2=12%2F31%2F2019&rows=20&searchType=advanced, accessed August 14, 2021
The Evening Gazette,
Port Jervis, New York; October 28, 1918, page 7, https://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn83031647/1918-10-28/ed-1/seq-7.pdf, accessed August 14, 2021
Wikimedia, Illustrated
Current News, New Haven, CT. Volume 1, no. 785, 1918, photograph by Paul
Thompson, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Illustrated_Current_News-1918-Thompson,_Paul.png
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