It’s become a daily routine – checking the COVID-19 map, showing the number of cases in each Montana county. Gallatin continues to have the most cases, while many counties have none. A century ago, Butte was the hot spot for the Spanish flu pandemic, but neighboring Anaconda and other areas had no cases. Now keep in mind, in both instances – today and 100 years ago – … [Read more...] about Harmon’s Histories: Anacondans believed arsenic-laden air protected city from Spanish flu

Latest reports say we all may be asked to wear face masks when we go out in public, in yet another step to slow the spread of COVID-19. We’ve faced the issue before – 100 years ago. But mandating masks was one thing – enforcing it, quite another. In neighboring Washington, the state board of health mandated that everyone wear gauze masks as the Spanish flu pandemic raged … [Read more...] about Harmon’s Histories: Face masks were required as Spanish flu neared Missoula

Even before I began writing this story, I was attacked by a vicious earworm (a song you just can’t get out of your head). In researching the history of Missoula street names, I noticed that Orange Street at one time had four names. That’s all it took. Suddenly I was hearing the musical group America and the lyrics: “I've been through the desert on a horse with no name.” Only … [Read more...] about Harmon’s Histories: ‘I’ve been through Missoula on a street with four names’

Dr. Anthony Fauci is America’s “straight-talking” expert on the COVID-19 pandemic. The 79-year-old director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has been the soft-spoken, reliable professional addressing major health emergencies for political administrations dating back to Ronald Reagan. His view of the current situation, at a recent White … [Read more...] about Harmon’s Histories: Before Dr. Fauci, Typhoid Mary eluded epidemiologists for decades

The call went out last week for nurses needed by the Missoula City-County Health Department to care for our community during the COVID-19 crisis. Similar calls went out during the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak, this country’s last great pandemic. One University of Montana journalism co-ed volunteered as a nurse that fall, after classes were canceled and the campus was shut … [Read more...] about Harmon’s Histories: UM student recorded heartbreaking experiences as nurse during 1918 flu pandemic