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March 1, 2020
WOLF CREEK HERITAGE MUSEUM NOTES by Virginia Scott MUSEUM HAPPENINGS Another month has passed and time for a new exhibit. For March and April we have the art of Kellye Orel from Booker. Stay tuned for the date for her reception. We are also cleaning and preparing the museum with the appropriate supplies to keep us safe for visitors in this "Flu" season. We will also be preparing our first newsletter for the year and starting our membership drive. It is also time to complete an annual report. So stay tuned for our activity reports for 2019. HISTORICAL MUSINGS With the current flu activity, it is appropriate to revisit the flu epidemic of 1918. Alfred Altmiller has provided us with the story of his father who delivered medicine to Lipscomb County residents during the blizzard of 1918 which came in the middle of 1918 flu epidemic. Henry Altmiller lived along the north stretch of the phone line with his wife and three sons, none of whom were sick. He called the doctor to tell him that his seventeen year old son, Carson, was on his way to Lipscomb to pick up the medicine. He would deliver it to every family he could get to. Word of his journey began to spread by phone. He made it to the doctor's home where they fed him and warmed him up, then loaded the supplies and sent him out. The doctor's last instructions were not to go inside the homes. "It will be tempting to go inside and warm up. Don't expose yourself to this, just yell for someone to come to the door, place the medicine in front of the house where someone can get it and move on." As he struggled through the storm, his progress was reported over the phone line, house by house: "This is Ed Barnes, Carson was just here and he is on his way to the Clarke place next." When he completed all the deliveries, he struggled to his own home place and collapsed on his bed to sleep around the clock. When he finally awoke he was running a fever and before the day was over it became clear that he was the latest flu victim. By the fifth day the flu had run it course and the doctor was making final rounds, it was rumored that Carson wouldn't make. Family legend says that Carson's father took his bible and disappeared into one of the bedrooms and started praying and when he emerged hours later, Carson's fever had broken. |
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