Angel Island 1910

The immigration station at Angel Island opened its doors in January 1910. It is estimated that more than 1 million persons coming to and leaving the U.S. were processed through Angel Island, including 175,000 Chinese and 150,000 Japanese immigrants, with some being held there for weeks or even months in horrible conditions.

“Blue Norther” 1911

On 11 November (11/11/11), a “blue norther” hit the Midwestern and Great Plains states. Oklahoma City saw both a record high and a record low temperature within twenty-four hours as temperatures topped at 83 degrees before dropping to 14 degrees. The plummeting temperatures were the result of frigid Arctic air plunging down into the North American continent. A tornado swept through Rock County, Wisconsin, killing eight people and leaving $1,000,000 in property damage. The survivors of the storm were left shivering as the temperatures that night dipped to nearly zero degrees.

World War I 1914

Although the U.S. didn’t enter World War I until 1917, it began in Europe in 1914 and by the time the U.S. had entered the war the world food supply had been severely cut. Farms throughout countries that had formerly been leading agricultural producers had been abandoned as farmers left the fields to take up arms. Fields of wheat became fields of battle and crops were burned, trampled and destroyed. The U.S. became a much-needed source of food for Europe. War gardens were created across the country.

Typhoid Mary 1915

In New York, Mary Mallon, better known as “Typhoid Mary” was found making a living in the only way she knew how–as a cook–at Sloane Hospital for Women in Manhattan under the name of Mary Brown. Mallon had been detected as the source of a small typhus outbreak in 1906 and was put in quarantine until 1910 when she was released under the promise that she would no longer work as a cook. The 1915 transgression landed her back in quarantine where she would live out her life.

Flu Pandemic 1918

In 1918, around the world, “Spanish Influenza” was killing people in the prime of their lives. It’s estimated that 1/5 of the world’s population was infected and it killed between 20 and 40 million people–more than World War I, which by this time was nearing an end. In response to the epidemic, the government set restrictions on public gatherings. In many places, public funerals were prohibited and burials had to take place quickly. Masks and quarantines were commonplace.