Mill Town Messenger | July 2020

Overview

The Mill Town Messenger presents Newport Historical Society news, local history features, and pandemic-era community updates. It links past and present by examining the 1918 Spanish Flu alongside Covid-19 responses, museum closures, and public health guidance, while highlighting local volunteers and historical records.

The newsletter reports town projects and preservation efforts, including new interpretive bridge signs, a proposal to name a new bridge for the Sibley family, membership and museum access details, and archival recipes and family histories enriching Newport’s heritage.

You can read the online version of the newsletter here.

This quarterly newsletter is generally published in January, April, July and October.

Main Points

• Spanish Flu Impact: The 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic infected about 500 million people globally, with an estimated death toll between 17 and 50 million, possibly up to 100 million, and struck Newport especially hard in October 1918, causing a sharp rise in deaths, especially among young adults aged 20-40.
• Public Health Measures: During both the 1918 pandemic and Covid-19, measures such as mask-wearing, closing schools and businesses, banning gatherings, and quarantining were implemented to contain the spread, despite public dislike and controversy over masks.
• Community Response: Newport’s response in 1918 included closing schools, grocery stores delivering supplies, banning public gatherings, and organizing relief efforts by the Red Cross, school staff, and local organizations to support the sick and quarantined.
• Healthcare Challenges: The town lacked a hospital during the 1918 pandemic, with the Carrie F. Wright Hospital not incorporated until late 1918, and temporary facilities were set up to care for the ill.
• Notable Local Story: Harvena Joan Brown, a Newport nurse, served during the Spanish Flu at Camp Devens, survived the epidemic, but later died from influenza complications and was the first woman buried with full military honors in Newport.
• Economic and Emotional Strain: Both pandemics caused significant financial and emotional hardship due to closures, unemployment, and loss of services, leading to community stress and mixed reactions to public health rules.
• Historical Reflection: The newsletter emphasizes learning from history rather than erasing or ignoring it, suggesting that confronting uncomfortable truths can help prevent repeating past mistakes.
• Bridge Naming and Local Heritage: The Newport Historical Society has advocated naming a new bridge after the Sibley family, recognizing their historical significance in local industry and community, though the decision has been postponed due to the pandemic.

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