Mask mandates during 1918 Spanish Flu provoked similar emotions in Las Vegas then and now

Las Vegas, Nevada (KSNV). — In the early 1900s, Las Vegas looks nearly unrecognizable from what it looks like today: a town of just over 2,000 people, a few shops, a post office.

But turning a page into the past, we see their story is similar to today's reality.

Newspaper clippings from the Las Vegas Age and the Goldfield News give us a glimpse into what life was like during the deadly 1918-1919 Spanish Flu pandemic.

The Las Vegas Age explains how similar life then was to now: schools closed, public gatherings were banned and the wearing of face masks was mandated.

In a letter published in the Age by the Clark County Health Officer Dr. Roy Martin, he stressed the importance of preventing the flu from spreading by wearing them.

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"We respectfully urge every person to wear a mask as required by the order of the City Commissioners," he wrote. Adding, “The success of this campaign against influenza depends upon your co-operation. Intelligent people will – others must cooperate. We ask your assistance in enforcing the regulations."

Similar sentiments were published in the Goldfield News: "If the [mask] ordinance is not rigidly enforced, nothing will stop the epidemic from gaining a foothold," wrote one article, adding "The fact that there are comparatively few cases to date, is subscribed the wearing of masks."

Historian and Director of Special Collections of Archives at the UNLV Library Peter Michel says the City of Las Vegas enacted a mask mandate in November 1918.

"They were more than willing to mandate it, to order it, and enforce it, as in the police will arrest you--you will be fined for not wearing a mask," he said. "How did people react to it? Well, pretty much the same way they act to it now."

Michael Green, a UNLV history professor says masks had their historical critics too.

"You had people who opposed them," he said. "San Francisco had an anti-mask demonstration of 2,000 people. Which is a lot more than what we've found with anti-mask demonstrations here."

He says their reasons are ones you might hear today: unconstitutional, uncomfortable and ineffective, especially since masks weren't made from cloth or fabric, but rather gauze.

Michael says historical evidence shows many people did comply with the mask mandates and followed the advice of local doctors.

But not wearing one then across Nevada could get you in trouble, and not just with law enforcement.

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"In other instances, people have taken the punishment into their own hands, and in those cases, those penalties weren't limited to fines," read the Goldfield News.

"Obviously you have vigilante groups," said Michael.

Months later, the threat of the Spanish Flu faded. Leaving behind only pieces of history, and lessons for today.

"There's this old saying," said Green. "'History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes.'"