A hundred years ago, I’m guessing a few Iolans had threatened among themselves to tar and feather Dr. J.S. Sutcliffe, the Allen County Health Officer, who had the authority to determine how long the county would remain in lockdown to ward off the Spanish flu.
Just as the numbers would appear to ebb, they’d spike up again. Nine cases one day, 50 the next, forcing Dr. Sutcliffe to be the bad guy as the stubborn virus held on week after week.
Dr. Sutcliffe was not only battling a virulent bug, but also a U.S. Government that had a war to fight. The last thing Uncle Sam wanted was a dispirited country.
