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Southside Hospital opened in 1911, on the site of the present Babylon Post Office, on Cooper Street. The hospital was chartered by New York State in 1913 and was the first community hospital in Suffolk County. After many discussions about expanding the hospital, the facility relocated to Bay Shore in 1923, where it continues to serve Long Island residents.
The original hospital occupied the former Cooper family residence which had been built around 1873; the building was razed in 1931. |
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INFLUENZA EPIDEMIC, 1918
Since the start of our 2020 pandemic, there have been many references to the influenza epidemic that spread across the world, starting in 1918. Even before that particular flu assault, our communities faced many contagious diseases. In the short time from 1917 through the summer of 1918, Town of Babylon residents confronted polio, measles, whooping cough and, even, small pox.
Small Pox – A single case, the first case in the Town of Babylon since its founding, was brought by a gentleman visiting the West Babylon School principal. As a result, the principal was quarantined, all pupils in the West Babylon school – about 130 – were vaccinated. In addition, the railroad car from Brooklyn to Babylon and the trolley car from Babylon to Lindenhurst, used by the visitor, were fumigated, and all passengers and crew were vaccinated. (March, 1917)
Infantile Paralysis - Polio – In the State of New York, less than 100 cases of infantile paralysis were reported in contrast to nearly 10,000 the year before. (September, 1917)
Measles – The Babylon school reported an epidemic that left about 50 students absent. (March, 1918)
Whooping Cough – In Babylon village, 200 cases of whooping cough required non-immune students to stay away from school for at least 14 days. When out in public, persons with whooping cough had to wear a yellow ribbon on their left arm. Failure to wear the ribbon, resulted in the person being quarantined in their homes. (May, 1918)Then came the dreadful INFLUENZA. The first news of flu illness came from reports about local soldiers serving in Europe. By the end of September 1918, Camp Henry J. Damm, a temporary Army aviation field that was located in North Babylon, was put under quarantine. Although there had not been any reported cases, orders were given that “no enlisted men or civilians can go in or out of camp.” However, the first local death was reported. Pvt. William P.J. Wesch, 23, of Babylon, a member of the 6th Company, 152nd Depot Brigade at Camp Upton, Yaphank. He died just 9 days after returning home from Camp Upton, Yaphank.
By the second week of October, flu crept into our Town of Babylon communities. Under the heading “PUBLIC WARNING,” the Babylon village health officer Dr. A.J. Woodruff declared “We have an epidemic of influenza and it behooves every citizen to try to stamp it out.” In a time before disposable facial tissues, he recommended that people “cough, sneeze and spit on pieces of cloth and burn them up.” He described the onset of illness as similar to the common cold that soon gave way to “sudden and severe chilliness, headache, fever and a feeling of sickness and weakness, especially in the lower limbs.”
Unfortunate news came from Queens, Boston, Georgia and elsewhere, that soldiers and former local residents had succumbed to the illness. Locally, the virus took a 76-year-old woman in Lindenhurst, who had been prone to pneumonia, and a 23-year-old woman in Copiague. In Amityville, several cases were reported including five school teachers. In Babylon, there were a few cases of influenza but the patients were described as “doing well under close medical attention.”
By the end of October 1918, the news was less hopeful. The Town of Babylon and the villages of Amityville and Babylon issued quarantine orders, prohibiting public assemblies. The disease took the lives of two dedicated health care professionals. The first was Dr. Albert C. Rice, 36, a Babylon doctor who had been treating patients. He had been a healthy man but, overworked and exhausted, he succumbed to the illness. The second was Mae Powell, 21, wife of James Powell of Babylon, who died at the Women’s Medical College in New York City. The trained nurse had been on duty and reportedly refused to rest until just three hours before she died.
The South Side Signal headline of October 25, 1918 declared, “Pneumonia Claims Many Victims Here – Epidemic of Grip, Influenza and Similar Diseases Has Hit Us Hard and Few Households Escape Its Visitation.” The Lindenhurst community appears to have suffered the most, with physician Dr. Walter B. Wellbrock reported to have “had little time for sleep during the past week making nearly a hundred calls a day.”
The following week, November 1, 1918, the news announced, “Many More Deaths Due To Pneumonia – Epidemic Is Now on the Wane Here – Quarantine Will be Lifted in Babylon Wednesday of Next Week.” In the weeks that followed, fewer and fewer deaths were reported, but even those who survived the outbreak were left will lasting respiratory issues.
In the fall of 1919, as the flu season returned, local health officials acknowledged that they expected a return of the epidemic, but not as severe as the previous year. There were far fewer cases but the illness left its mark on our communities.
Southside Hospital in Babylon village, during the flu outbreak, accommodated just 25 patients. In February 1920, the hospital’s Women’s Auxiliary made an appeal for donations to expand the hospital, expressing concerns that the facility had been overtaxed by the recurring influenza epidemic.
During the 1920 Memorial Day parade and ceremonies in Lindenhurst, the fire department conducted the annual decoration of graves for 47 departed members. It was noted that many of those members had passed away during the flu epidemic of the past two years.
Our local newspapers in 1918 and 1919 included the Amityville Record, the South Side Signal and the Suffolk County News, which were published just once a week. Following, are some of the deaths that struck our local communities, as reported weekly. (Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of everyone who died from influenza. It has been compiled from newspaper articles, which often failed to include people of color, immigrants and the poor.)
September 27, 1918
- Pvt. William P.J. Wesch, 23, of Babylon, a member of the 6th Company, 152nd Depot Brigade at Camp Upton, Yaphank.
- Clarence E. Barto, 53, formerly of Babylon, died of pneumonia at his home in Floral Park.
- Catherine Strickland, 36, a native of Lindenhurst, was the manager of a large Boston restaurant. She was only ill 3 days before her death.
- Amelia Schneider, 76, of Lindenhurst; the German native had been prone to attacks of pneumonia.
- Pvt. Edward Ruback, 22, formerly of Lindenhurst, who had been serving at Camp Greenleaf, Georgia.
- Mabel Smith, 23, of Copiague.
- Andrew J. Hutchinson, 84, of Babylon.
- Frank Negretti, 17, of Lindenhurst. He was the third child in that family to die. A sister died earlier that year and a brother died in service, in France.
- Sophia Latsch, 27, of Lindenhurst, the mother of four young children.
- Dr. Albert C. Rice, 36, of Babylon.
- George A. Seaman, 3, and Louis F. Seaman, 23, the youngest and oldest sons of Ambrose and Ida Seaman, of West Babylon.
- Mary A. Albin, 27, a native of Amityville and Babylon.
- Blanche Flannagan, of West Babylon, survived by her husband and two children.
- Robert Hardy, of Deer Park.
- Pvt. Percy Landwehr, 27, of Babylon, in the 35th field artillery, at Camp McClellan, Alabama.
- Catherine Mancuso, 28, of Babylon, survived by her five children and husband.
- Matilda Neucall, 32, of Lindenhurst.
- John B.S. Neville, 37, of Lindenhurst.
- Agnes Voss, 31, of Copiague, succumbed to pneumonia after only 5 days.
- Frederick O. Wilson, 30, of Deer Park, had operated a grocery store.
- Clementine Windgoetter, 12, of West Babylon, died at Southside Hospital.
- Three from the Sisters of St. Dominic, Queen of the Rosary, North Amityville – Sister Margaret Bolita, 23.
- Sister Rose Columbia Carolie Goetz, 23.
- Sister Mary Hildegmedie, 51.
- Arthur Delaney, 17, a farmhand at the Sisters of St. Dominic at Queen of the Rosary convent.
- Hamilton Abrams, 23, of Babylon, left a widow and 3 children.
- Louisa Barnetti, 32 of Copiague.
- Evelyn Blydenburg, 21, formerly of Babylon, died in Bay Shore. Her sister, Blanche Flannagan, died a week earlier.
- Louis Boehl, 32, of Lindenhurst, noted for his local theatrical work and as a fine bass singer.
- Frederick DeMott, 36, formerly of Babylon, a gardener. His brother Clifford, 29, died in Bay Shore, the same week.
- Evelyn G. Hill, 21 days, infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Hill, of Lindenhurst
- George R. Hummell, 18, of Lindenhurst, contracted the illness while working at Camp Upton, Yaphank.
- George Kneopful, 38, native of Lindenhurst.
- John Maschi, 35, of Copiague.
- Anna McCurdy, of Wilkesbarre, PA, died at Southside Hospital after coming to visit a friend in West Babylon.
- Lillian Pebella, 25, of Lindenhurst.
- Mae Powell, 21, of Babylon.
- Joseph Roggi, 23, of Lindenhurst, was the railroad agent at the Massapequa railroad station.
- Edward F. Seaman, 22, formerly of Babylon, died at his Bloomingdale, NJ, home. His wife Florence also died.
- Carmello Varva, 6, of Copiague.
- Mary Yesowit, 34, of Copiague.
- Mary Dietz, 29, of Lindenhurst. She had been widowed the previous year, and left 3 young children.
- Rose Negretti, 40, of Lindenhurst. Her son Frank died a few weeks earlier.
- Charles H. Saxton, 36, of Babylon, was known as Babylon’s “drummer boy.”
- Charles A. Gosline, 18, of Amityville. Several other members of his family were stricken with influenza but appear to have recovered.
- Martin Jaeger, 32, of Lindenhurst, had been employed at Camp Mills, Hempstead.
- Lt. Arthur B. Cary, of North Babylon, died on October 10, while serving in France. He was serving in the Quartermaster Corps National Army.
- Edward Clausing, 27, a summer resident of Babylon, died in New York City.
- Fred W. Ferris, 40, of West Babylon
- Bertha Davis, 28, the wife of Pvt. Oscar S. Davis Jr., of Babylon, who was serving in the medical corps at Camp Upton, Yaphank.
- George R. Louden, 50, of Amityville.
- Viola R. Pearsall, 1, infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William C. Pearsall of Lindenhurst.
- Harry and Caroline Berkmier, husband and wife, 32 and 29. Mrs. Berkmier died 25 minutes after her husband, both at Southside Hospital. They left behind 3 children who were all stricken with influenza, but recovering.
- Alice Irene Davis, 6, the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Davis of West Babylon.
- Mrs. Carlen Kroft, 48, a summer resident of Captree Island, died at her home in New York City.
- William H. Vincent, of Easthampton, was the district deputy for the Odd Fellows. He contracted influenza while visiting the lodges in his district.
- Barbara Visusil, of Lindenhurst, died of tuberculosis after never fully recovering from influenza the previous fall.