Shedding More Light on the History of Eugenics: Are These Ideas Still With Us Today?

Logo from 2nd International Eugenics Congress

It is quite astonishing to consider how widespread the acceptance of eugenics was in this country 100 years ago.  History.com describes Eugenics as "the practice or advocacy of improving the human species by selectively mating people with specific desirable hereditary traits. It aims to reduce human suffering by 'breeding out' disease, disabilities and so-called undesirable characteristics from the human population."

It all sounds so noble.  Let's produce a "better human race." Where it led is quite disturbing. 

What follows is a brief overview of the rise of the Eugenics movement. At the end of this page I will include a link to the more complete timeline this is drawn from.

Darwin's Origin of Species (1859) and Descent of Man (1871) planted seeds that germinated in the form of eugenics, even if he himself did not entertain this notion. "Social Darwinism" was the application of continuous improvement in the human species. It came about that many educated people began to conclude that certain hereditary features (such as "feeble-mindedness") should not be permitted to reproduce.

In July 1893, the Kansas State Asylum became one of the first institutions to put this idea into practice, implementing a program of castration for patients they believed should not reproduce. Four years later Michigan became the first state to introduce a bill permitting the castration of certain types of criminals and "degenerates." The bill did not pass.

In the Spring of 1901. David Starr Jordan published a thesis in Popular Science magazine titled "The Blood of the Nation: A Study in the Decay of Races by the Survival of the Unfit." His aim was to promote eugenics to the general public. It was reprinted as a book in 1902 and again in 1910. He even suggested that the fall of the Greek and Roman empires came about because they didn't take action against the reproduction of inferior people.

Francis Galton coined the name.

In 1904 the Carnegie Institute of Washington opened its Station for Experimental Evolution (SEE) in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. The plans for SEE were developed by eugenicist Thomas Davenport. It was initially to be used for the study of heredity and evolution in plants and animals. What it became in a few years would shock you.

[EdNote: I am reminded here of C.S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength and the National Institute for Co-ordinated Experiments (N.I.C.E.), in which intellectual elites attempt to re-create the world in the image of their own "noble" ideas about the way things should be.]

In 1906 the American Breeders' Corporation formed a Committee on Eugenics. A year later the Eugenics Education Society was created in England. Prominent names associated with the EES include H.G. Wells, Aldous Huxley and others concerned with the problem of overpopulation. Aims included marriage restrictions and sterilization.

[EdNote: There were many events that were taking place in Canada and England which I am bypassing here.]

1909 was a big year for the Eugenics movement. California became the first state to pass a sterilization law. This law remained on the books till 1979! California was soon followed by Washington. Connecticut also passed eugenics legislation that year titled "An Act concerning Operations for the Prevention of Procreation".

Why weren't people speaking out? Or more importantly, why weren't they heard? How did the newspapers cover these issues? I am imagining that this was all being presented in the name of science. "The science says that if we don't do something, it will be the end of the human race." Was that the argument? Or was it, "These are smart people. We should listen to them."

As Home Secretary (1910-11), Winston Churchill expressed his concerns about "the unnatural and increasingly rapid grown of the feeble-minded and insane classes." 

Back in the U.S. Teddy Roosevelt, too, expressed his concerns, writing that "the prime duty, the inescapable duty of the good citizen of the right type is to leave his or her blood behind him in the world; and that we have no business to permit the perpetuation of citizens of the wrong type." 

In 1911 Nevada passed a pro-sterilization law, but it was never used. New Jersey also passed legislated that was later found unconstitutional.

As you read through the writings and laws being proposed, it was primarily targeted to feeble-mindedness and sexual deviance. In 1912 New York became the 8th state to pass a sexual sterilization law. That same year the First International Eugenics Congress was held in London. The aim was to address this issue head on: Western Civilization is in danger of collapse unless we deal with the weak and "genetically undesirable".

In 1913 more states passed legislation including Michigan, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Kansas. Wisconsin's law was to eliminate reproduction by "defectives".

In 1917 Oregon, New Hampshire, South Dakota and Idaho followed suit with their own laws. Idaho's legislation was vetoed by the governor, however. 

In 1919 North Carolina passes its first sterilization law. The wording was such that its noble aim is to improve the lives of inmates by allowing them to be sterilized.  Alabama followed with a similar law that same year. Pennsylvania succeeded with such a law two years later.

The Second International Eugenics Congress was held in New York at the Museum of Natural History in 1921. 53 scientific papers were presented. Alexander Graham Bell served as honorary president of this conference. Major Leonard Darwin, Charles Darwin's' son and  chairman of the British Eugenics Society from 1911-1928, gave the opening talk. 300 people attended and afterwards a committee was formed to promote eugenic ideas in America. 

G.K. Chesterton

In 1922 GK Chesterton's Eugenics and Other Evils was published. The subtitle was An Argument Against the Scientifically Organized State. Much of his research took place before the Great War, but he eventually discarded it because he believed saner heads would prevail. When it became apparent that the eugenics movement had grown stronger than ever, he assembled this book and made a case on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves.

In the 20's still more states bought in to the need for sterilization laws. More books in support of these ideas were pushed out into the mainstream. 

Virginia went further than to just pass a sterilization act. They also passed a Racial Integrity act that defined what it meant to be white. If you had "one drop" of non-Caucasian blood then you could not be called White. The aim was to get everyone registered so the state could protect whiteness. Marriage licenses could not be granted until both parties could prove they were of the same race. In 1927 the sterilization law was challenged in Buck vs. Bell. The Supreme Court upheld the law, approving Virginia's right to sterilize people who are "socially inadequate."

By 1925 Idaho finally joined the eugenics/sterilization trend, as did Utah and Maine. (They must have had a new governor.) Minnesota also joined the herd. "An act to provide for the sterilization of feeble-minded and insane persons." In 1928 and '29 Mississippi, Arizona and West Virginia followed. In 1931 Oklahoma and Vermont legalized sterilization of the unfit.

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OK, let's stop a minute and ask how these laws were justified. First, by citing educated people who said "unless we take drastic action, the human race is in trouble." Second, by having articles published that pointed out how expensive it is to finance all these people we have set aside in mental institutions.

In more recent times one of the arguments used to justify euthanasia has been this financial argument. It costs money to keep people alive at the end of their lives. It begs the question, do people only have value when they have a utilitarian function in society? Are the handicapped and elderly expendable?

1932 could possibly be a major turning point in the advance of eugenics. The Third International Eugenics Congress was held in New York, once again at the American Museum of Natural History. Charles Darwin's son Leonard served as chairman. Birth control was being heavily advocated at this time, so vice-chair Henry Osborn addressed this head on. Should we rely on Birth Control or Birth Selection to improve our future humanity?

Osborn began his talk noting how cataclysmic plagues (tuberculosis, malaria, typhus, etc.) bring out the best of mankind's genius to solve, eradicate or minimize their impact. In the next breath he states, "In this world cataclysm of overpopulation, of over-multiplication of the unfit and unintelligent, of the reign of terror of the criminal, of the tragedy of unemployment, eugenics ceases to be the few pioneers like Galton and Leonard Darwin; it is forced upon our attention." 

In other words, the great threat to humanity was reproduction of "inferior" people.

And the proposed solution? "The only permanent remedy is the improvement and uplift of the character of the human race through prolonged and intelligent and humane birth selection aided by humane birth control."

This is pretty bold medicine. How is it to be implemented?

The reason I stated that 1932 was the high water mark for the movement is that in 1933 the newly elected Chancellor of Germany began to implement all these wonderful ideas he received from the eugenicists. He wasted no time getting down to it. That very same year Germany passed "The Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases." What this meant was the the State had the right to sterilize anyone with a hereditary disease. This included the following: congenital mental deficiency, schizophrenia, manic-depression, hereditary epilepsy, hereditary St. Vitus’ Dance (Huntington’s Chorea), hereditary blindness, hereditary deafness, serious hereditary physical deformity, and chronic alcoholism.

In other words, if you were using too much alcohol to self-medicate because you were trying to cope with the craziness taking place around you, you could be sterilized if someone reported you for using it to excess.

Germany's next step was to pass a law forbidding intermarriage between races. In Nazi Germany this applied to Aryans and Jews. Both intermarriage and sexual relations were forbidden. In other words, the State had a right to know what was happening in your bedroom. This same year, 1937, Jews were stripped of their citizenship.

In 1939 Hitler enacted Action T-4, a natural outcome around the thinking that produced everything else we have been appalled at here. Action T-4 was "a program of euthanasia, to kill the incurable, physically or mentally disabled, emotionally distraught, and the elderly." Though purportedly discontinued in 1941 it continued covertly till the end of the war in 1945.

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"Now that we know the laws of heredity, it is possible to a large extent to prevent unhealthy and severely handicapped beings from coming into the world. I have studied with great interest the laws of several American states concerning prevention of reproduction by people whose progeny would, in all probability, be of no value or be injurious to the racial stock. The possibility of excess and error is still no proof of the incorrectness of these laws. It only exhorts us to the greatest possible conscientiousness." --Adolph Hitler

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Eugenics laws remained on the books for decades.
Do their ideas and influence remain with us today?

Is this ugly history of Eugenics behind us now? Surprisingly, it's not.  Last summer Forbes published a story about unlawful Do Not Resuscitate orders for disabled patients in England. Gus Alexiou wrote "In the report titled, 'Abandoned, forgotten and ignored – the impact of Covid-19 on Disabled people', several survey respondents attested to being pressured by their doctor to have DNR, or Do Not Attempt Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation orders placed on their medical records."

This month the National Review published a similar account titled "U.K. Forced Do Not Resuscitate Orders on Covid Patients with Developmental Disabilities." The NR story drew information for the piece from journalism pursued by The Guardian. "People with learning disabilities have been given do not resuscitate orders during the second wave of the pandemic, in spite of widespread condemnation of the practice last year and an urgent investigation by the care watchdog."

A story in The Pillar, a Catholic publication, asks the question, "Will Biden oppose the creeping eugenics of Covid healthcare?" One can only hope that ethicists have a voice at the table whenever these matters get discussed.

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Related Links
A More Perfect Union: Eugenics In America
Birth Selection vs Birth Control
Ideas Have Consequences. Bad Ideas Have Bad Consequences.

PRIMARY SOURCE for this Timeline of Eugenics-Related Events:
The Eugenics Archive Timeline
https://eugenicsarchive.ca/discover/timeline/5172ef15eed5c60000000023

Marketing Matters: Lessons from the Disruption

Originally published in Business North, June 2020

One of the first things I thought of when the quarantine/lockdown struck was Andy Grove’s Only the Paranoid Survive. The introductory blurb for this late 90s bestseller begins like this: “In Only the Paranoid Survive, Grove reveals his strategy for measuring the nightmare moment every leader dreads — when massive change occurs and a company must, virtually overnight, adapt or fall by the wayside — in a new way.”

The concept from Grove’s book that I remember most was the 10X concept. In one of the chapters he detail how there are a variety of forces that have a bearing on one’s business in one way or another. Cost of raw materials, cash flow, government regulations, legal matters, consumer trends, competition, etc. Grove asks, “What happens when one of these variables unexpectedly changes by a ten-fold degree?”

The full title of the book is Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company. The book is an insightful and candid account of a challenging period in the history of Intel, the company Andy Grove founded and led for many years.

We never know from which angle that 10X tsunami will come. We do know that adjustments will have to be made if we don’t want to be swept away.

Grove’s purpose was to make us aware that although we can be slammed by the unexpected, we can actually exploit these events to come out stronger and better.

Current Events
The Coronavirus Disruption is precisely the kind of 10X tidal wave that Andy Grove warned us about. You don’t see it coming. You can’t even determine what its full impact will be. And until the fog lifts, it waits to be seen all the things we will have learned from this.

One surprising lesson was discovering how quickly people were able to adjust from working at the office to working from home. In our contemporary hyperconnected world it seems to have happened quickly, and certainly would have been different in the 70s or 80s.

When it’s over many companies will be evaluating whether their people were more productive or less. It could change the way companies work. Already, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has announced that Twitter employees can work from home forever. Fewer meetings, more time to make calls and get real work done. Less commuting also gives people more time each day.

Working from home can have distractions, however, and for some there’s value in getting out of the house.

Impacts on Marketing

A few weeks back I caught one of AimClear’s weekly Facebook presentations in which founder Marty Weintraub and Susan Wenograd discussed how crisis changes consumer behavior, specifically with regard to this currant pandemic. I found it fascinating because instead of having the media interpret data, Weintraub and Wenograd showed us the data that’s available to all. We were free to draw our own conclusions, though they also highlighted features that a novice might not catch. The webinar was entertaining, something akin to Siskel & Ebert, except their banter involved explorations of marketing data as opposed to Hollywood filmdom.

What’s going on? Weintraub’s answer: Google can show you.

Follow the Data
As every marketer knows, the world is awash in data. Google has made it its business to organize this information and make it useful, in a variety of ways. Google Trends presents a raw cross-section of actual search requests that people make every day on Google. The info is categorized and aggregated by whatever demo size you’d like, from global to local baskets.

According to Weintraub, “Marketers use Trends to measure trending search interest for keywords and related keywords. Nimble marketers can use Trends to:
• Spot rises and losses in brand interest for their brands and competitors
• Note fluctuations in keywords related to: shopping, information, and/or interests
• Craft sales and competitive strategies
• Explain corollary trends in site traffic and revenue
• Categorize and subcategorize search interest
• Understand geographical distribution of search interest”

For example, if you go to Google Trends (Google it if you don’t know the URL) and type in the words “home delivery” in the Search bar, you’ll see a relatively flat line for the past year until March when it dramatically broke to the upside.

Another one is “curbside pickup.” How often have you Googled that in the past 20 years? It’s spiked big time these past two months. Do you deliver or do curbside pickup? Is it on your website?

There are a variety of ways local marketers can use this information. And best of all the tool is free. (To learn more about how to use Google Trends as a marketing tool, ask Google.)

Should You Pull Back on Advertising?

You miss a lot when you don't stay current with what's happening. This woman
missed the Industrial Revolution, returned just in time for the Internet.
She is now the brains behind the Google Algorithm.

According to the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) nearly 90% of all large multinationals have deferred new ad campaigns while more than half are holding back for six months or more. Is this a good move for you though?

It is generally agreed that brands should not “go dark” during the crisis. In fact, history has a number of interesting anecdotes regarding gains and losses in market share during recessions.

During the Great Depression Post cereals cut their advertising while Kellogg’s doubled down and even introduced a new product, Rice Krispies. Kellogg’s profits increased by 30% and the company overtook their rival in market share.

In the 1990-91 recession McDonald’s cut its ad spend, confident of its leadership in the fast food space it dominated. Golden arches were everywhere. Maybe they thought this was enough of a reminder to keep lovin’ it. Taco Bell and Pizza Hut took a different approach, pushing aggressive campaigns that respectively earned them 41% and 60% increases in sales. McDonald’s sales decreased by 28%.

Summing Up
As Thomas Paine famously wrote, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” Arguments can be found to support nearly any action you take. If there’s ever been a time to step up our game, this is it. Only the paranoid survive.

# # # #

Large Multinationals Tighten Ad Spend; WFA press release, 13 May 2020. https://wfanet.org/knowledge/item/2020/05/13/Large-multinationals-tighten-ad-spend-squeeze-according-to-WFA-Covid-19-Response-Tracker

Duluth Dylan Fest Goes Virtual -- No Waiting in Lines!

When the start of Major League Baseball was pushed back, little did we know how many other dominoes would fall. The Summer Olympics, NCAA March Madness, Duluth's Homegrown Music Festival, Grandma's Marathon and -- sadly for many of us, Bob Dylan's Japan tour and U.S. tours all fell by the wayside. Some of our sorrows over that last item were alleviated, in part, with the release of several new songs and now a new double album of original material, Rough and Rowdy Ways. That's medicine I don't mind taking.

In a similar vein, as a result of this year’s global pandemic the Duluth Dylan Fest Committee has re-configured its plans for 2020, offering several virtual events in place of the usual in-person celebrations here in the Northland.

Here's what's on the docket now in lieu of the events that had been scheduled to run from May 16 through May 24, Bob’s 79th birthday. Local musicians slated for live stream performances include Marc Gartman, Cowboy Angel Blue, Gene LaFond and Amy Grillo. We will also air on YouTube the Bob Dylan Revue Concert from 2019 which took place last year at Sacred Heart Music Center. The Bob Dylan Revue Band, led by Mark Bennett, performed Bob Dylan Birthday Concerts throughout the 1990s to early 2000s.

To stay up to date, visit the Duluth Dylan Fest on Facebook.

DULUTH DYLAN FEST 2021 
Next year the Northland will be celebrating Bob Dylan’s 80th birthday. In anticipation, we’re desirous of making it The Year of Bob here in St. Louis County, where Bobby Zimmerman spent his youth. The dates for Duluth Dylan Fest 2021 have been finalized for May 22-30.

Virtual Duluth Dylan Fest Events

May 17--Cowboy Angel Blue Facebook Live

May 20--Virtual Dylan Fest Performance by Marc Gartman

May 23--Virtual Bob Dylan Revue Reunion Concert Revisited (YouTube)

May 24--Al Diesan, Streaming Live from Rome Italy
Noon-2:00 P.M. CST  Diesan, a Bob Dylan sounds-alike and performer will be streaming live from Rome.

Danny Fox Livestream Virtual Duluth Dylan Fest Event
5:00 p.m. CST--Two-time winner of the Dylan Days Singer/Songwriter contest will be streaming live from Chicago

Gene LaFond and Amy Grillo

7:30 p.m. CST--Bob Dylan Birthday Bash Livestream with Gene LaFond & Amy Grillo
According to Geno, the event "will be a lot of lesser heard Bob tracks, a smattering of stories from my experiences on the road with Bob & his gigs buddy Larry Kegan & a couple of our new originals. It will be big fun honoring the maestro on his 79th!"


IN A SEMI-RELATED EVENT:
May 22 there will be a Cookin' At the O Covid 19 Live Stream Benefit
Benefiting COVID-19 healthcare workers across our region, specifically the Min No Aya Win Clinic on the Fond Du Lac Reservation, Riverwood Hospital in Aitkin, St. Luke’s in Duluth, Mercy Hospital in Moose Lake, Cloquet Community Memorial Hospital in Cloquet.
How does this related to Dylan Fest? Bass player Billy Peterson, who recorded with Bob in Minneapolis (Blood on the Tracks), is in the mix. The jazz trio also includes Andrew Walesch, piano & vocals, & Glenn "Swanny" Swanson on drums.

Related Links
Rolling Like Thunder with Gene LaFond
Gene LaFond Shares Memories of Dylan
Jazz Fans Give a Standing O to Carlton Room Performers
Lives Touched and Energized: Dylan, Blood, Tracks, Metsa--Part 3

Seeking Balance in a Pandemic by Guest Blogger Dr Ron Newman

In addition to being my brother for most of my life (I was two when he was born), Ron Newman is a psychologist in Mays Landing, NJ who received his PhD. at Temple University in 1990. In addition to his private practice in South Jersey he has made 26 trips to South America to train pastors and lay leaders in counseling. 

Seeking Balance in a Pandemic

Dr. Ron Newman, Mays Landing, NJ

Currently, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread around the world, influencing world leaders to take measures which have caused both healthcare and economic crises. In February, I was in Disney World enjoying time with my family. Within a few short weeks the world was in lockdown mode. Now is an appropriate time for me to summarize some key points for those of you who want to manage your own wellness and build resilience.

Pandemics increase anxiety and fear, in large part due to the uncertainty principle. We don’t know the future, thus cannot control it. Our temper can flare and emotional reactions can feel overwhelming. Some key questions to ask yourself are: What is beyond your control? What are you able to influence by choices you make? For example, you may not be able to control the news about what is happening in the world, but you can control the amount of time you spend watching it. The following suggestions can help you find balance in your life so you can think clearly and cope rationally with this pandemic.

1) Calm yourself. Practice centering and mindfulness exercises. Relax your body and calm your emotions. Simple deep breathing with long, slow breaths and progressive relaxation techniques can help. Meditative prayers and prayers of surrender can help, along with petitionary prayers.

2) Grieve as needed. Losses come in many forms, and awareness of our grief can help us work through it and find the comfort and resolution we need over time. Acceptance of your emotional experience, maintaining healthy memories, forgiveness where needed, and talking it out with a supportive person, all have their place when grieving.

3) Renew your mind. Develop healthy thinking. Hold on to hope. Avoid “awfulizing”, where we focus on how awful things are, taking our minds off those things for which we can be grateful. Avoid “learned helplessness” where we get stuck feeling vulnerable and helpless, rather than understanding what reasonable action steps we can take. This is not a time for blaming and being judgmental of ourselves or others, but rather for showing grace and working toward healthy solutions. Maintain an appropriate sense of humor, in spite of the grief that comes at times like this.

4) Solve problems creatively. Engage your reasoning and critical thinking abilities. List problems separately, so you can take the time to brainstorm creative solutions for each more fully. Be proactive, recognizing the power you do have to act. Develop and work the plans you develop addressing each problem identified.

5) Listen to authorities. Experts on the spread of the virus have given advice regarding care for yourself and others, social distancing, and even what symptoms constitute a need to be tested. While this information may change as we learn more, look to specialists for their knowledge and expertise. Good sources of information can be found through various websites, including the CDC government sites or WebMD.

6) Practice extra hygiene principles. The COVID-19 virus at present is known to be easily transmitted in a variety of ways, such as surfaces that people touch and is even airborne through coughs or sneezes. It is reasonable to wash hands for 20 seconds, to avoid touching your face, to possibly wear gloves and masks when around others, and follow other recommendations from the experts.

Photo by LOGAN WEAVER on Unsplash

7) Socialize from a distance. Use this as an opportunity to connect with people via social media platforms, phone calls, or even personal conversations from six feet away. This may be with distant relatives and friends, or neighbors with whom you have little contact. We are all part of the human race, which unites us even with others whose cultures may be less familiar to us.

8) Practice physical health strategies. Sufficient sleep, nutrition and exercise are foundations for health, so consider your personal health practices. Build your immune system, strengthen your muscles, and take charge of your health. Eat less sugar and more plant-based nutrition. Walking in the woods, biking a lonely road, or hiking on a remote trail can all be positive healthy experiences for you.

9) Grow through new challenges. Fear and seeing the threats ahead, especially when health and financial crises are already present, can paralyze people and lead to unhealthy coping strategies. Turn your “threats” into “challenges” to think creatively about different options that are within your power to manage. Make specific plans for growth in different areas. Explore new ways to earn income. Read again, selecting various types of books. Write. Learn a musical instrument. Sing. Develop your spirituality. Explore your options for growth.

10) Practice mindful empathy. Care for yourself and others requires an awareness which we can call loving mindfulness. Tune in to your own struggles, emotions, and physiological sensations (such as rapid heart beat, perspiration, etc.) with compassionate acceptance. Then turn this empathy toward others. Isolation can be extremely detrimental, and crises can bring opportunities to address the needs of others. When others need food, for example, drop some off on a porch without physically handing it to them. Love your neighbor as yourself.

11) Accept changes. A “normalcy bias” leads people to think things won’t change, but will go back to things as they were in the past. This may not happen. Accept this possibility, and evaluate different potential scenarios. You can then plan for different contingencies to regain your balance in life.

12) Develop your faith. Crises often bring opportunities for spiritual growth and development for people. Explore your religious tradition more deeply. Read your Bible. Discover new ways to pray. Read the writings of spiritual leaders whom you respect. Coming to peace in this area can bring you full circle back to point #1 in this article, helping you find your equilibrium regardless of what life throws at you.

Ronald S. Newman, Ph.D. is a psychologist in Mays Landing, NJ who now does teletherapy. He can be reached by mail at: P.O. Box 2148, Vineland, NJ 08362; by email at: write2balance@gmail.com, or by phone at: 609-567-9022. His blog and other information can be accessed at: www.drronnewman.com This article originally appeared in the Hammonton Gazette April 8, 2020.

Related Links
A Good News Story: Death Estimates Shrinking
Seeking Balance When Experiencing Grief

Duluth Armory History, Including the Role Played During Our Last Pandemic in 1918

The life of Dylan is one of legends. The man himself has become something of a mythological figure during the course of his lifetime. One of the signature stories in that legendary life is his trip to Duluth to hear Buddy Holly at the Duluth National Guard Armory the last evening of January 1959. Three days later Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) were dead, killed in a plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa.

The Armory encounter made an impression on the young Bobby Zimmerman, who referred to it later in interviews as well as in his autobiography. No doubt that tragedy that occurred in an Iowa cornfield made an equally powerful impression. (Read the story here.)

I mention all this because a friend who serves on the Armory board posted on my Facebook wall a link to Zenith City Online noting that this day in 1915 was the official opening of the historic Duluth Armory. [This blog post was originally published on November 22, 2015.]

From very early on the Duluth Armory had a storied existence. World War I was in effect, though the U.S. had not fully engaged. Nevertheless the Armory served as home for a full-scale regiment, comprised of the 34th (Red Bull) Division and the 125th Field Artillery.

It didn't take long for the Armory to get put to use and in 1918 our boys joined the Doughboys to engage in a war many people still don't understand. 317 Duluth soldiers lost their lives in Europe as a result.

But the worst was yet to come.

That autumn the Spanish Flu epidemic reached Duluth. The flu was so deadly that on October 8 the city commissioners put the entire city on lockdown. People were forbidden from shopping, going to church or congregating of any kind. It was a city-wide quarantine.

Four days after this edict, the Cloquet Fire hit. When I first visited Hermantown, just over the hill from Duluth's Western rim, in the late 1970's I couldn't help but notice that there were no really tall trees. I learned then about the Cloquet Fire. The reality is that the fire burned everything South to North around the entire outskirts of Duluth. Innumerable homes were lost, and more than 600 died. People who had gone to work that morning were unable to return home that night, many wondering whether their loved ones escaped or were consumed.

Where did all these people? Most were housed at the Armory and a few other structures where people could be attended to. Unfortunately, the Spanish influenza was in full force, and all these people in one place only contributed to its spread. Over 300 lives were taken by the flu. It was a dark year for the Zenith City.

As George Harrison once penned, all things must pass, and certainly these dark clouds of 1918 ultimately lifted after a season. No doubt our current quarantine and 2020 is challenging for our nation and the world, but it's not our first historic crisis. Let's pray that we avoid the worst, find our "best selves" as we come through to the other side.

Related Links
dulutharmory.org/about/
My 2013 Armory Update
The 1918 influenza pandemic killed thousands of Minnesotans

Historic Armory Post Card is from the informative Historic Duluth website Zenith City Online. Thank you, Tony, for your invaluable caretaking of Duluth's history.
PRE-ORDER an autographed copy of Tony Dierckins' Duluth: An Urban Biography

Information about our tragedies of 1918 came from a presentation by Dan Hartman at a Libations at the Library event here in Duluth.

Coronavirus Pandemic Notes and Quotes

Let's start with some positives.

1. I read that a couple in India aged 93 and 88 caught Covid-19 and have recovered.

2. A friend of mine and his daughter caught it, never went to get tested because they did not want to waste the testing supplies. Their symptoms were identical to what's been described as going around, which leads me to believe there are massive quantities of other people who have gotten it but whom are not included in the numbers. WHAT THIS MEANS IS that it is far more pervasive than we realize, but also that the death ratio is far smaller than we feared. [EdNote: We will be monitoring this situation.]

3. Both Abbott and Johnson & Johnson appear to be on a fast track solution.

* * * *
Unfortunately, it's not all roses here on planet earth, though, and we can't pretend otherwise. Some people who get the fever have said they've never experienced anything like it. “It was like somebody was beating me like a piñata,” said CNN anchor Chris Cuomo.

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A Great Escape

There are riots beginning to take place in many parts of the world including China, Lebanon, South Africa and Mexico. Prison riots are breaking out due to panic and overcrowding in many other places: Brazil, Colombia, Tehran & Iranian prisons and elsewhere. The common denominator: Fear. Fear causes people to panic and behave irrationally. It's like the static electricity that builds inside a storm, producing thunder and lightning. I believe that in many of these places, where those in authority have only a tenuous hold on power, the fear will build on both sides and, as with a dam break, chaos and destruction may ensue.

TO PUT THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE, here's an interesting article about the Spanish Flu, which originated not in China but in Kansas and was carried abroad by U.S. doughboys who were deployed to World War I, quickly spreading the flu throughout Europe. It was tagged the Spanish Flu because Spain newspapers were not censored.

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Here are some a few related articles:

"Is it possible that the politicians are the ones who are panicking, while the people subject to their whims are simply trying to deal with the fallout as best they can?"--Jacob Sullum, 'The Fear, the Panic, Is a Bigger Problem Than the Virus,' Says New York's Governor, Reason

"The line between freedom and security is beginning to blur."--Dean Middleburgh, Can We Trust Big Brother?

"Politicians and the public are alarmingly willing to violate civil liberties in the name of fighting the epidemic." --Jacob Sullum, Will COVID-19 Kill the Constitution? 

* * * *
What's the solution? Larry David says we should all just hunker down and watch television. I myself am working on a book and organizing my files for whatever comes next.

Here's another take on all these things, an article by Dr. Eugene K. Choi which states that the Fear of Covid-19 will harm you more than Covid-19. He proceeds to offer what sounds like sound advice.

I'm curious what people will be saying ten years from now regarding this moment in history. I picture some us someday being asked, "Grandpa, what did you do while the world was in lockdown?"

Duluth Artists, Entrepreneurs Stepping Up and Other Stories of People Helping People

GOOD DEEDS DEPT.
This is a mashup of recent items of note in response to the pandemic.

Downtown Duluth Art Walk Goes Virtual

OK, so we're all keeping a healthy social distance from one another because of this strangest spring of our lives. And I will admit that I'm already missing my usual usual haunts--The Duluth Public Library, various Twin Ports Arts happenings and lunches with friends. Nevertheless, there is much good happening.

This Friday evening there will be a Virtual DDAW. Learn more here at the Facebook event page.
https://www.facebook.com/events/478387489542144/

Zenith Bookstore has closed its doors temporarily but they're still open for business. If your access to reading material is frustrated by our libraries being closed (I think that is half my social life shut down there) you can still order books from Zenith via email: books@zenithbookstore.com or by phone: (218) 606-1777. What they don't have in stock they can get for you, or recommend things in your area of interest. BEST OF ALL, you can have contact-free curbside pickup between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Mondays thru Saturdays.

Independent bookstores support core values of community, creativity, convening, civility, and contact. They provide a place to connect with like-minded individuals and to feel recognized in a world where we often feel like just another face in the crowd, a safe haven of comfort in our ever more fast-paced world.

Visit their website for more offers and information about future readings, book signings and other author events.  https://zenithbookstore.com/
Why Bookstores Matter
Why It's Important to Have Community Bookstores
You can read more about Zenith Bookstore here.

Free Digital Marketing Help for Local Businesses

Social Media Specialist Daisy Quaker is offering to help businesses that are not online or are struggling with where to start. Here's Daisy's message:

Building an online presence for any business is more important than ever before. Thus, I'm donating an hour of my time for each business for free. Think of it like a drive-thru clinic. I'll figure out what your challenges are, giving you some guidance and help you get set up on any platform as needed. To take advantage of this offer, any business owner can sign up for a time slot on my calendar, we’ll hop on a call, and I’ll help them free of charge.

I can help with: Google My Business Setup, Facebook Business Page Set up, a guide to free online resources for your business (e.g., tying to figure out how to create online videos? Create content? Email? I can give ideas, a tutorial or share resources). It's open-ended because I'd like to give help that is specific and actionable to the business. Business owners can book a time here: https://www.hiredaisy.com/free-business-help/

Here's Something I Saw on FB
Lucie Amundsen, wrote an opinion piece for our local newspaper in which she said, “Our caring can be this crisis’s silver lining.” She exhorted people to commit compassionate acts in the community as a way of coping with coronavirus. “Nothing combats fear and anxiety like action. Do something. Do that thing you’re good at and share it up and down your street.”

And Here's A New Cottage Industry: Sewing Face Masks 

Marilyn French 

I saw this on Facebook, too, a photo of Marilyn French sewing face masks for the COVID-19 pandemic up at Rocky Wall Studio craft room in Silver Bay up on the North Shore. She's doing this as part of a region-wide effort coordinated by Hannah Johnson Fabrics and Sewing Studio of Duluth here.

Nelson, who posted one of these photos on FB, has been a longtime board member for the Armory Arts & Music Center and a major supporter of all things Dylan. I asked for a photo, and he suggested working a reference to Masked & Anonymous into this story. Not really hard to do.

Are you hearing stories of good deeds being done? Share them here in the comments.

Related Links
Eye-Opening Slideshow Shows Progress of the Pandemic from Beginning of the Year
Real-Time Map of the Spread of COVID-19 (Sobering)

Lions and Tigers, and Swine Flu… Oh My!

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. ~ H. P. Lovecraft.

Evidently a lot of people are seriously concerned about the swine flu which has penetrated our shores. The Washington Post gave it a full page of coverage and in one hour yesterday there were 10,000 tweets on Twitter pertaining to the latest details of this potential epidemic. A search on Google News for swine flu revealed more than 33,423 news articles about the potential pandemic.

There may be good reasons for concern when it comes to these kinds of things. The 1918-19 Influenza Pandemic killed more people than World War I which preceded it. In fact, that flu killed more people than the Black Death Bubonic Plague of 1347-51.

Children would skip rope to a nursery rhyme about the flu that went like this:

I had a little bird
Its name was Enza.
I opened the window,
and in-flu-enza.

The number of actual deaths in Mexico from flu has been less than 200 and only 26 attributed to the strain of flu being called "swine flu." Ironically, while we're telling Americans not to travel to Mexico, the European Union is beseeching its people to forgo travelling to the U.S.

If all this flu news is giving you the blues and you want to keep current with it all, here are some steps you can take to track the swine flu.

I have not lost any sleep over this except to worry a little whether it's possible get infected thru online social networks. Actually, maybe someone will suggest that MySpace and Facebook are helping ameliorate the spread of the disease since we do all our socializing online now instead of face-to-face.

For the record, if you're especially concerned, the Center for Disease Control has a lot of good information available, too. And don't worry about those pork chops in the fridge. They'll be just fine.

To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another. ~ Katherine Paterson.