Font Size:

PI 1918 Interviews

Pandemic Influenza 1918 Interviews

Sponsored by the Center for Emergency Preparedness
March 2007

Return to Featured Projects Menu

 

Mrs. Edna Register Boone - Mobile, AL

(11 minutes)

Photo of Edna Boone.

Mrs. Boone, 100 year-old resident of Mobile, tells how her family was the only family in a small rural Alabama area that did not contract the flu during the 1918 flu outbreak. Mrs. Boone's family all became responders in her community. Her parents become instant nurses and she delivered soup to the door of ill families.

Media Files

Watch Video Windows Media Player icon.
View and Print Transcript



 

Mrs. Annie Laurie Williams - Selma, Alabama

(7 minutes)

Photo of Annie Laurie Williams.

The 1918 influenza pandemic was one of the earliest, and perhaps the most traumatic experience to date, in the life of Mrs. Williams, age 91, of Selma. That’s because her father, a jeweler, contracted the disease and became very ill. Even though she was a very young child, her father’s serious illness remains an indelible memory

Media Files

Watch Video Windows Media Player icon.
View and Print Transcript



 

Mrs. Gurtys Robinson - Clanton, Alabama

(6 minutes)

Photo of Gurtis Robinson.

Mrs. Robinson, a 97 year-old resident of Chilton county gives her account of people staying home during the terrible times of the 1918 flu pandemic. As she recalls, "It wasn't just one family that was affected, it was entire communities."

Media Files

Watch Video Windows Media Player icon.
View and Print Transcript



 

Mr. Garfield Johnson - Antioch, Alabama

(15 minutes)

Photo of Garfield Johnson.

Mr. Johnson, a 93-year old resident of Coffee County, reminds us of our inability to imagine the devastation that resulted from the pandemic of 1918.

Media Files

Watch Video Windows Media Player icon.
View and Print Transcript



 

Mrs. Agnes Gatlin - Montgomery, AL

(4 minutes)

Photo of Agnes Gatlin.

Mrs. Gatlin tells about the many people that were sick in her community during the 1918 flu outbreak. Those that were infected were deathly sick and bed-ridden. Others were fearful that they too may become infected with the flu during this time..

Media Files

Watch Video Windows Media Player icon.
View and Print Transcript



Back to Top





Page last updated: January 28, 2026