100 years ago in The Record
Tuesday, Oct. 8, 1918
Mayor Cornelius F. Burns and city health officer Melville D. Dickinson have ordered Troy’s “principal indoor places of amusement” to close from Thursday, October 10, “until the city authorities are satisfied that the epidemic of influenza has been checked.”
While making the announcement tonight, the mayor and health officer confirm that there are currently 350 cases of the so- called Spanish flu in the Collar City. Despite that, they claim that “the death rate for the time of the year is not above normal, although there are more deaths from pneumonia than usual.”
The city has taken action somewhat ahead of the schedule announced yesterday, when Burns and Dickinson said they would order theaters and other amusement places closed if there was no progress in slowing the spread of the flu over the next 48 hours. They’ve allowed theaters to open tomorrow “because midweek usually marks the change of bill and it was not desirable to embarrass the managers who are willing to co- operate as far as possible.”
Troy’s public schools will remain open for the time being, and churches are expected to keep their normal schedule of services on Sunday. Fraternal and social organizations “are asked if not ordered to abandon any functions they may have in immediate prospect.”
The Rensselaer County Medical Association endorses the city’s action at a meeting tonight, even though “many of the members could not at- tend because they had no time to get away from their cases of illness.”
Liberty Theater Dedicated To-Day
It’s unclear how the mayor’s order will affect Troy’s newest theater, a temporary structure erected at the corner of Broadway and Third street to promote Liberty Bond sales. Despite the epidemic, a crowd of approximately 500 people turns out for this afternoon’s dedication ceremony. “Each noon there will be something of an entertaining nature enacted there,” The Record reports, starting with today’s talk by Liberty Loan organizer John McGlynn and a performance by vocalist Mrs. William T. Lawrence and pianist Emma D. Lotz. Before the mayor’s announcement, McGlynn promises performances tomorrow by Frank Mullane, a vaudeville entertainer currently appearing at Proctor’s Theater, and “theatrical veteran” Edward E. Rice. “Some of the features already engaged for the theater extraordinary include the best vaudeville acts in the country,” our reporter writes, “and only lack of stage space has prevented Mr. McGlynn from booking a very patriotic threering circus, with a sideshow of 100 per cent Americanized freaks and a menagerie hungry for a bite of the kaiser.” McGlynn has also scheduled a celebrity minstrel show at the Music Hall for October 15, with Mayor Burns as the interlocutor.