100 years ago in The Record

Saturday, Nov. 2, 1918. Public life will begin to return to normal after the worst of the Spanish flu epidemic as Troy’s movie theaters and public schools reopen next week, The Record reports. The theaters, which were closed by order of city health officer Dr. Melville Dickinson on October 10, will reopen on Monday, November 4. City schools will reopen two days later, on Wednesday, November 6. City officials saw no reason to reopen the schools on Monday when the following day is the Election Day holiday. “The public schools are being given thorough ventilation and cleaning in preparation for the reopening next week, so that there will be no danger of contagion,” our reporter writes, “A majority of the theaters in the city have been thoroughly cleaned and fumigated during the closed period and are regarded as safe for patrons.” A ban on public funerals, imposed just last week under pressure from Record readers, will remain in effect until further notice. Our paper criticized Dickinson for failing to curtail religious services, but Mayor Cornelius F. Burns defends the health officer today. “The health officer cannot be commended too highly for his manner in handling the epidemic,” the mayor says. Dickinson “has been subject to many trying things during the epidemic and in many instances was criticized severely for his handling of the situation. But he was in close touch with the highest authorities at all times and I believe we should have more confidence in the authorities in this matter than in the laity.” More than 100 people have died of flu in Troy, but the city is “one of the few in the entire country that the ravages of the disease have not taken a heavier hold.” At the present time, “there is no occasion for alarm as to epidemic conditions in the city.” Looking Ahead To An Election Rush Women in Troy will vote in local and statewide elections for the first time next Tuesday after receiving the right to vote through a referendum last year. Public and political party officials are urging women to vote on time and in a timely manner. “Among the new voters there is apparently an impression that the polls do not close until 10 o’clock at night,” The Record reports. That’s when primary polls close, but Election Day polls close at 6 p.m. The city board of elections advises women to vote between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. or between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., to avoid crowds. At least two local collar factories will close at noon on Tuesday so their female employees can exercise their franchise.