Scarlet fever cases surface in Ferndale in 1921
The new year rang in sweetly in 1921, with the news of three “exceptional” concerts heading to Humboldt County in January of that year.
The Jan. 7, 1921 Humboldt Times newspaper reported that soprano Ethel Johnson was going to perform with pianist Suzanne Pasmore Brooks in Eureka as part of a Sequoia Music Club program.
A few days after that concert, the Scotia Theater Association was hosting a musical program in Scotia featuring soprano Mrs. Raegan Talbot accompanied by violinist Cedric Wright and pianist Thomas Freeman. A day after the Scotia concert, the Humboldt State Normal School Lyceum Committee was holding a recital with various artists performing in Arcata.
All three concerts were arranged by the extension division of the University of California in keeping with the policy of Professor Leon Richardson and Supervisor of Music Julian Waybur to furnish the “best music available” to communities throughout the state.
The Jan. 8, 1921 Humboldt Times reported officials at Humboldt State Normal School were seeking community members to provide rooms for students starting the new term on Jan. 17 of that year. Also, construction was wrapping up on several new buildings on the Arcata campus. The newspaper said, “Before the end of the present week, the entire group of buildings will be under roof. All are under roof at the present time except the auditorium.”
Some of the scheduled class for the winter 2021 session at the school included nature study, storytelling, arithmetic, piano, sociology, reading and more.
The Jan. 9, 1921 Humboldt Times said that during the month of December 1920, 3,000 tons of stone had been taken out of the Minor Quarry on Warren Creek to be used for North Jetty repair work. Work on the jetty had been delayed now and again, the paper said, because of heavy rains that flooded the quarry and caused “considerable trouble” on the railroad connecting it with the Northwestern Pacific line.
There were two ship arrivals into and one departure out of Humboldt County on Jan. 11, 1921, according to the Humboldt Times. The Santa Barbara and the Washington entered the bay and the Curacao left, heading for Portland, Oregon.
The bar was “rather rough during the early hours,” the paper said, but had improved by nightfall.
The Jan. 13, 1921 Humboldt Times reported that the scarlet fever “epidemic” hitting Ferndale of late appeared to be in decline. The newspaper said, “A number of suspected cases were sent home from the schools today, but so far as known, no certain new cases have developed since yesterday.”
A few days prior to Jan. 13, the newspaper reported that Alice Terkelson, 26, of Ferndale had died of scarlet fever. Her husband, Walter, and their young son were also ill, but both were expected to recover.