“Best I can remember it was about 1912 or 13′ when the flu hit the school. My mother told me about all the
kids that got sick–a lot of her school friends died from it. She always wondered why she never got sick.
I think she kinda believed that it was because she still had some work to do here on earth. I think that’s
what made her such good person. She always carried that memory around with her.”
~Ann Henderson, Reflections of Generations
During the influenza epidemic of 1913, public schools were ground zero for the spread of this deadly disease. With mandatory attendance policies, schoolchildren often came to school sick thus exposing classmates and teachers. After severe outbreaks, many schools were shut down for fear that remnants of the illness still remained.
Throughout Montana, many of these old schoolhouses still exist. Somehow preserved despite the passing of time, these buildings are a magnificent reminder of life in another day. This photo was treated in Photoshop in an attempt to resurrect the mood and antiquity of that particular period.
Abandoned school house, western Montana
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