For all you folks who are concerned about mask mandates and vaccinations, here’s a bit of history.

From the Gonzales, Texas Inquirer published December 29, 2022, under the heading of Gonzales County History:

January 12, 1912 – Notice to public health officials from State Health Officer: if any case of cerebro-spinal-meningitis appear, the patient must be isolated at once, sidewalks must be cleaned and disinfected, citizens should purchase a nose and throat disinfectant from a druggist, public conveyances must be cleaned and disinfected, public gatherings should be avoided, all schools must be closed, and citizens should not spit on the sidewalks.

January 16, 1912 – Guards placed to quarantine Gonzales County, preventing spread of spinal meningitis. All roads entering the county and all depots will be guarded. Schools will not be closed because there are as yet no cases in the city. In order to place the guards, Dr. Maness has to procure tents and supplies for every guard station.

January 18, 1912 – Two cases of meningitis are reported in Waelder (Ed. note: about 15 miles away). Now all entrances to the city of Gonzales are guarded and the schools are closed. No public gatherings should be scheduled. The Opera House has canceled all shows. Church services and meetings are canceled. Everyone who has entered Gonzales as a visitor will be placed in a detention camp about a mile north of the city on the Luling road (formerly known as the poor house property). Several cures for meningitis are printed in the Inquirer in the form of letters from supposed authorities. One was to rub turpentine on the spine, cover with flannel, and then heat up clothes pressing irons and start applying them to the spine until it blisters.

January 24, 1912 – Two cases of meningitis are reported within seven miles of the city.

Six years later, the Spanish flu pandemic would strike. Things got worse. History repeats itself. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. It could be worse…