Anyone living through the ups and downs of 2020 might think that all the events are unique. However, Chicago has gone though all this before. In fact, the events of 2020 and 1919 are eerily similar - with the exception that the 20th Century had a few more things happen.
In the last year of World War I, the pandemic known as the Spanish Flu raged through the world. Like their ancestors 100 years later, Chicagoans found themselves in a whole new world. Businesses shut down, mask wearing was instituted, and large gatherings ( including political and sporting events) were banned. Funerals were limited to 10 people. By the time the pandemic was contained, 50 million people around the world had died, 8,510 Chicagoans among them.
On July 21, 1919 things got worse. A blimp caught fire flying over the financial district in Chicago's Loop. It crashed through the skylight of the Illinois Trust And Savings Bank, killing 13 and injuring dozens more. This was the world's first major aviation disaster, beating the infamous Hindenburg event by almost 2 full decades.
The next day, a 6 year old girl disappeared on the North Side. Foul play was suspected and families began to worry about their own children. The terror that griped the city's parents was made worse when the guilty party was caught and confessed to choking the child to death. He had known her and her family had been friendly with him. Citizens began to wonder who they could really trust.
The day of the killer's confession, something far more memorable was sparked. On the South Side of the city, a 17 yr old black teenager was swimming at a segregated beach near 29th Street. He accidentally drifted in into the "white" area where he was stoned until drowning. Riots broke out that spread from the South Side to the Loop. The riots lasted a week, resulting in 38 deaths. Throughout the rest of the country, other racial unrest like this took place. This is known in United Staes history as the Red Summer. During the riots, the Chicago Transit System went on strike, paralyzing the city.
In October, some relief came as the Chicago White Sox baseball team made it into the World's Series. Chicagoans were soon disappointed as the Sox quickly lost the games. A year later it was discovered that eight of the members of the team received money ( $5000 ea.) to purposely lose the series.
Despite these social upheavals, one event occurred in 1919 that would change the city of Chicago forever. The Dusable Bridge replaced the former Rush street bridge. This linked the two sides of Michigan Avenue separated by the Chicago River.
Change and upheaval is inevitable. Events like those during the year 2020 have been difficult for many. We can learn how to handle them by looking to the past. Studying events like the 1918 pandemic and the Red Summer brings some understanding and the knowledge that we have lived through this before. The question is what do we do with that knowledge? It's up to us whether to move forward or backward.
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