1918 Influenza
Red Cross volunteers in Oakland from the Piedmont Chapter of the Red Cross create masks during the Spanish Flu pandemic in October 1918.
Edward "Doc" Rogers/MediaNews Group/Oakland Tribune via Getty Images
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Piedmont has a long history of making masks to address needs during a pandemic. Over 100 years ago, the Red Cross volunteers gathered in Piedmont to make masks during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918.
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The Oakland Tribune on Oct. 27, 1918:
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No more splendid record could be achieved than that of a group of matrons who have given their time exclusively to the Red Cross sewing this week. They have averaged 500 face masks per day and a daily attendance of fifty workers at the Piedmont branch of the Red Cross, with headquarters in the Interdenominational church.
The Oakland Tribune on Oct. 24, 1918:
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Out in the Red Cross rooms in the Piedmont auxiliary, the workers are assembled under Mrs. Finley Macintyre, Mrs. E. J Boyes and Mrs. Richard H Genung. Mrs. J. B. Richardson and Mrs. H. C. Mygatt are among the workers of the Piedmont branch.
Oakland Tribune - Sun - Oct. 27, 1918
Oakland Tribune - Thu - Oct. 24, 1918