Nearly Forgotten

The news is dominated by the COVID-19 virus and that is as it should be. I heard one of the reporters make this statement "Quarantines are just not something we connect with America" and it triggered one of those 'Nearly Forgotten' memories from my childhood and listening to Grandma's stories.  Fortunately for me, my mother is still alive and well to check my memories with (and no they are not always accurate!).  I called my mom and we discussed my remembering and she said it was correct.  Quarantining may not be something we think of in context of America as we know it but there was a time when quarantining households was not unusual...

Amanda Jane Meals

The first quarantine story I remembered was that grandmas family couldn't go to a funeral because they were quarantined.  Mom confirmed that grandma was young, maybe 9 or 10 and that she had smallpox - which definitely got you quarantined back then.  In fact when I went to look for information, the quarantining of some of the family was in the obituary for Amanda Jane Meals Quint.  She was Grandma's Grandma, my 2x great grandma.  That was my first memory of a quarantine.

Smallpox was survivable even then (about 70% lived) and was considered completely eradicated by 1979.  There was a vaccine discovered in the late 1700's but without a concerted effort vaccines would not be distributed in enough of the population to give the "herd immunity" that can eradicate a disease.

The second quarantine story I remembered a snippet of, was about Grandma and her then beau George Medlin and ducking out of quarantine to go on a date.  When I ran this one by mom she laughed and said yes that was the basic story.  We neither one remember why the quarantine this time, it could have been flu or diphtheria or cholera, all of which went around the area at one time or another. 

George and Nellie Medlin

Grandma was a good girl, she would not have done anything too dangerous.  Her story was that they were all over the 'whatever-it-was',  and George and his friend had gone to town to buy engagement rings for their sweethearts.  The guys had spent $10 each on the rings, grandma's was a yellow sapphire and her friend got a red ruby.  I believe both were birthstones.  She certainly wanted to be there for this date and so they went out in violation of the quarantine. 
I think she made the right choice, the marriage lasted 53 years until grandad was killed in an accident; and that ring is still in the family, with the oldest girl cousin who shared a birth month with grandma!

I do not know what I will do when my mom is no longer there to double check my memories!  That is one reason these writing prompts are so cool....write it down!!!