Way Back When: A Socially-Distant Thanksgiving Celebration

(Image: from “Way Back When: Santa Barbara in 1918,” image courtesy of the New York Public Library)

By Betsy J. Green

During the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, Thanksgiving was celebrated quietly. There was still turkey, of course. And everyone was thankful that the Great War in Europe had ended, but it was a different kind of celebration.

Churches had been or­dered closed, but outdoor assemblies were apparent­ly allowed. So, one church in Montecito held an open-air service. “The congregation assembled in front of All Saints Church with the doors of the church open so that the music of the organ could reach the singers without.”

Betsy’s Way Back When book — 1919 — is now available in local bookstores and at Amazon.com. This is the sixth book in her series of the history of Santa Barbara, one year at a time. Learn more at betsyjgreen.com​