By Dustin Hays
THE 1918 FLU PANDEMIC & THE LOSS OF A LOCAL MUSICIAN
The Wenatchee Band 1907. Director Louis Crollard is standing to the left of Drum Major George Hauber (the guy with the large white busby hat in the back row). Photo: Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center 012-51-4210
The 1918 'Spanish' flu first came through town in October of 1918, with the first case in Chelan County being confirmed within the first week of the month. More and more cases were popping up around the state, and by October 9th, Wenatchee and Chelan County's health officers Dr. J.H. Blake and Dr. F.E. Culp ordered the closing of "all public places" which included school, dance halls, theaters and churches to close at 5pm that day (Seattle had initiated their closure four days prior). Venues of the day affected by the closure were a small mix of theaters, barns and auditoriums.
By the end of the month it was reported (presumably by the Wenatchee World) that 400 people in the valley were sick, with 11 deaths. The number of ill kept increasing, and on November 9th, all local businesses (excluding grocery and drug stores) were ordered to close. An emergency hospital was set up in the Odd Fellows Hall (then located somewhere on Wenatchee Avenue between First and Second street).
On November 11th, World War I ended, and seemingly out of celebration, the business/public place ban was lifted. The emergency hospital stayed open through the next year, and in January reported that of the 124 patients they had, only 18 had passed away.
Two weeks later, the flu claimed its first and only known victim from the local music scene, violinist and band director Louis Crollard.
Louis Michael Crollard was born on February 18, 1883 in California. In 1904 (at the age of 21) he moved to Wenatchee along with his mother and younger brother Fred.
The family had previously been living in Washington D.C. where Louis had become an accomplished violinist, and played with his brother (a pianist) in musical combos.
The Wenatchee Band 1915. Director Louis Crollard sitting at the front of the group. Photo: Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center 012-51-4202
The two brothers found work with the local law firm Reeves & Reeves, eventually becoming partners in the firm. In 1915, after the last Reeves retired, the firm morphed to "Crollard & Crollard".
Bands of the day featured a mix of brass and woodwind instruments with at least a couple percussionists. Violins and Cellos were the only string instruments commonly used in early 1900s music groups, and it wasn't until the '20s that local bands started incorporating banjos into the music.
During the first couple decades of Wenatchee's history, there were only a few "bands" or musical groups active in the area. Wenatchee's first band, billed initially as The Wenatchee Cornet Band then The Wenatchee Band, changed their name to The Wenatchee Military Band in 1905. The band seems to have operated for some time with around 20 members. By as early as 1907 Louis can be seen in photos of the Wenatchee Military Band as the group's director.
The Crollard Orchestra was another one of the few active musical acts in town during those years, performing in area dance halls and on occasion providing music for productions held at the Wenatchee Theatre. Members of the orchestra besides the Crollard brothers aren't known.
Louis was also one of the earliest (if not the very first) local musicians to publish a piece of original music. In 1913 Louis composed a march in honor of the Fair Hesperides (a business and agriculture fair held in Wenatchee every October during the 1910s). To my knowledge, the next piece of local sheet music wasn't copywritten and printed until 1917 by O.B. Brown, a local music store owner.
Louis continued to direct the Wenatchee Military Band and perform in local groups until he died from the flu on November 26, 1918, just two short weeks after the business/theater closure had been lifted. Louis was only 35. In the years following his passing, Louis' brother Fred directed the Wenatchee Military Band.
In December 1919, the flu hit again and brief business & school closures were ordered across the state. For this ultimately less-severe wave of the illness, an emergency hospital was set up at the Mission Street Pavilion, a closed dance hall.
Fred Crollard lived into his 80s, passing away in 1967. On top of practicing law, he was also a member of the Wenatchee school board and president of the Chamber of Commerce (just to acknowledge a few of his accolades).
Fred's fourth born child (the first born after his brother's passing) was named Louis. This Louis - born in 1921 - worked as an optometrist locally during his adulthood, and was an active musician, playing piano throughout the valley.
We've all been feeling the effects of the event closures. No shows for three weeks now! Make sure you're keeping up with all your favorite bands on social media though - whether it be merch sales or Facebook live sessions, musicians seem to be adjusting quickly to this situation. A few interviews I was going to conduct with some aging local musicians have been cancelled, but with the help of the Wenatchee Museum, and a few books from Wenatchee historians of the past (John Gellately, Eva Anderson, Bruce Mitchell - published by the Wenatchee World), I was able to piece together the story of how the 1918 flu pandemic affected the Wenatchee Valley and the music scene that existed here a century ago.
Luckily pandemics like these aren't super common, and there aren't several instances throughout our history to look back on for similarities. Let's hope that these containment measures prove to be helpful, and that soon restrictions can be lifted so live music can once again fill the valley with sound.
