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If the last 3 ½ years have taught us anything, it’s that widespread pandemics are woven throughout history – a fact from which the Grand Canyon State is hardly immune.
On Halloween 1918, the Arizona State Fair was canceled due to an epidemic of Spanish influenza, which hit Arizona in a trio of waves and killed an estimated 2,000 residents – among them a disproportionate number of folks with tuberculosis.
In addition to shutting down the city of Phoenix twice, the epidemic led to a compulsory face mask order (sound familiar?), with violators at risk of a $100 fine or 30-day jail sentence.
– Hannah Van Sickle, The Arizona 100