In September 1912 my great-great grandmother Emma (Barton) Garner left England with her three children to join her husband Alfred in Winnipeg (1). The following January, she died of typhoid (2). Did the family know that at that time Winnipeg was the typhoid capital of the world (3)?

The scourge of typhoid was instrumental in the construction of the city of Winnipeg’s aqueduct system, which brought in clean water from Shoal Lake (5). The project was completed in 1919, too late to be of any use to Emma. While it ensured that citizens of the city would be less likely to catch typhoid and other diseases transmitted by dirty water, it was probably little comfort to Emma’s widowed husband and her motherless children. Silver linings.

The 1918 flu pandemic killed 50,000 Canadians, and was also instrumental in the formation of the federal department of health, now known as Health Canada (6). Canadians since then have benefitted from this agency, but it was probably a small comfort to those who lost loved ones. Silver linings.

Today we find ourselves in the middle of another pandemic. As I am writing this, 26,592 Canadians have died of Covid-19 (7). We have been incredibly blessed with vaccines that use new mRNA technology, which holds a lot of promise for other illnesses (8). Small comfort to those who have lost loved ones. Silver linings.

While it doesn’t eliminate the detrimental effects, I find looking at the past helps bolster my strength as we go through this difficult time. Silver linings.

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1) “Canadian Passenger Lists,” 1865-1935, Ancestry, (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1263/ : accesses 11 August 2021) > Quebec, Quebec > 1912 > Sep 1912 > Empress of Britain > p.8 > Line 28 for Emma Garner

2) Province of Manitoba, Medical Certificate of Death 1913-005121 for Emma Garner, 10 January 1913, Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency.

3) Bruce Cherney, “Red River Fever — typhoid epidemic led to improved water and sewage systems,” Real Estate News (https://www.winnipegregionalrealestatenews.com/publications/real-estate-news/627 : accessed 2 August 2021).

4) Emma Barton, digital image, c. 1902, author’s files.

5) Cherney, “Red River Fever.”

6) “Influenza, 1918-1919,” Canadian War Museum (https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/life-at-home-during-the-war/wartime-tragedies/influenza-1918-1919/ : accessed 2 August 2021).

7) “Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Outbreak update,” Government of Canada (https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html : accessed 2 August 2021).

8) “From HIV to cancer, COVID-19 vaccines could pave the way for groundbreaking treatments & vaccines,” CBC (https://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/mrna-after-covid-19-blowing-up-trump-plaza-crokicurl-history-of-swear-words-and-more-1.5874120/from-hiv-to-cancer-covid-19-vaccines-could-pave-the-way-for-groundbreaking-treatments-vaccines-1.5874146 : accessed 2 August 2021).