On Oct. 8, 1918, the Baltimore school board decided to take unilateral action and to close all public schools until further notice, due to the extraordinary number of ill students and teachers.

A staggering 30,000 students and 208 teachers were absent on October 7 alone, Superintendent C. J. Koch explained, and there was simply no way to keep schools open and functional. A number of private schools, facing similar absenteeism problems, followed suit.