Calvin Coolidge writing to his father in the waning days of the gubernatorial campaign: October 31, 1918.

Coolidge congratulates his father on “raising so much money in Plymouth,” most likely referring to the fourth Liberty Loan appeal for citizens to purchase Liberty Bonds to aid the War effort. Boston’s district had a quota of $500,000,000 to be raised by the end of October.

Coolidge also goes on to comment on the campaign’s progress and mentions that the “epidemic seems to be on the wane.” The “epidemic” is the second wave of the 1918 influenza pandemic. While infections caused by the first wave in the spring of 1918 were generally mild, by August 1918 a more serious strain had come to Boston. On August 27, two sailors at Commonwealth Pier were reported to have “flu like symptoms.” The disease spread quickly with the September 18 issue of the Boston Globe reporting that 2,273 people had fallen ill and 47 had died.  A September 29 Globe article reported that more than 100 Boston residents were dying from the flu every day. On October 7 alone, 190 people died. Fortunately, by mid-October, medical authorities reported that the epidemic was showing signs of passing. 

In his Autobiography, Coolidge makes reference to the pandemic and its influence on the campaign, saying, “A violent epidemic of influenza prevented us from having a State Convention, or holding the usual meetings, and the party organization was not very effective.”