Valley Girl Views: When A Typhoid Outbreak Cancelled The Parades & Fireworks in Danville

An Early History Of Geisinger Hospital

In September of 1915, the town of Danville was all decorated and ready to celebrate the grand opening of their brand new, and very first, hospital. But before the celebrations began, a typhoid epidemic shut down the town. The parades were cancelled, the decorated streets were left empty, the fireworks were returned to the manufacturer, and the new hospital opened it's doors a week early, to care for those who were infected.

In 1915, A brand new 63 bed hospital had been built thanks to the generosity of wealthy widow Abigail Geisinger. To celebrate it's grand opening, an extraordinarily extravagant affair had been planned. The governor of Pennsylvania was coming to speak, the town was decorated by a professional decorator, three separate parades were planned, and enough fireworks to last an hour and a half, were ordered.

On September 11 1915, professional decorator E.J. Hendrickson, arrived in Danville with a train car load of materials, including columns, lamps, and buntings. The decorations extended from the river bridge to bloom street, and were reported to be "exceedingly elaborate, unlike anything that has ever been attempted in this city before."

Seventeen foot pillars topped with glass globes were erected on each side of the street at 90 foot intervals. Wire was strung from pole to pole, and was decorated with lights, flags, and other decorations. The work to decorate the town was expected to take 10 days, and be completed for the September 21 celebration. (See the photo at the top of this post)

Three separate parades were planned, a civic parade on Thursday, a school children parade on Friday, and an industrial parade on Saturday. The Thursday parade was expected to be the largest demonstration of its kind in this area, and the Friday parade was to include every school child, more than 1,000 in total, from every local school in the area.

The fireworks were also expected to surpass anything done before. There were to be 150 "bombshells" with novelty effect, interspersed with 132 rockets which would show electric showers and parachutes, revolving dragons, Chinese spiders, and hanging chains. The display was to last for an hour and a half in total. Ten men from the Glassboro fireworks company in New Jersey were to travel to Danville to set off the display.

Just two days after the decorator had arrived, and nearly a week before the new hospital was slated to open, all pf those plans were changed. With more than 30 cases of typhoid in Danville, in addition to more than 100 cases in the Danville State Hospital, the town was facing an all out epidemic. The State Department of Health stepped in, and decreed that the celebration must be cancelled. The decorations however, were already delivered and paid for, so it was decided that they would be completed and left to stand for the duration of the contract.

Meanwhile, the hospital, not yet fully completed, was urgently needed for approximately a dozen typhoid patients who could not receive adequate care in their homes. The hospital advisory board approached Mrs Geisinger, and when she was made aware of the urgency, she enthusiastically modified the plans and had the patients accepted at once.

The community rallied together and donated mattresses, linens, and bedding, as none of the hospitals supplies had yet arrived.

Henry Schmidt, draftsman for the Danville Foundry and machine company, was the very first patient at Geisinger hospital. By the end of the first week, the hospital had treated more than 50 cases of typhoid.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept 15 1915

Between August 11, 1915 and October 21 1915, there were one hundred and twenty one cases of typhoid fever were documented in the Danville area, in addition to the 135 cases in the Danville State Hospital. The cause, in town, was eventually traced to the water supply, which was being contaminated by sewage.

The water was not the problem at Danville State Hospital however. That facility had it's own water supply, and the water there had not been contaminated. Although never conclusively proven, it's believed that the cases there all stemmed from one carrier - a cook in the kitchen who carried the disease and transmitted it through handling the food. Shortly after the cook took ill with a full blown case of Typhoid fever, no longer working due to his illness, the epidemic at the hospital ended.

The Origin Of Geisinger Hospital

Abigail Cornelison married George F. Geisinger when she was 39 years old, in 1866.

George was an industrious man, who had acquired several businesses in Pennsylvania.

In November of 1883, George died, leaving Abigail a wealthy widow. Despite her wealth, she maintained a modest lifestyle.

She was however, very generous to the community. She purchased more than one home for elderly local women to live in in their declining years. As the owner of one of the first vehicles in Danville, she used her hupmobile to transport the sick and injured to the hospital at Bloomsburg.

Mrs Geisinger's Hupmobile, one of the first automobiles in Danville

In 1912, Abigail Geisinger purchased the William H. Magill property in Danville, with the intent to build a modern general hospital in memory of her husband.

On September 12, 1915, the George F. Geisinger Memorial Hospital was completed.

Founder Abigail Geisinger (center with shovel) leads the official groundbreaking for the George F. Geisinger Memorial Hospital on May 1, 1913. The hospital officially opened two years later, a few days earlier than planned, when a typhoid epidemic hit the town.