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Source: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080416/COMMUNITIES/804160377/1117
Author brings deadly flu history to life
High school kids praise story about 1918 pandemic
By Geoff Parks ? Special to the Statesman Journal
April 16, 2008
Author Dawn Meier, 62, along with many others her age, could not picture a time in this country when it wasn't safe to breathe other people's air and the mere act of letting that air into your home was as dangerous as death.
But her mother-in-law was inadvertently letting her know there was such a time, in the long fall and winter of 1918, when children on playgrounds around the country had innocently chanted, "I had a little bird, its name was Enza; I opened up the window and in flew Enza," because of parental warnings about a spreading influenza virus that would end up killing an estimated 50 million people worldwide.
Meier's ignorance of that long-ago flu pandemic led her in 2001 to listen more closely to strange stories her then 91-year-old mother-in-law, Mary Helen Meier, had been relating about her own childhood.
"She would have been about 8 years old in 1918," Meier said, "and it became clear that something traumatic had happened in her lifetime, but neither of us (Mary Helen or Dawn) was sure what it was."
Meier, a retired school district employee, had decided earlier to write a book about Mary Helen's life (she died in 2005 at age 95) to honor her, but changed directions when she began researching and reading more about the pandemic of 90 years ago.
The book she finally wrote is titled, "A Bird Named Enza," as a metaphor for the virulent flu virus that caused such a toll of dead, many of them the very children who had sung the macabre little rhyme.
"I finished the book in 2003," Meier said, "and it took me a full year to write it. I call it historical fiction, because though it was based on my mother-in-law's words and the pandemic did happen, some parts of it I created."
Though she felt the story was interesting enough "to be a bestseller today, I wasted a lot of my time trying to peddle it to publishers who weren't interested in someone who wasn't a famous person or an established author," she said.
So she published the book herself through an online company. In 2004, her daughter, Debi Meier, who worked as a counselor at Santiam High School in Mill City, gave a copy to English teacher Carol Cree.
"'A Bird Named Enza' seemed very appropriate for our high school students, and I started having my junior classes read it," Cree said. Eventually, Meier was invited to speak to the students as a guest author.
Nervous and unsure of what to say, Meier simply asked for questions, which resulted in an intense 40-minute session of teaching and learning ? and an invitation from Cree and the students to come back each year.
"Most of my students were not even aware that there was an epidemic," Cree said. "But after reading Dawn's book and talking to her about how it was written and what it meant to her, they started talking to their families about whether or not the epidemic affected them or this area.
"I always keep a photo of my grandfather's brother, who died of the flu in Texas during the epidemic, to get more discussion going," Cree said.
The students were excited about their new learning, as witnessed by comments they added to what were supposed to be simple letters of thank-you to Meier for her appearance at the school:
"It was one of the most interesting, sad and BEST pieces of literature I have ever been associated with," said one.
"Usually I don't read much, but this book just really took me in, and after reading it, I'm going to read more. I didn't realize how much fun it could be," said another.
"I love to write stories and poems, and you have inspired me to keep writing," a third said.
Finally, another student noted the history connection she found through reading the book: "I'm not normally a voracious reader, but I was intrigued with the characters and the plot. I was amazed at how much information I gleaned about the influenza of 1918 from the story."
Meier is philosophical about the direction her writing life has taken.
"I've come to realize the value of my writing is not in the millions of dollars one would expect, but from the faces of the students who have read and now understand a bit of history they knew nothing about," Meier said.
Geoff Parks is a freelance writer. He may be contacted at gaparks@comcast.net.
Author brings deadly flu history to life
High school kids praise story about 1918 pandemic
By Geoff Parks ? Special to the Statesman Journal
April 16, 2008
Author Dawn Meier, 62, along with many others her age, could not picture a time in this country when it wasn't safe to breathe other people's air and the mere act of letting that air into your home was as dangerous as death.
But her mother-in-law was inadvertently letting her know there was such a time, in the long fall and winter of 1918, when children on playgrounds around the country had innocently chanted, "I had a little bird, its name was Enza; I opened up the window and in flew Enza," because of parental warnings about a spreading influenza virus that would end up killing an estimated 50 million people worldwide.
Meier's ignorance of that long-ago flu pandemic led her in 2001 to listen more closely to strange stories her then 91-year-old mother-in-law, Mary Helen Meier, had been relating about her own childhood.
"She would have been about 8 years old in 1918," Meier said, "and it became clear that something traumatic had happened in her lifetime, but neither of us (Mary Helen or Dawn) was sure what it was."
Meier, a retired school district employee, had decided earlier to write a book about Mary Helen's life (she died in 2005 at age 95) to honor her, but changed directions when she began researching and reading more about the pandemic of 90 years ago.
The book she finally wrote is titled, "A Bird Named Enza," as a metaphor for the virulent flu virus that caused such a toll of dead, many of them the very children who had sung the macabre little rhyme.
"I finished the book in 2003," Meier said, "and it took me a full year to write it. I call it historical fiction, because though it was based on my mother-in-law's words and the pandemic did happen, some parts of it I created."
Though she felt the story was interesting enough "to be a bestseller today, I wasted a lot of my time trying to peddle it to publishers who weren't interested in someone who wasn't a famous person or an established author," she said.
So she published the book herself through an online company. In 2004, her daughter, Debi Meier, who worked as a counselor at Santiam High School in Mill City, gave a copy to English teacher Carol Cree.
"'A Bird Named Enza' seemed very appropriate for our high school students, and I started having my junior classes read it," Cree said. Eventually, Meier was invited to speak to the students as a guest author.
Nervous and unsure of what to say, Meier simply asked for questions, which resulted in an intense 40-minute session of teaching and learning ? and an invitation from Cree and the students to come back each year.
"Most of my students were not even aware that there was an epidemic," Cree said. "But after reading Dawn's book and talking to her about how it was written and what it meant to her, they started talking to their families about whether or not the epidemic affected them or this area.
"I always keep a photo of my grandfather's brother, who died of the flu in Texas during the epidemic, to get more discussion going," Cree said.
The students were excited about their new learning, as witnessed by comments they added to what were supposed to be simple letters of thank-you to Meier for her appearance at the school:
"It was one of the most interesting, sad and BEST pieces of literature I have ever been associated with," said one.
"Usually I don't read much, but this book just really took me in, and after reading it, I'm going to read more. I didn't realize how much fun it could be," said another.
"I love to write stories and poems, and you have inspired me to keep writing," a third said.
Finally, another student noted the history connection she found through reading the book: "I'm not normally a voracious reader, but I was intrigued with the characters and the plot. I was amazed at how much information I gleaned about the influenza of 1918 from the story."
Meier is philosophical about the direction her writing life has taken.
"I've come to realize the value of my writing is not in the millions of dollars one would expect, but from the faces of the students who have read and now understand a bit of history they knew nothing about," Meier said.
Geoff Parks is a freelance writer. He may be contacted at gaparks@comcast.net.