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Seven Observations about Life 102 Years Ago

The setting of Letter from Belleau Wood is Mississippi, Kansas, and France in 1916-1918, These were unbelievably hard times. As usual in difficult times, women started wearing shorter skirts, although the winters of 1917 and 1918 were unusually harsh.

Letter from Belleau Wood is a soon-to-be
 released story of love,
war, and influenza. 

1. Spanish flu did not come from Spain. Some of the first recorded cases of the deadly influenza during and after World War I were at Camp Funston, a military training camp in Kansas. 
2. Conscientious Objectors (Co’s), who were usually Mennonites, served at Camp Funston during the war. They did not wear uniforms but worked at the training camp.
3. Columbus, Mississippi, had a streetcar during World War I.
4. Payne Field near West Point, Mississippi, a flight-training center during WW I, was the first airport in Mississippi, and was the first place in Mississippi to record cases of the deadly influenza of WWI.
5. Have you ever heard the term basket case? Usually it means someone who does stupid things or who cannot withstand pressure. The word is a World War I term describing a soldier who was injured so severely the he had to be carried off the battlefield in a basket. Some basket cases had lost all four limbs. (Paul Anthony Jones, "20 Slang Terms from World War I") It's an offensive term to be avoided. 
6. Mississippi University for Women as it is called now was the first state-supported college for women in the United States Chartered in 1884, it has been known for high academic standards. (www.muw.edu)
7. “Wear a Mask or Go to Jail” was a sign worn in 1918. Masks were worn.

Here's a fun-to-read article about wearing masks in 1918 and 1919.