Smallpox Quarantines Hit Everett's Dance Halls
An outbreak of smallpox at the New Zealand dance house has forced the closure of Everett's variety homes as a public health precaution.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Dr. Harris returned last Sunday from a trip to Index in response to a telegram saying that a fresh outbreak of smallpox had occurred there. He found the report to be without foundation. He was called to Lowell on Wednesday to look at a suspect, but this was found not to be a case of smallpox. The variety homes in Everett have ceased their performances as a measure of precaution. About 4 o'clock this morning the New Zealand dance house on Market street was quarantined, the report having been made that the bartender had the smallpox. He was taken to the pest house, where there are now four cases, all doing well. Quarantine on the Ten Cent Bunkhouse, where the disease first broke out, will be removed in a few days.
“The variety homes in Everett have ceased their performances as a measure of precaution.”
Public health crises have historically hit nightlife and 'variety homes' hard, forcing immediate closures for the safety of the broader city. This captures a moment of Everett's early industrial growth when transient workers living in bunkhouses created unique sanitation challenges.
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