One Day in May, 1918 - Anna Voris

May 15, 1918, was a great day to be on the Hanover Campus - cool in the morning and warming up to 79 degrees by afternoon. Anna Voris probably had plenty to do that Wednesday. We know she took her studies seriously because she'd been on the honor roll the previous term. And graduation was less than a month away, so there was planning to do for that. Hanover's YWCA branch was holding a fundraiser over commencement weekend, and she was on its cabinet, so perhaps she had a committee meeting or other organizational work to do. Possibly she was writing job application letters or otherwise pondering her future. I hope she was able to enjoy her friends and the beauties of spring.

She did find a job after graduation, teaching high school math in Mayfield, Kentucky. Sadly, she had only a few weeks to get to know her students. The Great Influenza Epidemic of 1918 was at its worst the summer and fall after she graduated, and she caught it in late September. Someone called in a doctor on Sept. 28, and she succumbed a little more than a week later.

We can appreciate the way Anna Voris shaped the fabric of the communities she belonged to, even in her short life - she supported soldiers serving overseas, fostered bonds of friendship among Hanoverians, and educated the youth of Kentucky. But I wish we knew more about her - how often she wrote home to her parents and what she told them about her new job, or even what her classroom was like and or where she had her meals.

We hope you can share details like that for May 15 of this year! https://history.hanover.edu/dayinmay.php

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Sources: "Weather Forecast," Madison (Indiana) Courier, 15 May 1918, p. 6; "Ada Colgate Leads for Winter Term," 30 Mar. 1918, Triangle, p. 1; "President Millis, of Hanover College, Has Announced," 10 May 1918, Indianapolis News, p. 9; Hanover College, Revonah (1917 yearbook), 37; Anna Voris, death certificate, 7 Oct. 1918, Commonwealth of Kentucky; "Teacher is Dead," Paducah (Kentucky) Sun-Democrat, 9 Oct. 1918, 6, available at Newspapers.com.