Communities locked down when the 1918 influenza pandemic emerged in North Dakota. The outbreak of so-called “Spanish flu” shuttered most aspects of daily life. On this date in 1918, the City Board of Health in Bowbells, North Dakota, ordered the closures of all schools, churches, theaters, dance halls, lodge halls and other places of public gatherings, amusement and entertainment. The board forbade all public meetings and gatherings and the playing of billiards in pool halls. The order followed