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Description
A group of people standing outdoors wearing gauze masks over their mouths. The photo was taken during the 1918 flu pandemic, also known by the misnomer Spanish Flu. The group is standing on a train platform at the intersection of Locust and Miller Avenues in Mill Valley. One of the women is wearing a sign across her chest reading "Wear a mask or go to jail." That sign is likely a response to local ordinance Number 202, which was passed on October 28, 1918 and required everyone to wear a mask "consisting of not less than four plys or layers of gauze." Section six of this ordinance outlined that every person who violated the mandate would be found guilty of a misdemeanor and face a fine or, potentially, prison time.
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