San Francisco Schools Bridge Medal to Mervyn in 1902 and a warning to the future

WillieBoyd2

The San Francisco school district awarded the Samuel Bridge silver medals to the top male students of each city public school from 1879 to 1915. The medals were usually known as "Bridge Medals." The Denman Medal was a similar medal awarded to female students.

The medals were first struck at the Philadelphia Mint and then at San Francisco facilities.

Samuel James Bridge was born in Boston, Massachusetts and was a member of a wealthy family. In 1856 he moved to San Francisco to take a government position and became a member of the city society. He established "Bridge Medal Fund for Boys" in 1879 and provided the money for the medals.

I have a collection of around ten Bridge medals and recently bought another one on Ebay.

This medal was listed on Ebay in June 2023 but for some reason it was listed again in September 2023.

The seller did not state the recipient's name in the listing, possibly because the name was partly obscured by scratches. The medal had the year "1902" punched on it.

I managed to read the recipient's name as "Mervyn Wehe" and purchased the medal.

Bridge Medal awarded to Mervyn Wehe in 1902
Silver, 34 mm, 20.14 gm
AWARDED TO / Mervyn Wehe / 1902

I did not find a direct account of the awarding of the medal to Mervyn Wehe. Sometimes the local newspapers would publish lists of school graduates but I could not find them for 1902.

I did find some information on a Mervyn Wehe which would indicate that he was the medalist.

Mervyn Wehe was born in San Francisco, California, on March 21, 1889 making him the right age (13 to 14) to be awarded a medal in 1902.

Mervyn married Gertrude Langstaff, born 1892, the daughter of William J. Langstaff, the vice-president of the Dodge, Sweeney & Co., a wholesale dealer of supplies for grocery stores. Mervyn was a salesman for the company.

Mervyn was a member of the Native Sons of the Golden West (NSGW) fraternal organization.

From the NSGW newsletter The Grizzly Bear, June 1918 Page 32:

Official Directory of Parlors of the N.S.G.W. San Francisco City and County
Golden Gate, No. 29 - Mervyn Wehe, Pres; Adolph Eberhart, Sec. 188 Carl st., San Francisco; Mondays: N.S.G.W. Bldg., 414 Mason st.

Mervyn Wehe and his wife Gertrude Wehe both died in October 1918 from the "Spanish Flu".

From The Retail Grocers Advocate , San Francisco, November 1 1918, Page 7:

Langstaff Family Stricken

William J. Langstaff, 422 Belvedere Street, vice-president of Dodge, Sweeney & Co. is waging a grim battle against the Spanish influenza which has descended upon his home with all its fury, sweeping away two members of the family and laying low three others.

A daughter, Gertrude Langstaff Wehe, and her husband, Mervyn Wehe, a popular salesman for Dodge, Sweeney & Co., both succumbed to the disease, the young wife dying on the afternoon of the 21st and the husband on the following morning.

They left three children, the oldest of whom, Dorothy, age 5, is now fighting for her life against the relentless malady that has made her and her brothers orphans.

William J. Langstaff and another daughter, Dorothy Langstaff, an aunt of the little girl mentioned above, also have the influenza and are in a serious condition.

Mervyn Wehe left two surviving sons and it is not known if his daughter Dorothy "age 5" survived.

Conshyboy

A Sad but good historical story regarding the medal you purchased

BLUEJAYWAY

An interesting read. Thanks for the info.

AUandAG

I know it's late, but RIP to the couple. Hope the kids made it through. It would be a miracle, but I'd sure like to have a descendent visit our forum.
bob
vegas baby!

SoCalBigMark

Covid, smovid...

The 1918–1920 flu pandemic,[6] also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was March 1918 in the state of Kansas in the United States, with further cases recorded in France, Germany and the United Kingdom in April. Two years later, nearly a third of the global population, or an estimated 500 million people, had been infected in four successive waves. Estimates of deaths range from 17 million to 50 million,[7] and possibly as high as 100 million, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in history.

Namvet69

Nice acquisition and history to boot. Thanks for sharing.

JBK

@SoCalBigMark said:
Covid, smovid...

The 1918–1920 flu pandemic,[6] also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was March 1918 in the state of Kansas in the United States, with further cases recorded in France, Germany and the United Kingdom in April. Two years later, nearly a third of the global population, or an estimated 500 million people, had been infected in four successive waves. Estimates of deaths range from 17 million to 50 million,[7] and possibly as high as 100 million, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in history.

Just to put these numbers into perspective, WWI (at the time called the Great War by many), which was one of the deadliest wars in history, cost fewer lives than the so-called Spanish Flu.

Estimates vary, but 20 million military and civilian deaths during WWI is a solid estimate. The flu pandemic started as WWI was ending.

Until COVID came along, many if not most people today had no knowledge of the terrible pandemic a century ago.

tokenpro

Since Samuel Bridge was born in Boston he was certainly aware of and may have even received one of the famous Boston School medals which were funded by a grant from Ben Franklin's estate. The medals were presented to the top male students from several of the Boston high schools starting in 1792 (females from 1867 on) in several varieties. They were struck at the U.S. Mint from 1852 on to 1952,

The Bridge funded school medals are the most available among several other similar but scarce San Francisco school medals struck by the U.S. Mint, namely the Denman, North Cosmopolitan and Lincoln school medals. Julian's U.S. Mint Medal catalog is light on the details surrounding these medals but additional info is available from TAMS Journals on the Newman Portal and other web sources.