A Westmoreland County Community College professor will compare the 1918 flu pandemic with the 2020 covid-19 pandemic during a program at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Norwin Public Library, 100 Caruthers Lane, Irwin.
Thomas Soltis, an assistant sociology professor at the community college near Youngwood, has described the similarities of the two pandemics as “haunting” in terms of their beginnings, the nation’s response to the pandemics and the reaction by the public to both.
The presentation will look at the controversy surrounding the onset of the ‘Spanish Lady’ — the flu — in 1918 in the region, how local officials took different approaches to responding to the onset of the diseases and how residents responded to the pandemics.
The program is free, but registration is requested. Contact the library at norwinpubliclibrary.net or call 724-863-4700, ext. 3.
The Friends of the Norwin Public Library will hold a book sale from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday in the lower level of the library. Hot dogs also will be sold.
Proceeds will benefit the library.
