Category: Featured slider

The 1918 Flu Pandemic Strikes Williamstown

This Is Not Our First Pandemic…

Dusty Bahlman Looks at How the 1918 Flu Impacted Williamstown
The 1918 Flu Pandemic Strikes Williamstown Video

On Saturday, January 16, at 11 a.m. Dusty Bahlman presented a free talk entitled “The 1918 Flu Pandemic Strikes Williamstown.” The 45 minute talk was illustrated with numerous photos and documents provided by Michael Miller and was be followed by a 15 minute question and answer session.

“We’re living this experience all over again,” Bahlman noted when asked what inspired him to investigate this topic. “And the similarities are depressing. In the end the 1918 flu killed millions more people than have perished from COVID-19 so far, but the tragic nature of the stories people tell are the same. Not only could they not be with their loved ones, but because World War I was raging soldiers died in Europe and their families didn’t learn until months later.”

Private Willard C. Pike, whose family lived on Latham Street, is one such flu victim whose story Bahlman will recount. Pike’s mother got a letter from him on the same day she was officially notified of his death. By coincidence there was a nurse from Williamstown assigned to the hospital unit where he died who was able to write and tell the family about his last days. After the war, Private Pike was disinterred and reburied in Westlawn Cemetery.

“It was the third and last wave of 1918 flu that killed people here in Williamstown,” Bahlman noted. “Brainerd Mears was the commander of the state guard at that time and they closed Williamstown off for a couple of weeks. You had to have a pass from town hall to cross the borders into town!”

Mark your calendars and use the Zoom link below to join us for this special opportunity to learn more about the history of the last international pandemic to affect our community.

Or Telephone:
(929) 205-6099  or
(346) 248-7799 
Webinar ID: 986 2984 9321

Long-time Williamstown resident, Dusty Bahlman graduated from the Lawrenceville School and Millbrook School and then from New England College in Henniker, NH, with a BA in communications/journalism. He launched his career as a reporter at the Troy (NY) Record, then worked as associate editor of Photonics Spectra, a Pittsfield based monthly magazine for professionals in the fields of lasers, fiber optics, electro-optics and imaging, before becoming a reporter at The Berkshire Eagle for nearly 20 years. Since leaving the Eagle in 2005 he has worked as a freelance writer and journalist.

The Chadwells of Williamstown – Online Lecture

The Chadwells of Williamstown

Thank you to all who joined us for our first online lecture, “The Chadwells of Williamstown,” presented by Dustin Griffin.  Thank you, also to WilliNet for their good work and assistance. Click the box below to view a video of the lecture.

Click here to view the online lecture, “The Chadwells of Williamstown”

The Chadwells, who have been in Williamstown for four generations, have a remarkable family history. Griffin’s lecture, which is accompanied by Chadwell family photos and other archival images, follows the path of the family members through four generations, up to the present day.  Griffin’s lecture will be introduced by Allen Hart, Professor of Psychology at Amherst College, and a fourth generation Chadwell descendant.

Dusty Griffin has frequently lectured on topics in local history to local audiences. His most recent talks include “A Layman’s History of Williamstown Trees” (January 2020) and “Thirteen Galusha Farms” (February 2020). He is the author of Williamstown and Williams College: Explorations in Local History (U. Mass. Press, 2018).

Woman Suffrage: A Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Ratification of the 19th Amendment in Williamstown and Beyond – special exhibit now on view at the WHM

Members of the Williamstown League of Women Voters march in the 2019 Fourth of July parade, in white, to celebrate woman suffrage

 

You are invited to visit the Williamstown Historical Museum to view an exhibit celebrating the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment.

The museum is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by appointment.

The exhibit looks at the woman suffrage movement, its progress in the region, key suffragists, and women who have made a difference in town since the 1920 ratification of the 19th amendment.  Focusing primarily on women of Williamstown who made an impact on the town’s history as suffragists, the exhibit also looks at local women who accomplished a “first” for women in Williamstown or in the region, and who contributed to the improvement of the community and to the achievement of women in all areas.

The exhibit also looks at the Williamstown League of Women Voters, an organization that grew out of the woman suffrage movement.

We extend special thanks to Gail Burns, Susan Clarke, Linda Conway, Bette Craig, Anne Crider, Anne Degersdorff, Nina Donati, Alice Hadley, Brenda Hart, Karen Kelly, Pat Leach, Nancy McIntire, Melanie Mowinski, Phyllis Riley, Regina Rouse, Anne Skinner, Rita Watson, Barbara Winslow, and all members and friends of the Northern Berkshire Suffrage Centennial Coalition.