Allie Penn, PhD student, explores the effect of the Spanish influenza pandemic in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, specifically in the iron ore mining districts near Marquette. The presentation looks at the efforts of the mining companies to vaccinate miners and their families in order to limit the spread of the disease. The presentation also compares the public health initiatives undertaken to prevent the spread of the flu and how they mirror today’s coronavirus epidemic.

Photo Credit: Image of Miners at Lake Mine around the turn on the century, note the timber framing of the mine shaft. From the collection of the Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives.