Our Wynning History blog featured prominently in a piece by reporter Vicki Terwilliger of the Pottsville’s Republican-Herald on April 13, 2020. The story explains how we have been comparing the COVID-19 pandemic and the influenza pandemic that ravaged the Coal Region in 1918.
You can read the article HERE
Featured Image: Patients in a US Army hospital during the 1918 influenza pandemic. (LOC)
Wynning History 
Jake
I read your article in the news paper today. It was very interesting and yes the first paragraph started off like it was about the COVID-19 but turned into the Spanish Flu. Good job. I think it got people thinking. OR NOT ! You do not realize how stupid some people are until something like this happens.
Ever since I read your stories weeks ago about the Spanish Flu I knew where this COVID-19 was going and can’t believe there are people out there not wearing masks and still visiting just like they did before. I asked my divorced girlfriend, who hates to be alone, what she was making for Easter dinner and she said she was going to friend’s for dinner. WHAT? I said “ For God’s sake what don’t you understand about what is going on.” She never returned my text so I guess she is mad at my remark.
Even my sister-in-law was going to order us Easter candy from a church in Shenandoah Pa, (Mini New York) the other day. Can you believe the people of that congregation were still making candy as of last week. I said to my husband “this can’t be right, Lets cancel it because they should not be still doing this and you never know who is touching that candy.” Well we called his sister and cancelled it and she didn’t talk to us for a week. He even offered to pay for the candy if she could not cancel it but we didn’t have to pay for it. The whole time he was talking to her on the phone I kept thinking this isn’t right, this isn’t right. She as many people around here have no idea that Shenandoah has turned into a mini New York since this pandemic. Back when 9/11 happened tons of families from New York came to these dilapidated coal regions to buy cheap housing in case there was another terrorist attack. Well a ton of them found homes here and when the virus chased everyone from New York, they came here to there 2nd homes. A realtor friend of mine said she drove through Shenandoah and all she saw was New York license plates and another realtor friend told me she sold a lot of those houses to them after 9/11 and she confirmed what I said about maybe even some of those people may have been making that candy because I know the churches are glad for all the help they can get, not knowing who they are or where they came from. There is a store here Kowalonek’s Kielbasy Shop in Shenandoah that is ” overly overly” well known for it’s kielbasy especially at Easter. It is one of the many big money making holidays for this shop. Well they closed their store because of the many New Yorkers that are in town and come into their store. They were afraid of the virus being spread in their store.
I saw someone I knew at a grocery store and I asked her why she didn’t have a mask on and she said she finds it hard to breath and I said yes I notice that but you get use to it and after a bit it goes away and also my glasses fog up but you get use to that as well. I kept on her about it and she said she will use one next time.
A friend of mine was sick for about a week and a half and finally her sister made her go to the doctors. Her husband and son took her and she tested positive and also had pneumonia. The doctor sent her home with a Z-Pak. The husband and son asked to be tested as well but the doctor said no they didn’t have enough symptoms. The son works at a Walmart distribution center and it is rampant in that plant with the virus and he was also sick but they wouldn’t test him.
I know Trump is talking about this big decision he has to make and it sounds like it is about putting the country back to work to get the economy going again. I know he is not the only one to come up with this decision, there are other sources involved. That would be a big mistake I think. I think it is too soon for this to happen and if this would happen more people would die and it would take much longer for this virus to get stopped.
I love reading all of your stories and can’t wait for each one.
Helen Wolfgang
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