From Shenandoah, PA to a rain-soaked military hospital in France, Bugler Joseph A. Nicholas writes of a shattered leg, ether, exhaustion, and pride at going “over the top” in the Meuse-Argonne during WW1. He survived to come home, but his letter holds the war’s ache and grit in every line. Read the full story.
Uncover rare photographs of a schoolyard turned into a makeshift hospital during the devastating 1918 flu pandemic in Lykens, Pennsylvania. With hundreds falling ill daily, US Army medical teams were called in. Dive into this horrific chapter of American history and see these remarkable images from the pivotal moment.
Amid a smallpox epidemic in Schuylkill County, a newspaper editor threw up their hands at those who refused to be vaccinated, despite very real danger.
As World War II drew to a close, Sgt. Irvin Schwartz laid out a proposal to honor the Pine Grove area servicemembers when they returned home.
German artillery shells struck down Sergeant Irvin Schwartz on February 27, 1945. He wrote home to his parents to comfort them that he wasn't severely wounded.
In March 1945, Irvin Schwartz's hometown newspaper published news of his Bronze Star. A week later they shared the news he had been wounded.
As influenza killed hundreds in Schuylkill County in 1918, volunteers stepped up to save lives.
What was it like to fall ill during the deadliest epidemic in human history?
In the communities of western Schuylkill County, influenza caused terror and grief as it claimed dozens of lives in 1918.