"There Wasn't a Mine Runnin' a Lump O' Coal": A Kentucky Coal Miner Remembers the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919
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| Type: | Library or Collection |
| Grade Level: | Secondary, Post-secondary |
Abstract: In 1918 the Spanish influenza hit the United States and then the rest of the world with such swiftness that it sometimes went unnoticed until it had already passed. By mid-1919 it had killed more people than any other disease in a similar period in the history of the world. Kentucky coal miner Teamus Bartley was interviewed at ninety-five years of age and vividly recalled the impact of the flu pandemic on his community. With a dearth of healthy laborers, the mines shut down for six weeks in 1918 and miners went from digging coal to digging graves.
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Reviews
- How did you use this material?
I'm planning to introduce Avian Flu and wanted to revisit the 1918 pandemic. This is the second of three oral history resources I'm using as entries to the topic.
This is a compelling account and good resource for introducing biology students to the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary problems such as Avian Flu.
- Did you augment the material?
Yes, I'm using mortality data on influenza for 1917-1919 as well as the biology of the H1N1 virus.
- In which courses or programs did you use the material?
Faculty workshop on interdisciplinary problem solving
- How would you recommend using this material?
I would introduce this to groups either in the classroom or in computer lab setting. This narrative should resonate strongly with undergraduates who must with the risk of an avian flu pandemic in their own lifetimes.
- What knowledge and skills do you need?
Instructor should be prepared to provide student access to resources such as the internet to explore their own questions regarding the Spanish flu. If these are biology students, connecting relevant text material on influenza helps. Students benefit from working in groups.
- Is the material appropriate?
This very human account serves as an impetus for undergraduates to consider more broadly the impact of pandemics.
- Did using the material lead to successful or identifiable outcomes?
Yes, the use of oral history is now being considered as a resource by science faculty members.
