A tale of two pandemics: Worcester in 1918 and now
Worcester Magazine
There’s a common refrain that the COVID crisis is unlike anything the country has faced before, but pandemics are not new. Worcester has been here before right down to the prohibition on large gatherings, even funerals.
In September and October 1918, Worcester appeared to be in the midst of an epidemic. “It was considered an epidemic even though it was certainly a pandemic,” said Donald Chamberlayne, describing how the scope of the crisis became clear only in hindsight, while at the time, localized perspectives were more prevalent. A Worcester resident and amateur historian, Chamberlayne wrote an in-depth essay on Worcester’s 1918 experience on the pandemic’s centennial. Through diligent study of archived newspapers from the time, Chamberlayne constructed a picture of Worcester’s battle with the influenza pandemic through the lens of news coverage.