NN Cannery & the 1919 Spanish Influenza Pandemic

Tim Troll and Katie Johnson Ringsmuth will present on the horrific Spanish Influenza pandemic that came to Alaska 100 years ago arriving in Bristol Bay in 1919. NN Cannery Hospital became the center point for relief efforts for cannery workers and the Native villages Naknek, Ugashik, and Savanoski where the adult population faced extinction. In response to the crisis, the NN cannery transformed into a makeshift orphanage to care for all of the children who lost their families to the flu.

At this event, Katie Ringsmuth offers a history of the NN Cannery hospital as the first Bristol Bay property to be nominated to the National Register of Historic Places for its association with this global event. Tim Troll discusses the outbreak of the influenza pandemic and its effects on the broader Bristol Bay region.

Katherine Ringsmuth, who was raised in Bristol Bay, received her PhD from Washington State University, teaches history at UAA. Author of numerous books for the National Park Service, she is sole proprietor of Tundra Vision, a public history consulting business.    

Tim R. Troll is Executive Director of the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust, an organization dedicated to preserving the wildlife habitat, culture and history of the Bristol Bay region. In 1978, he came to Alaska as a VISTA volunteer lawyer in Bethel. Over the years, he has held a variety of positions advocating for Alaska Native communities, corporations, and organizations.

Thursday, November 29 from 4-6 p.m. at the UAA Campus Bookstore 

All UAA Campus Bookstore events are free and open to the public.

There is free parking for this events in the South Lot, Sports Complex NW Lot, West Campus Central Lot, and Sports Campus West Lot.

UA is an AA/EO employer and educational institution and prohibits illegal discrimination against any individual: www.alaska.edu/ nondiscrimination.

Courtesy of Tim Troll