Dr. Friedrich Schuler, Professor Emeritus of History at Portland State University, will be the guest speaker for October’s TNT. His talk, “Pestered by Plague,” expands upon his book of the same title, which tells the story of how Dr. Hill Hastings converted the old cannery at Knappton, WA, into a quarantine station while the plague was raging in San Francisco and Honolulu. Hastings’s efforts positively influenced Astorian leaders and citizens as they prepared for the arrival of the Black Death. He checked the worst impulses of local anti-science politicians, inconsiderate maritime operators, and megalomaniac entrepreneurs. Partly due to his efforts, we remember Astoria’s Regatta of the summer of 1900 but not the plague’s scary shadow that nature cast over the river during these weeks. Here is a key historical lesson for our era of COVID-19, Ebola, or whatever virus nature will send to the Columbia River.

The Clatsop County Historical Society’s TNT lecture series is a free event at Fort George Brewery on the third Thursday of each month, October-June. Doors open at 6:00 pm, with lectures beginning at 7:00 pm. Seasonal beers on tap, food, and other beverages are available for purchase. Minors are welcome with an accompanying adult.

For more information about this event or other Clatsop County Historical Society activities, please call 503-325-2203 or e-mail: marketing@astoriamuseums.org