A History of Pandemics in Kawartha Lakes

(eBook as PDF)

“This is evolving science,” said Yale researcher, Saad Omer, about COVID-19. “You are seeing sausages being made – in front of the world’s eyes”. COVID-19 required all of us to adjust to novelty and to cope with uncertainty. Data about the virus often changed dramatically by the hour as did the way our communities responded. A History of Pandemics in Kawartha Lakes tells the stories of how our ancestors, communities and neighbours coped with pandemics, from prehistoric times to the present, and how they adjusted to the new realities they found themselves part of. Did they “stay calm and carry on” or did they feel out of control, claustrophobic from lock-downs, mad from frustration and suspicious of just about everything? How did they – and how do we – go on? The stories in A History of Pandemics in Kawartha Lakes are written by local authors and associates of the Ottawa Huron Tract History Association, including 25 residents and stakeholders of our community.