Voyager Lecture Series

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
— George Santayana
As the ashes settled after November 11th, 1918, we saw why people called World War One the “war to end all wars.” Thirty million people lost their lives. Toward the end of the war, soldiers begin dying of what was called “The Spanish Flu.” Neither Germany, nor the allied forces, wanted to admit how many were dying from this flu pandemic. When the war ended, soldiers returned home and brought the flu with them. In 1918 through 1920, more than one million Americans died from the flu. Worldwide, over 50 million died. The great 1919 flu pandemic took more lives than World War One. Now we contend with the Coronavirus pandemic. Wise people say that if we don’t learn from the mistakes of history, we are doomed to repeat them. The 1919 flu pandemic can teach us must about our current situation. We have a moral imperative to learn from our world’s last great medical crisis.

Ron Smith’s teaching and lecturing career began at age 9 when his father took him to see a planetarium show at the Griffith Observatory. Ten years later Ron’s dream came true when he began giving planetarium shows at Griffith while pursuing an astronomy degree at the University of Southern California. After graduating from USC, Ron began his 34-year teaching career in the California Community College system. He first directed the Tessmann Planetarium at Santa Ana College, then, two years later, became a professor of astronomy at Santa Monica College. His experience in junior college teaching, public lecturing at the Page Museum of Natural history, and planetarium show production gives him a broad-based science background. In retirement, Ron continues to enjoy sharing his love of science with audiences at Sunriver, Dixie State University, and Center for the Arts at Kayenta.

This lecture will begin at 7:30pm on September 15th. An informal gathering begins at 6:30pm in the Lorberbaum-Stahl Studio. Tickets are $15, including refreshments.

The Voyager Lecture Series is generously sponsored by Voyager Wealth Advisors, Inc., Cache Valley Bank, and State Farm Agent Sherry McGhee.