The great flu pandemic of 1918-19 killed tens of millions of people worldwide, including an estimated 45,000 in Massachusetts and 675,000 in the United States. Its impact was felt everywhere, including in Brookline.

More than 125 residents of the town died. Schools were closed for four weeks right after the beginning of the school year. Homes of the afflicted were quarantined. Public gatherings at churches, meeting halls, soda fountains, billiard parlors, bowling alleys, and funerals were banned.

At the same time, quick reaction by local authorities was credited with limiting the impact more than in other communities. And at an open air hospital on Corey Hill, new methods of care were d...

The Brookline Select Board, at its regular meeting on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, recognized longtime Brookline Historical Society President Ken Liss for his outstanding contributions to preserving and sharing the rich and diverse history of the Town of Brookline.

Select Board Chair Bernard Greene read the Citation (below) to a live audience that included friends and colleagues of Liss, regular attendees, and a virtual audience connected by Brookline Interactive Group's television programming and on Zoom.

Liss humbly accepted the Select Board's praise and spoke briefly of his history with the Brookline Historical Society and the enjoyment he found in leading the organization and telling the stories of Brookline's people and places.

Town Meeting Member Precinct 17 and member of the Housing Advisory Board Jonathan Klein helped to organize the event.