When Centralia College Associate Professor Susanne Weil set out to schedule a speaker series centering around the Centralia Massacre and the events of Nov. 11, 1919, she knew there was one thing she wanted to change.

    The Centralia Massacre would be referred to as the Centralia Tragedy.

    “From everything I’ve read about this I see the tragedy resulting from two completely opposed ways of looking at American values and business,” Weil said. “When you have two world views come into collision like that, tragedy is almost inevitable.”

    The Armistice Day conflict between the American Legion and workers who were members of the Industrial Workers of the World labor union resulted in six deaths, several injuries, multiple prison terms and an ongoing debate as to who was at fault.

    Weil will kick off the second installment of the Lyceum Speaker Series Wednesday at 1 p.m. in room 103 of Centralia College’s Washington Hall with a broad discussion of the day and events.

    In the weeks that follow, speakers will engage students and attendees with theories and opinions on the day and fallout.

    Weil’s program will be followed by a presentation by St. Martins University labor history expert Aaron Goings Nov. 18. He will speak  from a presentation titled “Business As Usual: Employers Terrorize Workers in Centralia, 1919.” Goings will speak from the labor movement’s point of view, Weil said.

    On Nov. 25, Dr. Earl Nordby, a chaplain with American Legion Post 17, will present the opposite point of view. Nordby’s presentation is titled “Veterans Attacked by Wobblies: The Nov. 11, 1919 Legionnaire-Wobbly Catastrophe.”

    The final speaker on the series will be Washington State University Vancouver historian Dr. Laura Mercier on Dec. 2. Mercier will present a twist to conclude the presentations with her speech “Out Front and Behind the Scenes: Women in the Pacific Northwest Labor Movement.”

    Each presentation will be held in Washington Hall room 103 from 1 p.m. to 1:50 p.m. with a question and comment period at the conclusion of each segment.

    Weil said she hopes to have a healthy question and answer session that will focus on the real issues behind the day that defined Centralia 90 years ago.

    “I think it will be great to have all these points of view,” she said.

    A complete list of Lyceum Speaker Series events can be found online at the Centralia College Web site, http://www.centralia.edu/news/lyceum.html.