Ladd Mayor Frank Cattani will speak about the Cherry Mine Disaster and his recent trip to Italy at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, at the Bureau County Genealogical Society building, 629 S. Main St., Princeton.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

Cattani will discuss his family’s recent trip to Italy, where they visited Fanano, the small town where his mother’s family originated. Fanano officials and residents showed them a memorial to Fanano immigrants who died in the Cherry Mine Disaster on Nov. 9, 1909. They also toured a local museum and visited his mother’s ancestral home.

Cattani will also share stories about his grandfather’s experiences in the Cherry Mine Disaster fire.

The Genealogical Society invites the public to view its collection of historical and family records for Bureau County and other areas. The society will be closed Dec. 21 through Jan. 4 and will reopen at 10 a.m. Jan. 5.