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Collected Item: “Message of Hope Left on Control Box Near a Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Memorial”

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Message of Hope Left on Control Box Near a Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Memorial

What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?

Photograph

Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.

On June 16th I took a picture of a message that is on a control box for the traffic light on Main Street in Blanchard, Oklahoma. The message is located near a memorial statue that was dedicated to Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Tony K. Burris for his valor during the Korean War. The message of hope was first spotted in early April when the lock downs of COVID-19 were well underway. The message of hope reminds the local residents that hard times have been witnessed before and like those times, "We Will Get By."

Located in a prominent location at the juncture of State Highway 76 and U.S. Highway 62, many people drive past this intersection with the message daily. The message itself appears to be spray painted with a stencil. Since the message's arrival, no one has attempted to remove it - despite strict city stance towards gravity. This message seems to resonate with locals for the sheer fact that it has remained in its location past several public events in the general area that normally would've caused a reaction to have gravity removed.

Personal story submitted for the #ruralvoices collection. Contributed by Clinton P. Roberts, curatorial intern for Arizona State University, HST 580. #HST580 #ASU

Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your story. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?

#ruralvoices, #rural, #sign, #publicspaces, #message, #hope, #memorial, #statue

Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)

Clinton P. Roberts

Give this story a date.

2020-06-14
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