The streets were different than usual, it was the ironic sense of peacefulness arising from emptiness.

Throughout the pandemic, I've found myself connecting more with nature through hiking as a way to relax while still exercising. This photograph is a picture of a waterfall I saw that was particularly beautiful.

My whole life was through a screen in 2020. I only saw my friends and family through a screen. I did school through a screen. I even danced through a screen.

This is a photo of my poem that I wrote during the beginning of COVID at school. It memorializes NYC and how it was so empty like it was washed out.

When my grandmother died during the pandemic, my family and I were unable to visit Massachusetts, (where she lived), to go to her funeral. We joined the funeral over FaceTime and it was really sad that we weren't able to be there with our family.

Right before New York City went into lockdown my family and I got my dog Luna. She has brought a lot joy and laughter during the pandemic.

Throughout the pandemic, the one thing that got me through it was my cats. Sure that sounds silly but they helped me when it felt like no one else did so I used this photo to show how much they mean to me and how much they helped during the pandemic.

This is a face shield that I used around family as an easier way to breathe without the mask on.

I wore this mask many times (it has of course also been washed many times) and the way it is in such good condition reflects on how during this hard year of 2020, many things have been thrown at us and the world has also changed in many ways, but nevertheless, we all got through it.

With such deathly pandemic going the news would always be on tell us new information about Covid-19 breaking news .

This cauliflower fried rice was the first of many recipes that my family cooked together during covid. It reminds me of the uncertainty we felt, cooking a new recipe during such a weird, unpredictable time. I still value the time that my family and I spent together during quarantine, and I sometimes wish that we could still cook together every night like we did during spring of 2020.

This meme shows how physically distant we stayed away from people during the beginning of the pandemic, and now the effects are seen now. Us humans are meant to interact with others always, and when we were stuck in our houses for months, it affected us a lot. We see high amounts now of depression, anxiety, suicides, etc. This is important to me because I believe that mental illnesses are just as serious of a problem that we should focus on.

This meme just describes how vigilant people have become over health and the spread of germs after the start of the covid-19 pandemic. Little things like a cough would rarely phase anyone before 2020; now, any method that could spread germs catches everyone's attention. This is important to me because it shows how I've become after the pandemic; I'm a lot more cautious of myself and hygiene and of others around me.

In this monologue, Winnie Tomsheck answers questions relating to COVID-19.

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The contributor of this item did not include verbal or written consent. We attempted to contact contributor (or interviewee if possible) to get consent, but got no response or had incomplete contact information. We can not allow this interview to be listened to without consent but felt the metadata is important. The recording and transcript are retained by the archive and not public. Should you wish to listen to audio file reach out to the archive and we will attempt to get consent.

Lou Ann Koval was born in East Lansing Michigan, and currently works for a company called Laird Connectivity. This company makes electronics, some of which were made to help keep people safe from COVID. During the pandemic, she switched between two companies and shared some of the struggles of joining a new company without anyone being able to have a real social interaction with her. She also talks about the struggles of balancing a social life and keeping involved with her elderly family members. She also briefly talks about her opinion on the political actions taken to avoid COVID and some of her responses to stay healthy during this pandemic.

Zoe Tresemer was raised in Brodhead, WI. She currently is a full-time student at the University of Wisconsin lacrosse. Zoe also works as a nanny in the lacrosse area. Zoe discusses how COVID-19 has affected her life including her work, family life, and mental health. She shares what it was like to be a college student and nanny during the pandemic. Zoe also tested positive for COVID-19 and shares her experience with that. So we also discuss her experiences with quarantining and getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Zoe also discusses her experience with news and the pandemic. The interviewer, Tyler Urness, and Zoe have known each other since both were kids.

Jocelyn Penagos was born and raised in Columbia until the age of eight when she finally followed her older brother's footsteps and moved with her family to Florida. Leaving Colombia was a callous but necessary thing that she felt she had to do. Upon arrival in America, she began watching a movie and listening to music to better learn English. After being fluent in both languages and graduating High School, Jocelyn joined the armed services and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. She is still currently enrolled in the Marine Corps and is going on her ninth consecutive year. Jocelyn shares her experiences with covid from a military point of view. She offers great insight into what had changed or been created because of the lockdown and the virus. Jocelyn also shares with us her struggles to see her mother in Columbia because of fears that she could be the reason for her death.

Jill Polglaze is a librarian in the Franklin School District in Southeastern Wisconsin. She manages staff at the libraries at all levels of schooling in this district. In this interview, Jill discusses how COVID-19 has affected her life, including her job, family life, and pandemic overload in the media. She gives specific focus to the Franklin School District’s reaction to the pandemic and its involvement in the creation of protocols and keeping everyone safe. Furthermore, Jill discusses the various reactions to the pandemic she has noticed between the different school levels, elementary, middle, and high. Jill has a positive outlook on the future and shares her thoughts on a post-pandemic world.

Jody Pabich lives in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and works as a senior safety manager at the corporate office of a nationwide big box retailer. Jody directly handled all of the COVID-19 protocols for her company across the country, and talks about how counties, states, and the country have been handling the pandemic differently. She explains how her family and friends have dealt with COVID-19, addressing health concerns about her daughter, mental health concerns about her friends, and the politics and distrust of media. She describes how her community has come together to support each other and local businesses. She also discusses her experience with and concerns about the vaccines. She talks about how her experiences have made her value life and experience more than she did before COVID-19.

The contributor of this item did not include verbal or written consent. We attempted to contact contributor (or interviewee if possible) to get consent, but got no response or had incomplete contact information. We can not allow this interview to be listened to without consent but felt the metadata is important. The recording and transcript are retained by the archive and not public. Should you wish to listen to audio file reach out to the archive and we will attempt to get consent.

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This interview was recorded as part of the COVID-19 Oral History Project, a project of the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute and The Cultural Ecologies Project.

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Morgan Kallenbach was born and raised in Hudson, Wisconsin. She works as a childcare teacher for Grace Lutheran Communities. In this interview, Morgan shares her experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic as well as her thoughts on the pandemic as a whole. She discusses what is like to work during this pandemic as well as her home and social life. Morgan goes on to talk about her experiences with information and news as well as her take on the politics of the situation.

Annalyse Stratton was born in Marsh field, Wisconsin and grew up in Colby, Wisconsin. She works at Grace Lutheran Communities as a child care teacher. In this interview Annalyse shares how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected her, her family and her friends as well as her thoughts on the pandemic itself. She shares what it has been like to work during these difficult times and also shares what she thinks that we can do moving forward. Finally she touches on the politics of the situation and how we can learn from it.

Wade Pitrucha, Marine Corps veteran and butcher, was raised in Texas and lived in California for several years, and currently works as a butcher and lives in Barron, Wisconsin. In this interview, Wade discusses the political and economic developments he has observed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wade gives an inside look at the COVID-19 meat shortage, and explains some of the causes, as well as the impacts on farmers and families. Wade also shares some of his personal experiences and frustrations with the local handling of the pandemic, and how he feels the federal government and the Trump administration has contributed to the massive spread of COVID-19 in the United States. In an entertaining and sometimes darkly humorous interview, Wade’s military experience and personal beliefs provide a unique and well-balanced view of the COVID-19 pandemic and modern American society.

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Alison “Ali” Schatzman is a resident of Racine County, Wisconsin. She is currently employed as a cashier at Kwik Trip in Racine, Wisconsin. In this interview, Ali discusses how COVID-19 has impacted her life in various ways, touching on a job layoff from iHeart Radio, and her experiences working at a gas station during the pandemic. Additionally, Ali touches on the current political atmosphere as well as the global response to the pandemic. Ali also discusses social media and memes, and how informative and entertaining they’ve been during this time of uncertainty. Lastly, Ali reflects on her college years, noting the difficulties that current college students struggle with today.

Marla McCartney, former Chief Executive of an unnamed charitable organization, is interviewed by Marion Lougheed as part of an oral history project. The interviewee is asked about her experiences in the workplace and at home during the pandemic, and about her personal opinions on the handling of the pandemic by the public and government.

Celia White is a law student at a university in Toronto, B.C. She recounts how her life has been affected by COVID-19 and her thoughts on of how the world as reacted to it. Additionally, she talks how COVID-19 has affect her family, where she gets her news, and what conspiracy theories she’s seen floating around.

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This is interview from Edward and Jeannie Lehew focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic experience in the United States. The Lehews, both born in the 1930s, provide an enriching interview connecting the current pandemic to past historical and personal events ranging from the Great Depression to the loss of an infant grandchild. The Lehews detail many personal life experiences and offer their opinions on the current political and healthcare issues in the United States by explaining how the current presidential administration is at fault for the lack of medical supplies in America.

Mark Larson resides in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin by Lake Wissota and currently works at Market and Johnson in the safety manager position. In this interview, Mark talks about how COVID-19 has affected his job and the different programs he is involved with at Hope Lutheran Church of Eau Claire. In the interview he discusses what activities that he and his family have done to stay busy during the uncertain times and talks about how COVID-19 is bringing back family time and how there has been some positives to this pandemic in that aspect.

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The novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, was first officially reported on December 31, 2019, by Chinese officials in Wuhan, China. Since then, the lives of people around the world have been dramatically transformed as the world’s population fights one of the deadliest and most contagious pandemics of modern history. Archivists of all different backgrounds quickly began engaging in what is known as rapid-response collecting—the archiving of historically important, donated artifacts and the collection of oral accounts from volunteer witnesses. Milwaukee resident Deshawn Lee was willing to sit down with Westley Hart, a student at UW-Eau Claire, and participate in the university’s effort, in collaboration with the Journal of the Plague Year Archive as well as the Chippewa Valley COVID-19 Archive Project, to engage in rapid-response collecting of oral histories from the Upper Midwest region. Deshawn comes in direct contact with the virus every day as he works, transporting patients from place to place at Froedtert Hospital and Medical College. He is also a hard-working student, pursuing a career in counseling while raising his 1-year-old daughter together with his girlfriend on the south side of Milwaukee. The purpose of this interview is to document the dynamic impacts that the coronavirus pandemic has had on Americans in the year 2020, particularly those of the Upper Midwest. His account touches on his personal interactions with the virus in work, school, and public, the actions that his local government has taken in response to the virus, as well as the virus’s interaction with the nationwide public protests that followed a series of high-profile police brutality tragedies, with an interest on the impact felt by his local Milwaukee community.

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