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2022-04-20
Oklahoma Outbreak: an okie boys experience with COVID-19
Looking back at the beginning of the pandemic seems surreal. I remember hearing in December 2019 or January 2020 about some sickness in China. However, I had lived through the Ebola scare and multiple different flu outbreaks and my life had not changed day to day. People would get scared and then it would pass after a couple months with little effect. This would turn out to be different and unlike anything seen in the developed 21st century world. I left my school for Spring Break and though I would return to my final days at Mustang HS and the fun events that came with graduating. My family and some friends traveled a few hours from our house to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and stayed nearby in Medicine Park, Oklahoma. It was a sleepy turn of the century resort town that had seen better days when the rich and powerful of Oklahoma had made it a vacation spot. Although not as popular as it once was, it is being rediscovered by local people for its natural beauty and relatively cheap costs. It seemed like a normal vacation, and we did not see very many people as it wasn’t yet summer and there are not that many locals. We hiked trails at the wildlife refuge and went into town for food and trinkets. It was a nice quiet start to the week. Then all of the sudden everything began to change. We watched the news and saw on social media that the virus that was a world away had now made its way to America. We still were not very worried because we were pretty isolated, and either were hiking outside on trails with little activity or tucked away in our cabin playing games and hanging out. Then cases started to explode, the economy started collapsing, people were getting sick everywhere and no one knew what to do. We went into a restaurant in town and did not know how to act; we were all rubbing germ-x all over ourselves and keeping our distance as best we could. At this point we still figured it would all blow over after a few weeks. As our spring break drew to a close, our school let out a statement that we were not going back the next week. This was exciting news and I figured it was all just a precaution and I would be back in class the week after with all of this just a big laugh and some extra time off. Boy was I wrong. On the drive home my dad, who is a semi-prepper, was coming up with all sorts of scenarios and making plans for if the world collapsed but it honestly still felt like we were only entertaining ourselves. As we rolled back into my town, it looked like a beehive had exploded. People were driving crazy, every gas pump was full, and the Walmart was almost wiped out. That is when it started to sink in that things might be worse than I first thought. Then the first deaths started getting reported and it really seemed serious. I never went back to a high school classroom. My whole life changed from that point on. My first 2 years of college seemed almost fake and as of right now I have had COVID 3 times; the original, delta, and omicron. My family has also had it multiple times. We were some of the lucky ones to make it through with no lingering problems and for my older family members, with their lives. It is now April 2022 and things have finally started to go back to somewhat normal, but another wave could happen at any time. Corona Virus has changed our world and is going to be with us forever. -
2020-05-22
Lining up to Shop
This image shows a line outside of a Walmart in Katy, Texas. During the spring and summer of 2020, I would make it part of my routine to visit the grocery store at 7:00am every Friday morning. People would line up outside of the doors waiting for them to open. It was too early for anyone to talk. I'm sure people rather not talk to one another because we were to remain 6 feet apart-- with duct tape lines suggested on the sidewalk. Plus, standing in the southeast Texas humidity made us all melt under the masks. Once the doors opened, people would grab a cart and rush in. From there, it would be a race to the back of the store where the water, toilet paper, milk, and paper towels were stored. However, my prize was disinfectant wipes. The cleaning aisle was my first stop every Friday morning. Very rarely would I get lucky and any Clorox or Lysol wipes would be on the shelves. Today, I have about a dozen containers on a shelf in my garage... and I continue to buy more. -
2021-02-14
Journal - Starting the Service Industry Collection
This journal entry excerpt, written in February, expresses my frustrations with the experiences my friends and I have had working in the service industry during the pandemic, and why it is important to document that experience. During a time in which there has been a great deal of coverage about working from home, those of us without the option to had to adapt to the new procedures in an attempt to keep ourselves safe, and were often met with more aggression and defensiveness from customers than before. While some of this entry is me airing my frustrations, it gives insight into how I was feeling at the end of my time working for the service industry. -
2020-12-07
Tweet: Ontario Safety
"In Ontario, It’s unsafe to walk outdoor hiking trails But It is safe to walk to aisles in Walmart & Costco Because science" -
11/29/2020
James Morrel Oral History, 2020/11/29
James W. Morrell has worked with Wal-Mart for over 20 years. In this interview he describes his experience working for Wal-Mart before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. -
2020-04-23
What grocery store workers say they’re facing during the pandemic.
This article is important to share because although I was not a Wal-Mart employee through the pandemic, the employees interviewed in the article are relatable as the company has never been proactive and instead reactive. While I understand that no one was prepared for the pandemic, the way the employees were treated during this time was very typical to the way our store employees were treated, and still are, in situations where health is being risked for the sake of a sale. “The manager’s response, according to Hall: “Wash your hands every 15 minutes, so you don’t need a glove or a mask.” ‘She just walked away from me and started laughing, like it was funny.’ Hall said.” The article also goes on to state that it wasn’t until employees began speaking out against conditions and fear for their own safety due to the company’s lack of procedures and precautions, that they started implementing safety precautions for customers and employees. -
2020-04-27
Toilet Paper Shortage During Pandemic
While many of us living through the pandemic understand the meaning behind this photo, future generations may not. This photograph was taken by a Walmart employee when his store had received a shipment of toilet paper. During this time of the pandemic, toilet paper was a hot commodity and would not stay stocked on the shelves because so many people were buying it. Although this is not an item that we may think of as essential during a pandemic, toilet paper was difficult to come by and the employees had put this out on the floor as soon as it had come off of the truck. Before they could put the item on the shelves, people had already grabbed it from the pallet. -
2020-05-01
Walmart Associate Checks Coworker’s Temperatures
The day this photograph was taken was the day that my father, a Wal-Mart employee, was commissioned to begin taking the temperature of all Wal-Mart employees in the store. His regular duties were covered by another employee and each time a fellow coworker entered the building, they had to have their temperature read, recording, and asked a number of questions to ensure it would be safe for them to work their shift that day. This was never a procedure until COVID-19 spread and Wal-Mart employees were deemed “essential workers”. -
2020-07-22
Black Friday for Walmart Employees
What I have submitted is important to me, because while I have worked retail and understand the important of everyone being able to share Thanksgiving with their families and friends and also the importance of everyone’s safety during the pandemic, I happen to be someone that did not celebrate Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving day. My family was always working and instead of being home alone on the holiday, I went shopping by myself, or if I was lucky, with a friend. I’m beyond ecstatic for retail workers that will finally get to spend the holiday with their families and friends as some have not had the holiday off in over 20 years. Perhaps this year, we as a family, will celebrate on Thanksgiving day for the first time in almost 15 years. -
2020-04-07
Permission Slip for Essential Workers
This photo was sent to me from a former coworker that was “served” a “permission slip” as she called it, for being an essential worker during the pandemic while working for Walmart. It’s important because while we would normally think of an essential worker as someone who is in healthcare or emergency services, grocery employees were considered essential for the items they sold that were in serious demand during the panic of the pandemic. All hands on deck is the most appropriate phrase here. -
2020-10-27
The New Smell of Walmart
Walmart. Not known for being the cleanest and best smelling place on Earth. In the past, I’d walk in and there would be always be an odd stench. One that smelled of old moldy bread and burnt bacon. However, I was very used to the smell given that I’d usually stop by here once a month after lacrosse practice to pick up gatorade for the following practices. Once COVID-19 struck. Walmart’s smell has changed significantly. The employees are constantly cleaning, wiping down registers, mopping the tile, and spraying down the carts. Now a distinct smell of bleach fills the entire store. The mask that I wear in the store isn’t enough to block out the strong smell of bleach. It’s so strong that it stings my nose. I hope that the smell of bleach can die down and oddly enough return to the regular old smell. -
2020-10-20
Empty Shelves
On March 15, 2020 around 3 PM, Nevada’s governor announced that classes would be suspended. I took these photos on the same day, except for the one in the upper right corner, just about 2 days after. In the collage, you can see empty shelves of beans, pasta, paper towels, toilet paper, and even eggs. I never thought a day would come where multiple shelves in grocery stores would be empty. Coronavirus has already existed long before this announcement, but I remember that day because nothing was ever the same after. People were in a state of panic, buying everything in bulk because the person next to them was doing the same thing and God-forbid that they run out of eggs. Arguably so, at that time, I understood that people wanted to stock up on everything in order to properly quarantine themselves. Around April, I took the photo in the upper right which is a handwritten sign that I made for the store that I worked at. It took some time for the government to officially mandate that masks were required so we had to take the initiative of doing so. Now, 7 months later, I’m not sure if things have gotten better or if we just learned how to live around this virus, but at the very least, the shelves aren’t empty anymore. -
2020-10-12
Corporate Mask Mandates Not Being Enforced in Oklahoma
I live in Oklahoma and there is currently no statewide mask mandate, nor has there been one since the business shutdowns started in March. When businesses such as Walmart and Walgreens began mask requirements, I assumed this would be at least a barrier of protection for those of us that wear masks. In Oklahoma City and Norman, both nearby larger urban cities, there are city mask mandates. These seem to be somewhat enforced in the stores and very few people are seen not wearing a mask in those cities. In nearby, more rural areas, such as Newcastle. Walmart began store or corporate mask mandates that forced customers to wear a mask. The door's entry was blocked by a guided entry path that led shoppers past a store employee that handed out masks for those that did not have one. This seemed to be a fairly good deterrent for those that avoided masks. By July I was noticing that customers took masks, but then later threw them in the trash. Employees were not enforcing the masks and some customers were avoiding those that didn't wear masks. In September we entered the Newcastle, Oklahoma Walmart and noticed that the entry had changed and Walmart was no longer acknowledging people that did or did not wear masks. By the beginning of October, as COVID-19 cases were reaching high daily numbers in Oklahoma, Walmart customers in Newcastle were now increasingly shopping without masks. My girlfriend and I used to count the number of people that didn't wear masks, it was a mental note of whether things were improving or dissolving. Now, we count those that wear masks. The number that wear masks are consistently lower, than those without. We have been to Walmart more than once since first of October where we were two of less than ten shoppers that had masks. The numbers seem to be on the decline and Walmart is not enforcing its own requirements. The last time we needed products from Walmart, we decided to go to Walgreens in Newcastle instead since it was less crowded. There were only five to six other customers besides us in Walgreens, but we were the only two wearing masks. -
03/30/2020
LaTonja Crowder Oral History, 2020/03/30
Description from the interviewer: LaTonja Crowder reveals how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted society and her day-to-day life. The interview also reflects how LaTonja witnessed other catastrophic events such as Hurricane Katrina and refugees migrating to Columbus. Subject Heading(s): Family Life, Food & Drink, Social Issues, Business & Industry Tags: Non-Profit, Walmart, Hurricane Katrina This submission is in partial fulfillment of course requirements for Dr. Rebecca Wingo at the University of Cincinnati. -
2020-06-04
June 4th and the store is still low on supplies
I was hopeful that the stores would recover quickly from the panic buying taking place in March. But here we are in June and the local Walmart, once restocked only stays that way for a day. For a while my neighbors were trading supplies, toilet paper for sugar, garbage bags for dish-soap. But at this point it is getting frustrating. I always had my favorite brands before all of this started. Now, I am lucky if I can even find a similar product. I left the store on June 4th just happy I was able to find cheese at all. Every recipe I cook tastes a little bit off because I had to replace one or two ingredients. I just don't understand all of this. I heard that farms are dumping milk and killing off their entire farm. Meanwhile we are being told there is going to be a meat and dairy shortage. Hopefully things start to look more normal now that they have re-opened California. We are supposed to be going to stage four soon.