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2023-07-19

COVID-19 Archive Story_H. Crowder

I have uploaded a personal story of how COVID-19 impacted my life; and how, in my mind, there is a before and after, two different sections of my life. I also observe the changes that were influenced by the Pandemic.

2020-12-04

104-Year-Old World War II Veteran Beats COVID-19

This remarkable article tells the story of how a 104-year-old World War II veteran from Alabama named Major Wooten was able to beat COVID-19 in a little under two weeks after testing positive. The article describes how Major Wooten was given an infusion of a newly approved monoclonal antibody therapy named bamlanivimab, and while this treatment physically drained him temporarily, he was able to recover 24 hours later. Wooten maintains that he is still quite drained and “mentally fuzzy” after having COVID-19, but this remarkable man was able to bounce back extremely well from the disease. This article is significant to the archival collection relating to COVID-19 survivors, as well as the collection pertaining to veterans. It truly is amazing to see someone like Major Wooten survive fighting in France during World War II, and then continue to beat the odds by defeating such a deadly disease. This article will do a great job of addressing the lack of input within the archives from elderly veterans on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their lives.

2021-10-07

Abigail Barr Oral History, 2021/10/07

This audio recording describes my grandfather's funeral at the beginning of the pandemic. It was very difficult because my family couldn't grieve together. We had to have separate services ten people each. We could not have any other family come because we were on lockdown. The whole situation was extremely sad because the pandemic kept our family apart during a difficult time.

2021-09-07

Alabama Nurses Protest Wages, COVID Working Conditions: 'We Don't Feel Appreciated'

Nurses in Birmingham, Alabama protested unequal compensation and poor working conditions at UAB Hospital by refusing to clock-in for the night shift.

2020-03-14

One Last Family Gathering

The world changed as we Alabamians knew it on Friday, March 13th, 2020, as that was the last day that our school systems remained physically open before our governor mandated forced early system closures ahead of the approaching COVID pandemic. As a high school teacher, I uneasily said goodbye to my students and promised to see them on ZOOM the following Monday. When I arrived home, I found that my wife had contacted each of her family members to invite them to a seafood feast planned in our home for the next day, Saturday the 14th. We had recently purchased a tremendous variety and quantity of seafood for a planned early summer river gathering, including shrimp, crawfish, and fish; however, the pandemic was likely not going to allow for such a future gathering, and we knew of no way in which we could consume so much seafood ourselves, and were equally incognizant when we might gather as a family again, so this was essentially planned as a “McRight family last supper” (pardon the blasphemy, but that’s how we coined it). We had prepared each of the dishes before, save for Tamsie’s new experiment, her crawfish cheesecake. We had enjoyed crawfish and shrimp cheesecake at a wonderful restaurant, Roux 66, while traveling through Natchez, Mississippi several months previous; that culinary experience informed our desire to recreate the recipe at home! Thus, our sensory memory of better times and a delicious meal beckoned us to return to that sensory experience and give the recipe a try. We researched online recipes to combine basic ingredients, including shrimp, crawfish, cream cheese, onions, eggs, and bell peppers, with two cheeses, minced garlic, Creole seasoning, salt and pepper, heavy cream, and a shrimp boil mix. The cheesecake was delicious, and the combination of garlic, crawfish, and shrimp contrasted with the sweet richness of the cream and eggs to make for a delightful dish. To this day, the smell of shrimp makes me think of those early days of the pandemic because our kitchen was filled with the aroma of that decadent crawfish cheesecake, shrimp scampi, a shrimp boil, fried fish, boiled shrimp, and fried shrimp. We hosted approximately twenty-five family members, we laughed, we talked about the future, and we expressed concern over what the coming days might bring. Afterward, we dismissed pandemic talk to release our concerns for the shank of the evening, as we were living for the moment and celebrating our being together. I remember thinking but it might be a long time before we could get fresh seafood again, because we did not know if the opportunity to find fresh seafood would avail itself again in the near future, nor did we know if grocery stores would remain open. That was a time of complete uncertainty. I will likely never again enjoy a shrimp meal without thinking about March 14th, 2020, as the world in which we had lived mere days before somehow now seemed different, foreign, and unsettling.

2021-03-21

When Workers Stand Together in Collecive Bargaining, There's Power.

Verified When workers stand together in collective bargaining, there's power. Every benefit, from the minimum wage to the 5-day work week, was earned when people organized. It’s never easy. But workers at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama are standing together right now and if they win, it will send a shockwave throughout this country.

2021-03-16

Bill's Against Trans Children

Verified Reposted from @chasestrangio PLEASE TAKE ACTION TODAY. 1. Watch this video of a father begging his government not to silence his trans daughter’s spirit. 2. Share this video and raise all the alarms to #ProtectTransKids. 3. Help contact South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and tell her to veto HB1217 a bill that bars trans kids from sports and forces all kids to turn over private medical information to the state. Gov. Noem could sign the bill at any moment. Call! 605-773-3212. E-mail: governornoem@state.sd.us. 4. Help share info about Alabama bill SB10/HB1 which makes it a FELONY to provide gender affirming care to trans people under 19. The House is voting TODAY. Call Alabama Reps and tell them to Vote NO on SB10. I am not exaggerating when I say trans kids’ lives are on the line. Act now!!

2020-04-27

COVID-19 and Daycare

I worked at a daycare in Hoover, Alabama for 5 years that provided care to over 200 children. When the state went on lockdown, our numbers dwindled down to 60 as we were only allowing children of first responders to stay. All other children were either left to their parents, babysitters, family, friends, etc. I was a lead infant teacher for babies 6-12 months. I normally have about 10 but on my first day of work after lockdown was initiated, I only had 2 and that instantly meant less noise. I have a schedule I keep but each activity lasted half the time it normally does. It gave the babies more time to play and explore but for me, I had to begin the process of deep cleaning. We were issued new cleaning products and if there was a time when you weren't busy with children, you had to clean. We kept our masks on all day for the children's sake but it limited my breathing since I wasn't used to wearing one. Add that to new, stronger cleaning products and it makes for a difficult day. I experienced the normal smells of infant care that I have for the last 5 years but the new, stronger cleaning smells altered my olfactory system. I was worried how the babies and I would react to it after we've been exposed to the chemicals for a long period of time. We weren't allowed to open our doors or windows so the smell stayed with us all day. It gave me headaches and made my babies cranky. It was a learning process with the new sanitizing methods and we all finally got a rhythm down and requested that we be allowed to open our windows and doors while cleaning. It helped us keep our kids and ourselves healthier and more conscientious about our cleaning habits. With less children around, we were able to clean thoroughly and get everything in order but it felt less like a daycare without all the noise. We worked diligently so that when lockdown was over, we could welcome back our loud and crazy kids to a new, sanitized environment.

2020-12-05

Helon's Hungarian Goulash

Over the pandemic, I was with my family at our ranch in Alabama. As it started to get cold, I decided to make the only dish I really love to cook, a Hungarian goulash. It's a stew with meat, noodles, and sauce. It's very hearty and filling on cold days especially sitting by a fire in the middle of nowhere. Taste comparisons I can think of are like a beef stroganoff but with more spice since paprika features so heavily in the dish. It's easy, and the majority of the time involved is hands-off as it cooks so plenty of time to hang out with family or do whatever without having to worry. I think that cooking was a great comfort to many as we were stuck inside with the constant news of the pandemic's effect on us and low morale as the months wore on. For me, making goulash always makes a bad day better since it's a dish I love and there's just something really calming about the smell of cooking food and a warm kitchen. I know there were lots of recipes people shared online as a way to cope with being away from family and friends. Here's the recipe I use: ⅓ cup vegetable oil 3 onions, sliced 2 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika 2 teaspoons salt ½ teaspoon ground black pepper 3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste 1 ½ cups water 1 clove garlic, minced 1 teaspoon salt Step 1 Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onions in oil until soft, stirring frequently. Remove onions and set aside. Step 2 In a medium bowl, combine paprika, 2 teaspoons salt and pepper. Coat beef cubes in spice mixture, and cook in onion pot until brown on all sides. Return the onions to the pot, and pour in tomato paste, water, garlic, and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until meat is tender. Enjoy!

12/01/2020

Scott Campbell Oral History, 2020/12/01

Scott Campbell was born in Panama to military parents. He and his family moved to Colorado when he was young, living close to his father's family, where his interest in a sort of do-it-yourself lifestyle was awakened. After high school, he moved to central Alabama, working several retail jobs before landing his job at FIS Financial Solutions. After buying his own property, he began gardening and doing a bit of homesteading on his own in Alabama. Scott now spends his days editing financial programs and his down time taking care of various projects and plants around his home.

2020-09-01

Auburn University: 567 Confirmed COVID-19 Cases (August 24-28)

Screenshot shared on a friend's Facebook page. She writes that there were over 700 confirmed cases in the first two weeks of school, and yet the college campus remains open. Arizona State University also remains open, we'll see if rising infection rates change the way administrators cope with a public health crisis.

2020-07-01

Alabama students throwing 'COVID parties' to see who gets infected: Officials

As covid cases explode across the U.S., especially in the southern and western portions of the country, young people in Tuscaloosa, Alabama are doing something unthinkable. They are hosting covid parties. While authorities thought this was a rumor upon first being notified, further investigation showed it was really happening. Unlike previous generations who held "chicken pox parties" in an effort to expose their children to the disease while they were young and less likely to suffer complications (prior to a vaccine being available) the covid parties do not appear to have any purpose other than entertainment. People are hosting parties and inviting people known to have the disease. Everyone then puts money in a pot and the first person to come down with covid gets the pot.

2020-04-04

'We need help': Alabama prisoner pleas for assistance in fighting COVID-19

ABC News video showing video from inside an Alabama prison and the inmates inability to social distance. The prisoner on the video asks for HELP. As of the date of this video no Alabama prisoner had tested positive for the virus though at least two employees have tested positive. After the interview with the prisoner the host goes on to discuss the issue with a former female inmate and a former doctor in charge of prison health in another state. The host also interviews a sheriff who argues that releasing inmates is not safe for the community.

A screenshot of a news clip with the title "victim of alleged elderly abuse in Grand Bay boarding house tests positive for COVID-19".

2020-05-29

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