Items

• 
  11/24/2020

  Amy Burgoyne Oral History, 2020/11/24

  C19OH
• 
  2021-03-09

  Oral History with a Rural Church Pastor

  Abstract: Josh Colson grew up in Southern Illinois. He attended Welch College, earning a BS in Christian Ministry and an MA in Theology. Additionally, he is currently a student at Vanderbilt Divinity School, pursuing an MTS. Mr. Colson is currently the pastor of Brandon’s Chapel Free Will Baptist Church in Bumpus Mills, TN. The church is part of a small rural community, being in one of the smallest counties in middle Tennessee. In addition, Mr. Colson is the Faith Representative for the community health board. In this interview, Mr. Colson recounts the effects COVID-19 has had on his duty as a member of the clergy, his congregation, and his community.
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  2020-11-19

  Anonymous Oral History, 2020/11/19

  The interviewee discusses her life and daily activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. She addresses her role as an essential employee while caring for her family.
• 2020-10-06

  My Life During COVID-19

  In early March of two-thousand twenty, my husband and I had just begun a journey of going back to mass on a weekly basis. When the governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, mandated that all gatherings of more than five people had to be shut down, that included our local church, gyms, local restaurants, and more. This mandate closed local parks, schools, and many businesses for the remainder of the Spring season. Easter mass was also cancelled which personally impacted my family as it is a tradition to gather at our local church with extended family for the holiday. My husband and I were both considered essential employees at our places of employment during this time. We had to carry a letter to prove our being essential while we drove to and from work. Working in the front office of a physical therapy clinic, the patients arriving before treatment and exiting afterwards began to feel unsafe due to the fear we all felt leaving our homes. This fear also resonated with my two co-workers because one was a Type I diabetic and the other was six months pregnant. Throughout the month of April, I began working from home in order to decrease my hours so that my coworker with diabetes was able to keep his hours. My other coworker who was pregnant took a leave of absence for two full months before returning during phase two. Since the state began phase two and released restrictions, churches and gyms reopened with capacity limits to provide social distancing from one another. My sister, who works for a private preschool, was uncertain if classes would reopen in the fall. She was making daily Zoom calls with her small preschool students from March until summer break began in June. As the state slowly begins to open up, our lives have changed with the use of masks and hand sanitizer. The distancing that has been placed over society has increased concerns about leaving home. The world is holding onto hope for a sense of normalcy that will soon arise from the clutter of dirty masks and used gloves.
• 
  2020-03-30

  An essential employee's letter of passage during statewide stay at home order

  The letter entails details of an essential employee's reason to be out travelling during a statewide stay at home order. This employee is a take out worker at a common corporate chain restaurant.
• 
  2020-04-23

  Intown Stars' Response to Georgia's Announcement of Re-Opening Businesses

  Email from the owner of a gymnastics studio explaining why she was choosing to remain closed despite the governor of Georgia's announcement that gyms would be expected to re-open by April 24.
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  2020-03-19

  Essential Businesses and Machinists

  Precision Boring Company was designated as part of the Critical Defense Industrial Base during the Covid-19 response. Machinists at Precision Boring Company, considered essential employees, maintain physical distance while at work. #HIST5241