Items

• 
  2021-07

  My Grandpa and I’s Camping COVID Trip

  After 2020, I was looking to travel and try to get back to normal. However, in 2021 I was supposed to go to Europe to see my sister but COVID canceled that trip so I was perplexed at what I could do for travel. Then it came to me, my grandpa is someone who has traveled almost everywhere in the US. With that, he loves to camp and one of his favorite spots that he always mentions is Mackinac Island. I thought this would be a great bonding trip. So for Christmas I told my grandpa that I would love to go on a camping trip with him up to Mackinac Island in Michigan. This would be the first time me and my grandpa would be going on a week-long vacation with just ourselves. What was funny is that everyone in the family warned me because my grandpa never stops talking and the music would be in his hands. The good thing about that is that I had lived with my grandparents the summer after I finished college so I was used to being around the constant conversations. Secondly, I am an old soul so I love 50s and 60s music. Therefore, I knew that this could be one of the best trips I might ever get to take with my grandfather. The trip began in July of 2021 as we left my hometown of Manteno, IL and traveled up to Michigan. We had a small popup camper that we were going to be sleeping in for this week's trip. There were so many favorite memories it is kind of hard to trim down. First off, traveling was so much fun, having deep conversations about my grandpa’s life and the different times that he had gone to Mackinac were so fascinating. My grandpa can talk to anyone so he is a very good storyteller. Another memory was setting up the camper because the second time we did set it up we forgot to stabilize the back so when I went to lay in bed the whole thing tipped over. The good part is that no one got hurt. On the second day when we arrived in Mackinac it was down pouring on us, thankfully my grandpa had ponchos ready to go. That night we started the tradition that would carry on for the night which was our card games. Every night we played either crazy eights or dirty spades. Those were some of the best times when we were just hanging out together. I cannot tell you how amazing those memories still are today. When we traveled to Mackinac Island on the third day it was amazing. Me and my grandpa walked all around the island taking in the nature, the history, and the culture on this small island. It lived up to the hype my grandpa had told me. After that day we traveled up to the Upper Peninsula with the UP-ers which was cool to see. That night we slept on the border of Canada, which we could see across the river in Sault Ste. Marie. We went on a couple water boat tours in the Great Lakes which were amazing. One of the last funny memories we had was that my grandpa finally let me drive on the second to last day. I am not kidding you when I say thirty minutes into driving one of the camper’s tires was gone. The best part was that neither of us noticed until a car passed us and pointed it out. This was such a funny memory because then we had to replace the tire and that is a story that me and my grandpa still joke about. Maybe my driving is bad but I don’t know, it could just be bad luck. The good thing about this entire trip was that the COVID restrictions were minimal. Since we were outside for the most part that was almost never an issue. A couple times when we went into restaurants we had to put our masks on, but it was nice because we were getting fresh air. Overall, the trip was a resounding success and one that I know holds a special place in my heart and my grandpa’s. I feel so fortunate to have had this experience with my grandpa and cannot wait for the next roadtrip we have together.
• 
  2022-04-26

  #REL101 COVID-19's Misery

  Wow, it’s crazy to think that COVID-19 has affected our entire world for a whole 2 years now. I remember when the pandemic had first started, and I was so lost and so confused as I had no idea what our world would come to. I remember being at work, I was working at a coffee shop at the time and my boss asking me if we should shut down or not. That day I came home from work with blistering hands from washing my hand so much because of the paranoia I was experiencing. The paranoia was not because of me or my feelings but it was because of the people that surrounded me and the way they had reacted to this illness that had spread so quickly across the globe. Life during the pandemic has been tough I lost my grandpa to COVID-19 in August of 2020, and it was one of the hardest and saddest time of my life. It was a huge shock and none of my family was expecting this at all, but it impacted us so heavily. Looking into power and how that has affected our world, I think immensely. With people in power not following rules and mask regulations because of the power trip they may have. It wasn’t fair to the rest of the world who didn’t have as much power to have to wear a mask when they were choosing not to. When it comes to religion, gatherings were impacted heavily, churches shut down and, on some occasions, churches decided to go online with their services. I don’t think it was fair for churches to have to shut down, but coffee shops could stay open, church and having that sense of belonging and purpose was stripped and taken away from so many people and so quickly. This was a crazy time and a time of so many unknowns and it sucks because we are still not done with this yet, there is still so much growth and rebuilding that needs to happen before we can fully be 100% okay again. Overall, COVID-19 has taught me a lot about our nation and how quickly things can get out of hand.
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  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.
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  2021-04-21

  Grieving a non-covid death

  My grandfather on my dad’s side passed in April 2021. It’s coming close to a year mark at my time of writing this. I think that being in a time surrounded by so much death and loss that we have forgotten about those who have died during this time unrelated to Covid. He had suffered kidney failure in late 2013/early 2014, that part of my life is blurry in memory so I don’t recall exactly, but he had been on dialysis ever since. It’s been hard to talk about his passing, everyone assumes that death in the last two years always has to do with Covid. Death is never easy to talk about, but it is inevitable for every living creature. My grandfather was old and had been sick for a long time, he lived a long and happy life. I don’t mean that in some cheesy way, he truly did. I carry a tremendous amount of guilt surrounding his death. Due to Covid restrictions, I didn’t get to see him for a year leading up to the week that I spent with him while he was in the hospital, then hospice. I still think about him all the time and the last days that I got to spend with him. I don't think I'll ever get to have that closure I want due to this. It’s almost as if we had expected death due to illness, accident, age, anything else, expected to stop. Yet, death of all causes never stops.
• 
  12/08/2020

  Lindsey Jo Boehm Oral History, 2020/12/08

  Lindsey Jo Boehm is a full-time student that attends the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where she studies Nursing. Lindsey is a very busy student who balances work and school, and still finds time for spending time with her friends and family. In addition to a heavy school load, Lindsey works as a nurse’s aide in a critical care unit at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, as well as being a research assistant for a nursing professor at the University. In this interview, Lindsey illustrates how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected her employment, her relationship with her friends and family, her health, and her community. She provides meaningful insight as somebody who interacts with the healthcare field, and explains how the world can better prepare for a future viral outbreak.
• 
  11/20/2020

  John Verdon Oral History, 2020/11/20

  John Verdon was born and raised in Lansing, Iowa. After attending college, John had a long and successful teaching career at Waverly Shell-Rock High School in Waverly, Iowa. John Verdon is currently retired and resides in the town where he was born and raised. In this interview, John Verdon illustrates how COVID-19 affected his life, his family, his friends, and the small midwestern community he lives in. He discusses the rising number of COVID cases raging across the United States, leadership response to the pandemic, how individuals that he knows responded to the virus, and what impact COVID-19 has on our future.
• 
  2021-10-26

  Do We Even Matter?

  This poem talks about the failure of our medical field when it came to covid. They focused more on those with Covid than those who were struggling with cancer. My grandfather became one of those victims.
• 2021-10-03

  The Scents of a Homecoming

  My maternal grandfather passed away late last year amidst a relatively heavy pandemic lockdown, and our family has since tried to fill in for him in caretaking for my grandmother. If he could have asked something of us, I know it would have only been to look after her. He was that kind of man. He didn’t need for anything for time with his family and friends, and his utmost concern was her welfare, even when she angered him. Recurring and cyclic apprehension and uncertainty over transmission rates, long-term vaccine efficacy and inoculated antibody generation have forestalled several attempted return trips to my hometown. Data-driven doubts have eroded my wife’s confidence that our collective vaccinations will protect her aging parents from life-altering illness and death have prevented her from traveling with me, even though she wont readily admit that outside our home. In addition to everything else the pandemic has altered or taken from us, it’s also complicated my family’s efforts to care for each other. My grandmother turned 86 recently, and her birthday was also their anniversary. They would have been married 63 years this month, and we wanted to make sure the day didn’t pass like any other lonely Tuesday since his death. My cousins and I put together a birthday dinner at the best restaurant in town, and I traveled back to New Mexico for a week to visit and help where I could. The trip turned out to inspire a self-reflection on the power of scent in my life, emotions, and memory. *** I drove straight to my grandmother’s home on Blodgett Street. I pushed the front door open, and an unpleasant stink hit my nostrils. Throughout my life, that home had particular smells that transitioned over time. Everyone in my family but the children smoked cigarettes while I was growing up, and it wasn’t unusual for a blue-gray haze to hang in my grandparents’ home during family holidays. It wasn’t uncommon for their 1000 sq. ft. home to sleep ten or fifteen people when we had something to celebrate or grieve. Ashtrays often overflowed if late night poker games grew too intense to step away from the dining table. I recall one Thanksgiving from my early childhood in which heavy cigarette smoke obscured my view of the backdoor while I stood near the front door. Even through those early years, I associated their home with the smell of sweets. Baked goods, chocolate cakes, snickerdoodles, and sugar cereals, although I’m now surprised any of us could smell anything. I never ate Fruity Pebbles anywhere but their house. Word reached my family in the mid 80s that hotboxing the house was bad for everyone’s health, and they began smoking outside. Grandad hated that; he’s the one who paid off the mortgage, so he oughta be able to smoke wherever he damned well pleased. Still, he took it outside for the grandkids. Since they stopped smoking in the house, and especially since they quit smoking fifteen years ago, I associated their home with a particular and pleasant fragrance. I never placed it, and I’ve never smelled it anywhere else. It wasn’t solely the scented wax my grandmother leaves on warming plates for too long, which are almost always homey food scents, like apple pie. The scent of their home welcomed me back to a place I am unconditionally loved, missed, and wanted. My jokes always hit, my cooking never failed, and everyone was always glad to see me. They were also glad to take my lunch money at the poker table, which I imagine might have contributed to my perpetual welcome. As of this trip, that unique aroma is gone, replaced by a light odor of stale animal waste. My grandmother took in a low functioning chihuahua about three years ago, and the dog is slowly and thoroughly ruining all the flooring surfaces in her home. It won’t housebreak, and it’s incapable of turning right. Seriously. The dog might be a reincarnated Nascar driver. It only turns left. When it’s excited, anxious, fearful, doesn’t matter. The only emotional arrow in its quiver is a left turn, and the only dichotomy is the circumference. The dog can run around the whole room or spin in place, but only and always left. Lefty shit on one of my most important and reassuring emotional stimulants. ** I also stayed with my parents, who live across town, and we share a love of food, especially comfort food best consumed with big spoons or served in casserole dishes. Because we’re New Mexicans, that means a heavy dose of Hatch green chili goes in everything produced in our kitchens. Throughout the week, my folks made all the staples for fall: red beef enchiladas, fire roasted salsa, smoked burgers, and green chili chicken stew. While I associated backed goods and sweets with my grandparents’ home, I’ve always associated the aroma of meals with my parents, and especially the foods that take a day or two to get just right in a crock or stockpot. Bubbling green chili anything reminds me of the best parts of my childhood, and I have no unfond memories or emotions associated with it. I never caught a beating over the dinner table, never fought over a kettle of green chili. Comfort foods have historically made all the hurt and misery of the outside world go away. That’s their magic, isn’t it? No matter what the day and the world brought to your doorstep, the right foods and aromas improved everything they touched. ** As such, the consistent and predictable wonderfulness of my parents’ home helped buttress my emotions and the loss of the Blodgett Street Scent. The disappearance of that emotional, olfactory experience altered my perception of the trip. I regarded its replacement as a bellwether of things to come, a foreshadowing of my grandmother’s seemingly imminent decline into managed in-home care. My concerns over what the light stink meant conspired with her increased hearing loss, the occasional repeated story, and the often-repeated questions to erode my confidence in her long-term stability. Although she’s now 86, she remains independent and self-sufficient. There’s nothing she can’t accomplish on her own with enough time and naps between exertion. I think I’ve taken that for granted, though, and I should begin managing my expectations. Thanks to a left-leaning chihuahua, I have to confront my grandmother’s increasing fragility and forthcoming dependence. I regret having never attempted to define its source ingredients, although I doubt I could recreate it at any other time or place. In the meantime, I need to get her out of the house long enough to have the flooring scrubbed and sanitized. If you’re in the market for a left-loving fecal factory, please inquire within.
• 
  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.
• 
  2020-06

  Virtual college graduation

  My daughter being congratulated by my father at her virtual college graduation at my home June 2020. Reminder of all of the important life cycle events that were cancelled or made virtual.
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  2020-04-23

  A Succulent Story

  This is a succulent that I received as a gift during September of 2019. I didn’t pay that much attention to it, though, because I was always busy with school, sports, and work. Then, when school shut down, I started taking better care of it, and it grew this interesting little sprout with yellow flowers on it. I took this picture to send to my grandpa, who loves plants, and asked him what it was. I think this succulent really illustrates life for me personally during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, I filled every single day up with activities from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed. And that was ok, I did well with that schedule, and I was able to grow in that environment. This succulent received little care and attention from me, and was still able to grow in that environment. Then, the pandemic came. It was an adjustment to not have to do anything, with the exception of online school. It was definitely not a schedule I was used to. But with time, I found the positive in spending time alone and doing things that I didn’t normally have time to do. I was still growing, but in a different way than what I was used to. I had to learn to spend time alone, and to occupy myself without school or work or sports. This succulent received more attention from me after the pandemic, and was able to grow with this new environment, but it resulted in a different kind of growth. Plus, it allowed me to have an opportunity to talk to my grandpa. We weren’t allowed to see them during quarantine, and I knew he would appreciate talking about something that he loved so sending him this picture allowed me to still keep in touch with him and talk about something that we both enjoyed.
• 
  2021-07-27

  Out of Touch

  When I spent the Thanksgiving 2019 holiday with my family at my grandparent’s house, I had no idea that my hug goodbye would be the last hug I could share with my grandmother for a very long while. With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the CDC pushed multiple changes to prevent the spread of the virus which included social distancing. Both my grandparents are at high risk with underlying health conditions, so possible exposure to the virus was not an option for them. For us, social distancing also meant family distancing. Thankfully, I was able to have regular meetings with them on their front porch. We kept one of the front doors closed to separate us, and we talked from a safe distance. It was not the same as what I was used to and I missed the closeness that we once had, but they were moments to cherish as I did not know when I would get to hug them again. Sadly, I was not the only individual forced to find new ways to stay in touch with family members. All over the internet, heartbreaking pictures and videos surfaced showing families separated by hospital windows, mothers giving birth without family in the delivery room to support them and hold their new baby, and people ‘touching’ their loved one’s hands through glass barriers. These moments showed how the coronavirus left many families out of touch. Once the virus started to slow down and vaccines became accessible, I was finally able to spend more time with my grandparents without the physical barrier. Lots of people are talking about a ‘new normal’ now that cities are reopening and people are getting to go back to their lives. For me, getting to hug my grandmother again was a sign that everything would be okay, and life finally felt normal.
• 
  2020-09-18

  Grandpa's 80th Zoom Birthday

  This is near the beginning of the school year. I am still settling into 8th grade and am yet used to life during coronavirus. This is the first birthday I have had to celebrate over zoom which was really weird. This is still the stage of Coronavirus Journals where I say what I ate for lunch. Tyler 9/18/20 New Orleans, LA Coronavirus Journal Today is Friday, and Rosh Hashanah. I don’t think my family will celebrate though. I know we will be celebrating my grandpa’s birthday tonight over a zoom dinner. I am really excited to talk to my grandparents because I haven’t spoken to them for a long time because of covid. Today I woke up at 7:48 am and I am really lucky that we have til 8:15 to get to school because I would have definitely been late. Yesterday I had a baseball scrimmage and did pretty well. Today for lunch I had a turkey and swiss cheese sandwich and some barbecue chips. I am pretty lucky to have no homework today since I had Science, History, and Band.
• 
  2021-04-23

  Covid as a first responder

  How the pandemic effected me personally at home and at work
• 
  2021-01-25

  COVID-19 Stats and Story

  Coronavirus happened so quickly. It is difficult to recall details from March 14 2020. The day my family and thousands of others went into quarantine. March 14 2021 is approaching quickly. Back then it seemed like nobody knew anybody who had the virus. It was all rumors and stories. Now it seems like everybody knows or has had Coronavirus. A prediction is that 1 in 3 people in LA county have had Coronavirus, which is totally insane. Los Angeles county has over 10,000,000 residents. Meaning that about 33,333,333+ people have been infected, many without knowing. Although it is an estimate, that shows how serious this virus is. 1000-3000 (about) people in America die due to Coronavirus each day. About 15,000 people die each day worldwide. There have been almost 100,000,000 Coronavirus cases and 2 Million deaths. 1/70 of the world has been diagnosed, not including those who are asymptomatic and those who were not or do not have access to tests. About 2 million people have died. That is 1/50 of those diagnosed. Seeing these numbers shocks me. It opens my eyes and makes me realize how truly important it is the wear a mask and to be safe. My grandpa, I call him Papa, is getting the first dose of his Coronavirus vaccine tomorrow. I am so excited that he will have immunity. There are 11 cases of Coronavirus in his 200 person retirement home. He is 84 years old. I am so glad that Papa will be safe. He was widowed when my grandma, Grammy about 11 years ago, so I believe she had been his guardian angel just as she has been mine. My final thought is that I cannot wait for Coronavirus to be cured and for the vaccine to have wider distribution.
• 2020-09-22

  Spredaing Pandemic

  It was a late September night, the sky dark as coal. I was eating a delicious dinner of spaghetti al carbonara with my family when my father told us some scary news. The son of my grandfather's friend had fallen ill and died at the hands of COVID. I did not know this friend or his son at all, however, the fact that it could kill a perfectly healthy, young man really struck me hard, ad I'm beginning to see why my mother won't let me go to school. My father and grandfather attended the funeral, and I was left to think about how serious this pandemic really was.
• 
  2020-11-25

  Loving Grandpa Brings Food

  A grandpa drives 30 minutes to bring his granddaughter and her boyfriend some food and board games after finding out they were Covid positive. One commenter said, "Protect that man at all costs". Such a sweet and loving gesture.
• 
  06/01/2020

  COVID-19 Has No Boundaries for Those That Mourn

  February 2020, Covid-19 was a drop in the bucket, it’s coming to the U.S. from China. What is it? Where did it come from? How will it reach us? Do we close our boarders? Stop international travel? Who is to blame? The first of the infected to arrive, from China, landed at Kelly Field San Antonio TX, and were set into quarantine. Fast forward about a month (end of March), and I am picking my dad up from BAMC (Brook Army Medical Center), he had been dropped off by his wife, and she was not allowed to stay at the hospital. He was seen at the ER because of stomach pain and continuous vomiting. What was different and a little strange to me was the fact that the hospital would not allow his wife to enter the building, even if she was the only means of his being. Because of strict city, state, and national orders to covid-19, no one other that the patient was allowed to enter the hospital. After two months of going in and out of the hospital, military doctors had discovered a cancerous tumor growing in his liver, it was putting pressure against his bile duct not allowing his liver to function properly. An emergency procedure was scheduled, but without notice, it was cancelled before he was operated on. A second procedure (Y90) was scheduled, but part 1 of a two-part procedure failed and three days later we said goodbye to Art Reyes Sr. Planning for his services were difficult. We could only invite 10 people to the church and 20 people to the funeral home, but after gathering information about my dad’s services, my heart went out to those that had lost family and friends due to the Covid virus. Their services were completely canceled. If a person had died in a hospital of Covid-19, they were to be transported from the hospital, cremated, and buried without any type of service Had it not been for Covid-19, I think that Art Reyes would have had the rapid medical attention that he deserved. Doctors would have been “on the spot” in treating him for his condition, and not meeting just once a month to discuss someone’s condition with cancer. Many times, I felt that he was dismissed because of the covid-rules in place, but there also did not have to be poor/no communication between family and doctors. Funeral services would have been normal for more than 20 people to celebrate his death, and many family members that could not travel from out of town, could have celebrates with us also. The bottom line was his cancer inevitably was the cause for his death, but it wasn’t immediate. His death was due to his failing organs that were secondary to the tumor growth, and medical doctors on a “Corona19 Vacation.”
• 
  2020-05-10

  Graduation 50 Years Apart

  In this photo, I am holding a picture of my deceased grandfather while I'm dressed for my undergrad graduation that did not happen. I wanted to take a picture in my regalia on the campus that we both studied at, but due to the pandemic, I was forced to finish my undergrad degree at home. This photo in my regalia reminded me that I could not celebrate this accomplishment at the same place that my grandfather did only 50 years before.
• 2020-08-10

  Finding Out My Grandfather Has Terminal Cancer in the COVID-19 Pandemic

  In the midst of an already chaotic season, my family and I received news that my grandfather has colon cancer. It started with the doctors first finding multiple masses on his colon as well as his liver. As time passed, multiple tests, scans, etc. were done and the results came back as cancerous. When we got the phone call that it was incurable, all I wanted to do was drop everything and go see him but then I remembered.. We are in the middle of a pandemic. So then the anxious thoughts started to creep in of whether or not I would have a chance to see him before he dies. My grandfather lives in Texas, while my husband and I live just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. We had a trip scheduled toward the beginning of the summer and had already pushed back so I didn't want to reschedule this trip once more knowing it could be the last time I see him. Coming to a conclusion was very challenging. We changed our minds back and forth multiple times and almost didn't go. However, my husband and I were able to pack up a week's worth of clothing and technology (I am a full time student at the moment) and we drove down to Texas. We were given the opportunity to see my grandfather at my grandparents house while we wore masks. Overall, the trip was great. My husband and I were grateful for the chance to see my family, especially my grandfather. While the decision of if we should see him or not was a difficult one that took a lot of thought and guidance, I am glad we went in the end.
• 
  05/07/2020

  Keeping the Elderly Safe

  Some people still have to live there lives and go out and help other's. My Grandfather needs a care giver everyday from when he wakes up to when he goes to sleep. We have to do everything we can do to keep him safe and healthy. He is a lovely man and all he wants now is for this to be over so he could go visit his wife in the nursing home, because they are all shut down. *taken on May 7th
• 
  2020-04-17

  Can't Be There

  Reflection about not being able to visit relatives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 
  2020-02-29

  His Last Graduation

  Life was already moving way too fast and I was struggling to keep up, and then my grandfather passed. Then the Corona virus outbreak began and suddenly made me a homeless college student with a full time job that I’m still obligated to report to. The remainder of senior year went out the window and we all knew a graduation ceremony would be the very least of anyone’s concerns. I would have never guessed that this picture would be the last graduation my grandfather would attend, back from high school, and the one that I so desperately couldn't wait for him to attend was now canceled. In a matter of a month, it felt like everything was being taken away. So right now, it has made me unavailable. I want to grieve when the emotions suddenly arise, heal on my own terms, put the pieces back together, find the strength and knowledge needed to still get my degree, and figure out life going forward. I will not apologize for this space that I’m in, but I hope to see you all on the other side. Bigger and better.