Items

• 
  2019-09

  Covid-19 Changed my Life

  The item that I am a submitting is a short summary of my experience during Covid-19
• 2020-11

  Free drinks?

  I was working at Target in Fullerton, CA while I was going to school for my bachelors degree, as the first year of covid-19 was winding down to its end. On my lunch break, I would usually grab a drink from the Starbucks located inside the store at the front. Usually working there would be a young woman around the same age as myself. Around this time of year I would get myself an iced peppermint mocha, and the first time that I got one there, I asked how much it would be, but the barista smiled behind her mask and said there was no charge. I thought this was a nice perk of the job and thought nothing of it. This became a regular thing until one day I ordered a drink with a different barista working behind the counter. He took my order and then expectantly told me how much my drink would be. I expressed my confusion, but he insisted, and I did not argue. I paid for my drink and went back to the break room. I told some of my coworkers how the barista had made me pay for my drink, and I was met with a confused "yeah... we all pay for our drinks." I probed a little more, and they all assured me that it was not a part of our job to get free drinks at the Starbucks. I smiled as I thought of the usual barista and how special she had made me feel. I was the only one who did not have to pay for my drink while she was working. Maybe that meant that she had feelings for me, or maybe she just decided to express a subtle act of kindness to me in particular. Either way, I felt deeply appreciated in a way that almost no one else made me feel during that year. In a time when strangers could almost have no meaningful interactions, with their faces almost entirely obscured by masks, this person that I didn't even know made me feel more seen than any stranger had in previous years. That peppermint mocha tasted sweeter than any of the others had because of her, even though it was the only one that hadn't been made by her. I still remember the sensation of it.
• 
  2022-05-23

  Cart Wipes at Target

  This is where you can get cart wipes at Target while shopping. In addition to the thing itself, it gives you information on where to get a COVID vaccine. Wiping down surfaces has become a bigger thing since COVID, as it would help reduce the spread. COVID itself can't survive on surfaces for very long, but it can be there for a short amount of time. Using things like cart wipes is a way to prevent COVID and other diseases.
• 
  2022-05-23

  Sneeze Guard in Target at Tempe Marketplace

  This is a sneeze guard seen at Target. This is a COVID-era restriction meant to prevent the spread of COVID. Even though most restrictions are gone, these are still up.
• 
  2022-04-29

  An ~Interesting~ Time to Say the Least

  After living through it for the past two years, there is SO much to say about the COVID-19 pandemic, and I don’t even know where to begin. I guess the main takeaway is that it really forced everyone’s true colors to show. At the beginning in March of 2020, everyone was so uncertain of what was to come, and that alone made it so scary, that most people had no choice but to make light of the situation. I remember not only the grocery store shelves being empty because of everyone over-stocking their pantries and shortages in general, but also the hobby sections of Walmart and Target being empty, which was truly a really beautiful thing to witness. People were taking the time in quarantine to learn more about themselves whether that meant learning new skills or trying out new hobbies and spending time with their families doing puzzles and playing games as well. For me personally, I taught myself how to sew, which is depicted in the attached photo, as I needed to make face masks for my boyfriend and me (out of an old t-shirt) so we could safely go to the grocery store, before masks were widely available. I also learned how to bake really delicious treats, got back into reading, and even painted a few pictures here and there. Aside from these positives, it also brought out a lot of negatives as well including built up anxiety and anger that came out in the form of a new equal rights movement: Black Lives Matter after George Floyd's murder. It was scary at the time because protests and riots got very violent, but any movement for equal rights is a good movement, so it was a positive in the long run. I would say COVID-19 also played a role in the insurrection at the capitol on January 6th of 2021, and more division between political parties regarding vaccines and mandates. One could go on for hours listing all the positive and negative aspects that came about from the pandemic, but it's most important to recognize how resilient we as humans are. I'm proud of how far we've come.
• 
  2020-12-10

  First Cloth Mask Selfie

  The pandemic was a difficult period for everyone, but aside from that, there was a time when crafting multiple kinds of masks was trendy. At one time, my neighbors had a table composed entirely of handcrafted masks. Then you'd go on social media to find out that those weren't protective, but protective or not, everyone wore at least one cloth mask. The one I'm wearing is from Target and was one of my favorites to wear. Along with that, this was my first selfie from the pandemic with a mask stored on my phone, which isn't unusual today, but if I saw someone wearing a mask before the pandemic, I'd be baffled.
• 
  12/11/2020

  Anthony Wallace Oral History, 2020/12/11

  C19OH
• 
  2020-05-28

  One Way Only Signs in Texas Stores

  These are pictures of one-way-only signs posted in a Texas Walmart on May 28th and June 11 2020. Many stores such as HEB, Target, and Sam's Club also had similar signs in there stores. The purpose of these signs was to encourage the public to walk in only one direction on each aisle of the store. Stores created an elaborate zig zag pattern using this method. At the time, it was thought that the risk of contracting COVID could be minimized by keeping people from congregating in the same space such as going in and out of the same aisle entrance. Some peopled followed the signs, but it was not a state law so others did not. These photos are important because they show the great extent stores took to try and minimize the spread of COVID. Stores were very concerned about projecting the image of a safe shopping experience in their stores. However, they also hint at the legalistic bent many COVID precautions were beginning to take on. Another implied effect of this arrangement was that by encouraging all people to go in the same direction, stores increased the risk that their customers might catch COVID-19 as everyone was to follow the exact path the person in front of them had. This was the type of situation these signs were supposed to prevent.
• 
  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.
• 
  2020-12-05

  Covid-19 Notifications

  For six months during the pandemic, I worked at Target. During that time, this is how we were notified of positive Covid cases within our store. Due to privacy reasons, this was often all the details we would receive, leaving us wondering if we should be getting tested or taking extra precautions. This was particularly stressful during the holidays, as there would be at least one text regarding a positive case per week. On the week in the screenshot, there were three positive cases in one week. It often left many of us more stressed than we already were with the influx of holiday shoppers, but we had to continue with our work as is nothing was wrong in order to keep the store functioning to the best of its ability. By the end of the year, we were all surprised when we went more than a couple days without a text.
• 
  2020-03-20

  Hope

  My plague year story of the covid-19 pandemic is honestly quite a normal one. For me covid was not a barrier. It was an obstacle that I learned to get around. I did not let anything hold me back from trying to make the best of my situations. Nothing was ideal in any way possible. I never imagined my final months of highschool being spent at home or starting college online. But I always remembered to take a step back. To distance myself from the chaos and most importantly enjoy my time to the best that I could. Because as humans we have limited control on what happens in our life. It all really depends on how you react to what is happening. You can let the confusion surround you and hold you back. Or you can step out and keep strolling on your path to success, happiness, and love. So like I said my situation in life at the time of the beginning of the outbreak was not ideal. I was in my final few months of highschool and looking forward to graduation, prom, and moving on to college. Unfortunately those milestones did not occur according to plan. My highschool experience was cut short. Way too short. I was forced to adjust to online schooling in very little time. The teachers were still confused on how to teach online and kids were confused on how it worked. My school did not utilize google meets or zoom at the time. So my only connection to my teachers was email. The situation was pretty sad. I missed my friends from school and I missed my teachers that used to fill my day with fun. But I adapted quickly and got my work done. I did not let the communication gap stop me from finishing school on a high note. I utilized the extra free time I was presented with by working. All the time. I work at Target. So I am considered an essential worker for an essential business. So I was desperately needed at the store all the time to help out. I was working forty hour work weeks all while still making time for friends and finishing school work. I worked later shifts, came in on off days and came in earlier to help when they needed. I will never forget the benefits of the work experience I got during the first few months of the pandemic. It taught me a lot about managing my time and money well. I also made great connections with my coworkers and customers who came into the store. These experiences will help me greatly when I move forward in my life in many ways I do not even realize yet. I worked a ton, finished highschool, enjoyed my summer; which I still found a way to make memorable and started college. I may not have gotten the experience I had hoped for when I first came to my campus. But as I’ve said many times, I did not let the obstacles stop me from enjoying my life. I built the greatest support group of friends and I could not have asked for a better outcome. My group and I made the best of college campus life. We always find ways to have fun and still get our work done. So far college has been a fun time and I am glad I came. Again, my story may not have the same hardships as a lot of people may have gone through. My story has been pretty hopeful. So here is to passing the hope on. I hope I continue to grow and thrive and if you may not have had the best experiences yet, here is to hoping you can break free from the chaos and live life to the fullest capabilities right now. Life is not about how hard things are, it is about how you are able to overcome difficulties in your path.
• 2020-01-12

  Slow gain, slow lose

  Ahhh Covid. From March until December I steadily gained more weight than I ever have (without being 9 months pregnant)! Each month progression was a steady +5, +5, +5, +5, +5, +5, +5 … Until December 13th. The day before my daughter’s wedding. I tried to squeeze myself into ANYTHING that might pass for wedding attire. Work clothes did not fit anymore, not even a cute pair of jeans. Would my husbands slacks work? The answer is nope! Apparently ten months of wearing pajamas and stress eating was really affecting my ability to gauge my own girth. This was traumatic for me. I pride myself in being prepared for any occasion. In my closet I have funeral outfits, wedding outfits, professional outfits. All carefully curated over the years to see me through anything. I thought I was prepared for my daughter’s wedding. I imagined a stroll from the living room to my closet where I would just choose whatever wedding attire I was in the mood for that morning and come out shining! But nope! Not this day. Instead, my husband had to make an emergency trip to the Target drive-up after I panic ordered every size of the same pair of pants and blouse, crying the whole time. All of this, is leading to my favorite thing. A $30 Walmart trampoline. I ordered it on a whim with the groceries I had ordered on delivery. I didn’t even think they would have it. It seems all exercise equipment has been sold out during the pandemic, along with board games and toilet paper. I bounce in the morning, I bounce during passing period, I bounce after work. I watch movies and bounce. I listen to podcasts and bounce! I have (so far) bounced off a total of 10 pounds since December 13th. I still need to bounce off another 30 and maybe my pants will fit again. My husband and kids are annoyed by the constant bouncing. But it was cheaper than most other exercise equipment and I hardly notice I am working out when I am into the latest Netflix binge.
• 2020-12-14

  Thanksgiving during a pandemic

  This thanksgiving was not like another. For the first time in a while, we spent this THanksgiving under a lockdown due to Covid-19. Although we were locked down my family and I traveled to Florida to visit our grandparents because everything gets worse. Since we traveled it made it feel a little bit more like Thanksgiving but not entirely. We had a lot of delicious food that everyone helped make. Everything tasted so good and I was so full after. After we ate we all sat around and talked for a while. But, my siblings and I had to clean up and do all the dishes because the adult’s job was cooking and we had to clean. Later after some time had passed everyone started to go home, but my siblings and I really wanted to get an early start on the Black Friday deals. We all got in the car and drove to target. When we showed up at target we were shocked to find that it was closed. All the shops had closed early because of the curfew. We all thought this was crazy. Since target was closed we all just decided to go home and go to bed. It was a great Thanksgiving but everything still felt very weird.
• 2020-12-10

  covid 19

  During my thanksgiving, I couldn't see any of my outside family which sucked. But I got toes thereafter but I had to wear a mask. I don't have any pictures but an example would be like a simple trip to target is so hard because of prices being raised and having to wear a mask
• 2020-10-26

  Store Shutdowns

  March 13, 2020 started off a normal day. I went to school and listened to all the conversations about COVID and possible school shutdowns. After school my friends and I went to Target but little did I know that the next time I would visit a store would be completely different. A few days later I went to the grocery store with my family. It was a shocking sight when I walked in and seen everyone with a mask on and shelves completely empty. It was like an apocalypse was among us. Everyone was running rampid, pushing their carts as fast as possible and had a mask on all in the process. I had to feel everything through my rubber gloves and had a hard time smelling anything through my mask. Our new normal is wearing mask, social distancing and putting on hand sanitizer every second possible. This is important to share because it shows how COVID has shaped the way we live today.
• 
  2020-09-15

  Antimaskers Storm Target in Florida

  The video shows a group of people protesting masks in a target in Florida. The protesters can be heard saying, "Take it off" and were playing "We're not gonna take it" by Twisted sister on a speaker. anti-masker, Target, mask, Florida
• 
  2020-04-10

  The empty shelves

  The COVID 19 hits the world like a disaster and caught people off guard. As a student, I don't need to go out a lot since all my courses switched to online modality. But there is only one exception, and that is to go out and buy food. Be sure to wear a mask and maintain a social distance every time I go out. Above all, it seems that the strains of the epidemic had spread. If you get to the grocery late, the shelves will be empty. Target and Trader Joe's, two of my most frequent grocery stores I usually go to, best represent this example. The sight of grocery shelves bare of food perhaps makes people’s hearts flurried.
• 2020-08-22

  Social Distance

  2. A simple sticker has now become such an important concept in my current life. At first, I remember seeing them and thinking that this measure was a little extreme and really not needed. Now, my whole mindset has changed. At stores, I am now that person that dislikes if you’re too close to me. It makes me feel like I’m covered with germs if we have to squeeze by each other in an aisle. If I’m paying for something and you’ve already started unloading your items in your cart to pay and moving near me, it makes me feel very disrespected. Something so small such as personal space is now a thing that I think about every day. While at times it helps me to feel safe, it also impacts my personal life too. Things like random hugs, hanging out with friends, playing soccer, or just being able to touch another human being. Socially distancing represented by this small sticker has taken over how I live my life.
• 
  2020-04-03

  Emptiness Around Us: Empty Aisle

  A whole row of empty shelves at Target in Niskayuna, NY in early April. This shelf is normally fully stocked with toilet paper, flushable wipes, paper towels, and facial tissue.
• 
  2020-04-03

  Emptiness Around Us: Empty Ledge

  An empty shelf at Target in Niskayuna, NY in early April. The shelf here is normally fully stocked with toilet paper, flushable wipes, and facial tissue. The note explains a purchase limit of 1 product per guest, although there was none to be had in the store.
• 2020-08-10

  Emptiness Around Us

  The month of April found me back in my parents home in a suburb of Albany, NY. My university was closed, and I was forced to move out of my on-campus housing a month earlier. All of my classes continues online, and my film photography class was required to move to a digital photography platform as we were not allowed access to our university’s darkroom to develop our film. I found myself wondering how to find subject matter amidst a global pandemic, where at the time grocery stores were just about the only places open, in what I considered to be the most boring small town in America. After weeks of submitting photo after photo of my backyard, house, dogs, and siblings, my professor asked me to try and find a new subject for my photos. I really had no idea what else to photograph, but on a trip to Target for groceries with my mother, I found myself wandering through row after row of bare, colorless shelves. I took a photo of this to send to my father, proving that there was not a roll of toilet paper to be had, but then thought about how interesting it could be to document the rows and rows of desolate shelves, leading me to a new subject for my photography class assignments: emptiness. I moved from documenting empty shelves, to empty parks, to empty streets. Emptiness was a subject I could find nearly everywhere I looked during the coronavirus pandemic. Looking back on these photos a few months later, I am so glad I was able to use an art form I love to document what life was like during this strange and scary time in our world. I hope that years from now, my photos could help someone have some idea of how empty our world truly felt during this time.
• 
  April 10, 2020

  Clothing and Display Policy – Pennsylvania Target

  This sign in the infant and toddler clothing section depicts the temporary policy at a Target in North Wales, Pennsylvania that asks customers to not try on clothing and not touch displays.
• 
  April 26, 2020

  Plague Journal, Day 44: Shouldering CoronaStress

  I'm keeping a Covid-19 journal. Here's the latest entry, in which The Girlfriend, my sisters, brother, and mother discuss the challenges and exhaustion of doing normal things -- moving supplies from an art studio, shopping at Target, leaving a parking garage -- in an abnormal time.
• 
  0202-07-07

  Mask won't stop My Mustache!

  Masks are everywhere! I saw this gent in Target and was interested in his big mustache. He enjoyed having his picture taken
• 
  2020-06-01

  COVID-19 Shots Around Town

  I shot a few pictures as I was going to different places. In this one collection are photos of social distancing, "We're Open!" signs, COVID warning signs, empty grocery shelves, a salad bar unable to be used due to contagion of the virus, new protocols for shopping
• 
  2020-03-13

  Empty Shelves at Target

  When I went to Target to get Clorox wipes for my team, I saw the empty shelves of what should be products. It's important to record the item shortages and panic buying
• 
  2020-04-29

  Stand With Striking Workers Digital Poster

  A digital poster outlining the demands of workers in the online shopping/delivery/grocery staging a one day strike to urge the public to boycott the companies involved on the day of the strike.
• 
  2020-04-25

  Living through Covid-19: 04/25/2020

  This is a journal entry that specifically focuses on the transition to online learning and the practice of social distancing. *anonymous *This was intentionally a journal/diary entry therefore it was done through a word doc.
• 
  2020-05-22

  Bea Dougherty Family College, HIST 115

  [Curator's note] Journal entries submitted as part of a class for Dougherty Family College.
• 
  04/03/2020

  Not a Testing Site

  In March 2020, Target, in tandem with other major retailers, announced that their company would assist in efforts to expand COVID-19 testing. This sign posted on the entrance to a west Wichita, Kansas, Target store makes it clear to customers that this particular site was not one of those facilities. Taken on April 3, this photo reflects the painstakingly slow expansion of the country's testing capabilities.
• 
  2020-04-07

  Treatment of Essential Workers: Target Walkout

  This project aims to document the treatment and reactions to the treatment of the essential workers during this pandemic. This image captures the headline of an article describing the frustration from the workers at Target not being given basic protective measures and planning a walkout in protest of the unfair conditions.
• 
  2020-04-30

  Grocery Stores and Masks

  #REL101: A Personal account of their concern going out into public.
• 
  2020-04-11

  Criolladas: Porque somos seres así?

  Presidente: Solamente puede salir una persona por familia. Peruanos: Vamos de paseo familiar al supermercado.
• 
  2020-03-14

  The Empty Shelves

  When I was shopping in Target, people were in and out of the aisles grabbing whatever food they could get. I walked through all the aisles to see what was available. I had to call my parents multiple times to see if they were okay with substitutions. *I (Annika Morton) took this photo while I was shopping.
• 
  2020-03-26

  Empty Shelves at Target

  This is a photograph taken at a Target store in the Fenway neighborhood in Boston, MA. The toilet paper shelves, stretching a whole wall of the store, are empty. #HIST5241
• 
  2020-03-19

  Empty banana shelf at Target.

  This is an empty banana shelf at a Target in Pflugerville TX. People did not only hoard Toilet paper and handsanitizer, they also bought many fresh fruits and vegetables. Most of the bins in this produce section were empty as well. I don't know how people are going to keep all of the produce from spoiling before they eat it. Also in this Target, most of the refrigerators and freezers that held prepackaged meals or TV dinners were completely empty.
• 
  2020-03-18

  Empty TP shelves at Target

  The empty shelves at Target where toilet paper usually is... and a lone can of wayward soup.