These are crazy, historic times. We are sad to cancel our upcoming programs, including the popular June picnic, but it is for the best. Programs will remain canceled until we can be sure that a gathering for in-person events is safe for everyone. In the meantime, please visit our new website at rochesteravonhistoricalsociety.org and on our social media platforms for interesting local history content and future virtual programming. Also, take some time to consider the historic period you are living in now – a time that will be remembered and studied by future historians. History begins with you. Those yet to be born will one day ask how we responded, survived, and coped during the COVID-19 pandemic. Historians will look for diary entries, photos, ephemera, and the like to understand this time in history. The Rochester-Avon Historical Society would like you to contribute to the historical record and send us your thoughts about the pandemic. These thoughts could be in the form of an email you sent a loved one, a diary entry, a drawing, poem, song, etc.
Below are some questions from the Library of Michigan and the Historical Society of Michigan to keep in mind:
• How and when did you learn about the Coronavirus?
• How and when did the pandemic first affect your life? How did your daily routines change? Did you miss out on any big events?
• What emotions did you feel? What things scared you? What things brought you comfort?
• How was your school or job affected? Did you have the opportunity to study or work from home? How did you manage during these uncertain times?
• How did the pandemic affect your neighbors? How did the pandemic affect religious or civic groups that count you as a member?
People of all ages are invited to submit their story. Tell us if you are a healthcare worker, teacher, parent, student, etc. Provide us with some basic biographical information such as age and where you live and will respect your privacy if there is information you would rather not share. This project will continue for many months, so feel free to submit items today or weeks from now. Please follow all local, state and federal guidelines regarding the pandemic and do not do anything that risks infection. Submit your COVID-19 reflections to rahsupdate@gmail.com.
Thank you and be well.
Tiffany