History and the Coronavirus
Right: Coronavirus Victory Garden Image from Aadland, Chris (2020, Apr. 5). Fremont County greenhouse, garden experts promote growing world-war era 'victory gardens.' Casper Star Tribune. https://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/fremont-county-greenhouse-garden-experts-promote-growing-world-war-era-victory-gardens/article_093c7781-6d3f-54bf-94f0-e5beade5d944.html
Left: WWII Victory Garden Image from Victory garden (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved May 26, 2020 from https://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/fremont-county-greenhouse-garden-experts-promote-growing-world-war-era-victory-gardens/article_093c7781-6d3f-54bf-94f0-e5beade5d944.html
Historians and journalists alike have drawn similarities between the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic and the coronavirus pandemic. Both spread through international travel, lacked vaccines, and, consequently, necessitated lockdowns. Both resulted in lost profits, purchasing frenzies for certain goods, and mask protests. And both events will be reflected in the historical narrative based upon firsthand accounts. Cheryl joined several across the United States in journaling her coronavirus experiences, to share with future generations.
Several diarists have turned to 1918 Spanish flu letters, such as this letter by Clara Wrasse, for ideas of what to write in their own accounts. The 1918 accounts range from four-line journal entries to students' jubilant accounts of school closures and soldiers' accounts of the monotony of quarantine. The Smithsonian describes the accounts' witty remarks, emotional outbursts, and brevity as evidence that writers today do not need to write long and overly formal accounts to contribute to future historical narratives
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Letter from Clara Wrasse to Reid Fields, Sept. 25, 1918. From Solly, Meilan. (2020, April 13). What we can learn from 1918 influenza diaries.
Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-we-can-learn-1918-influenza-diaries-180974614/
For me, as a researcher and as a person who presents family history and local history, I started keeping a diary. I started writing things down, because we don’t know what research will be like in the future, and I do know that sometimes they have talked about, in the [Clay County] Archives, they’ve talked about, “well, we can’t read these certain documents, because they were saved on a certain piece of technology that doesn’t exist anymore.” But I know I can read someone’s handwriting. I know I can sit down and read that. I have even tried making sure my handwriting is legible—I make the letters the same way every time, because I don’t always, and I’ve even typed a few things, and I have a little box. It’s my pandemic history box. I’ve put some periodicals and some different things in there. That is a place where I am able to express my frustration. I am able to express my political views. I am able to express whatever I want, and my descendants can do whatever they want with it. They can like it, dislike it, and I won’t care, because I’ll be in the ground, so it won’t matter, and I can get all that out. . . it may not be interesting to anybody. I have no idea. But if it’s not there, we’ll never know.
When I have gone into those stores, I’ve taken pictures of their clothes signs and their little smiley face emoji with the mask. Just think about that, because if you look at—those posters were promoting, “plant a victory garden. Save your green stamps. Rationing…” We’re seeing people, “limit two toilet paper.” We’re rationing. It’s the same thing. Only, we’re not recognizing it as the same thing. . .So put your history goggles on and look around, and just start taking pictures of it, and put them in your little box or in your journal, because it’s the same thing.
Left: an empty hand-sanitizer/soap shelf at a Liberty, Missouri Target.
Right: [Untitled WWII Rationing Poster]. From Higgs, Robert. (2020, Apr. 24). Foundation for Economic Education. https://fee.org/articles/the-two-price-system-us-rationing-during-world-war-ii/