MCMH documenting local experiences of the pandemic

Posted on March 1, 2021

By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – The McLean County Museum of History (MCMH) has initiated “COVID-19: The McLean County Experience,” to hear from area residents and preserve local experiences of the pandemic.

Candace Summers, director of community education, says they want to hear from community members so that 50 years from now people understand what happened during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Not just collecting the stories from people, but collecting objects, collecting documents,” Summers told WJBC’s Marc Strauss.

The first COVID-19 case in McLean County was announced by the McLean County Health Department on March 19, 2020. The…

Posted by McLean County Museum of History on Monday, February 22, 2021

Meanwhile, Summers says the museum will be holding a COVID-19 remembrance on Friday, March 13.

“Remember those people who have been lost so they aren’t just a number, and hopefully have a moment of healing for people as well,” said Summers.

The first case of COVID-19 was reported on March 19 in McLean County. The first death was reported on March 22.

More information is available here.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…