
Chronicling COVID-19 is an ongoing archive collecting project that began in April 2020, created to document how our community was dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic and the changes it brought to our everyday lives. WHS has put together the following gallery to share the community submissions we have collected so far. You can still contribute to the project by sharing photos, videos and written materials, which can be submitted online here. If you have physical objects you would like to donate to the collection, please contact our curator at Kristina.oschmann@wethersfieldhistory.org.
Covid-19 is a respiratory virus that was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The virus quickly spread worldwide and was declared a pandemic in March 2020 by the World Health Organization. The novel human coronavirus disease COVID-19 has become the fifth documented pandemic since the 1918 Spanish Flu.
Historians and scientists alike have compared this virus and our response to that of the Spanish Influenza of 1918, which saw additional devastation in light of the First World War. The conditions of World War I – overcrowding and global troop movement – helped the virus spread. Doctors and hospitals were already spread thin by the demands of the war. Around 50 million deaths occurred worldwide because of the 1918 flu. Without vaccines or antibiotics that were effective against the virus, many of the control efforts were limited to interventions such as isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, use of disinfectants, and limits on public gatherings – similar to the methods employed today.
To navigate through the exhibit, click on one of the following images and the associated gallery will open in a light box in the center of your screen. In the top right hand corner is the control panel. From left to right the buttons are “Zoom In,” “Full Screen,” and “Close.” WHS recommends viewing Chronicling Covid in full screen and navigating through the exhibit at your own pace by clicking the left and right arrows on the screen or by using the corresponding left and right arrows on your keyboard. If you click on an image, it will display at a larger size to facilitate reading text. (You can use your mouse’s scroll wheel to move the panel up and down.) Click the image again and it will return to its normal size. Clicking outside the image will close the light box and return you to the web page. The same function can be accomplished by clicking the “Close” button on the control panel or by hitting the “Escape” button on your keyboard.
Photographs
Private: Photos from the Pandemic
Gallery (30 images)
Anne Sheffield – Sold out shelves June 2020Fourth of July plates and napkins are all that's left
Anne Sheffield – June 2020 Sheffield Grocery Store Pandemic ShoppingOne-way aisle
Anne Sheffield – Apocalyptic CoveQuarantine - I took this photo after reading the WHS plan for a show. Apocalyptic. The Cove.
Anne Sheffield – Mill Woods Park Pool Covid 19Millwood Pond opened on June 25 with detailed precautions regarding masks, body temperature, different entrance and exit, and 10 by 10 spaces marked off with colored cones for social distancing. Online Reservations were required for a 2-and-a-half-hour time slot each day, paid, and then lap lane could be reserved for forty-five minutes upon arrival. We are so happy to have this opportunity to exercise and bask in nature at our usual swimming hole. Thanks for providing this as an alternative to garden hoses!
Awilda Aponte – COVID QuiltBeginning of Quilt started during quarantine
Awilda Aponte – Finished quilt
Daniel Marcoux – March 2020Elm Ridge Park Rocky Hill
Daniel Marcoux – March 2020Elm Ridge Park Rocky Hill
Daniel Marcoux – March 2020Elm Ridge Park Rocky Hill
Elaine St. Onge – April 8 2020 Pandemic PorchThis is our so-called porch photo, taken by our granddaughter who had just brought us groceries. You can just see our thank you heart for first responders on the door.
Elizabeth Huffman – Baskin Block
Elizabeth Huffman – Cove Warehouse
Elizabeth Huffman – First Church
Jesse Smith – Home-SchoolThis collage is of my daughter Skyler who worked hard each day for months on school work. Each day as I try to get my own work done I also became a teacher while taking care of a newborn as well. It was very tough but we got through it. My daughter has now graduated to Kindergarten and is very proud of herself. I thought this picture was a great representation of the new daily standard and a good view of how some of us dealt with home schooling.
Jill Fletcher – Turkey MaskJuly 9, 2020 - Kevin the Turkey wants you to wear your mask!
Kristina Oschmann – April 2020Sidewalk Chalk at Keeney 1
Kristina Oschmann – April 2020Sidewalk Chalk at Keeney 2
Kristina Oschmann – April 2020Sidewalk Chalk at Keeney 3
Kristina Oschmann – April 2020Sidewalk Chalk at Keeney 4
Kristina Oschmann – April 2020Sidewalk Chalk at Keeney 5
Kristina Oschmann – April 2020Sidewalk Chalk at Keeney 6
Kristina Oschmann – April 2020Sidewalk Chalk at Keeney 7
Kristina Oschmann – April 2020Hearts in the Keeney Windows
Susan Dee – April 8, 2020Emerson Williams Elementary Playground Closing Notice
Susan Dee – April 8, 2020Emerson Williams Elementary - No hoops
Susan Dee – April 8, 2020Emerson Williams Elementary - No ball
Susan Dee – Emerson Williams ElementarySignage put out before the school was closed.
Susan Dee – Emerson Williams ElementarySign detail.
Susan Dee – Isabel on her chromebookHere’s a picture of Isabel on her chrome book a year ago (March 2020), now at the end of 4th grade. We’ve kept her remote. Hopefully she’ll be going back in the fall.
Paintings and 2D
Private: Nicole DiCicco
Gallery (9 images)
Nicole DiCicco – Crash (August 1, 2020)
Nicole DiCicco – Faith (November 9, 2020)Painting - Acrylic On Canvas
Nicole DiCicco – Galaxy’s Edge (August 19, 2020)Painting - Acrylic On Canvas
Nicole DiCicco – Midnight Dance (August 2, 2020)Painting - Acrylic On Canvas
Nicole DiCicco – Native (August 13, 2020)Painting - Acrylic On Canvas
Nicole DiCicco – Sea Space (December 18, 2020)Painting - Acrylic On Canvas
Nicole DiCicco – Under the Sea (August 1, 2020)Painting - Acrylic On Canvas Board
Nicole DiCicco – Violet Dream Macro (August 19, 2020)Painting - Acrylic On Canvas
If you are interested in seeing more of Nicole’s work, you can visit her website here .
Private: Mark Battista
Gallery (1 images)
If you are interested in seeing more of Mark’s work, you can visit his website here.
Documents
Private: Susan Dee – Communications from School
Gallery (19 images)
Susan Dee – 2019-2020 Calendar Revised 04.02.2020Page 2
Susan Dee – Chromebook Communication March 12, 2020Page 1
Susan Dee – Chromebook Communication March 12, 2020Page 2
Susan Dee – Chromebooks Communication March 16, 2020Page 1
Susan Dee – Chromebook Communication March 16, 2020Page 2
Susan Dee – COVID-19 Communication April 6, 2020Page 1
Susan Dee – COVID-19 Communication April 6, 2020Page 2
Susan Dee – COVID-19 Communication April 9, 2020
Wethersfield Public Schools Communication 07.30.2020_Page_1
Wethersfield Public Schools Communication 07.30.2020_Page_2
Wethersfield Public Schools Communication 07.30.2020_Page_3
Wethersfield Public Schools Communication 8.10.20_Page_1
Wethersfield Public Schools Communication 8.10.20_Page_2
Wethersfield Public Schools Communication 8.10.20_Page_3
Wethersfield Public Schools Communication 8.10.20_Page_4
Wethersfield Public Schools Communication 8.10.20_Page_5
Wethersfield Public Schools Communication 8.10.20_Page_6
Wethersfield Public Schools Communication 8.10.20_Page_7