Background to the project:

The COVID-19 pandemic, which began for Americans in early March, 2019 and which continues to influence the lives of all of us, is a major historical event. Millions of people have died, many times those millions have lost loved ones. Tens of thousands of others are dealing with the long-term effects of the disease. It is no doubt safe to assume that no one will be unaffected by the pandemic in some profound or small way.

Like earlier pandemics in human history, the COVID-19 pandemic will be of interest to scholars and historians in the years to come who will want to know how this pandemic affected the lives of those who lived through it. The Cable-Namakagon Historical Museum has undertaken the COVID-19 Pandemic History Project to help future researchers understand the lived experiences of people in our area as they navigated this particular period of time. Both written stories of pandemic experiences and those collected by interview will be solicited from a wide range of individuals of different ages and life situations and archived at the museum.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been varied. Many individuals who have lost loved ones could only say good-by through nursing home or hospital windows. Medical staff have been pushed beyond their limits because of long work hours, and the toll of caring for seriously ill and dying patients. Teachers, too, have had to deal with constantly changing conditions, disrupted schedules, and students and families under stress. Many people have lost their jobs or have had their jobs transformed. Parents have had to act as teachers, supervising their children’s school work at home, scrambled to find daycare or do without altogether. Children have lost ground in school and suffered from mental health issues due to disruptions both at school and home and having to be separated from their friends and schoolmates. Most of us have experienced long periods of isolation and separation from family and friends, co-workers and even casual acquaintances, sometimes resulting in health problems or strong feelings of isolation and loneliness.

Business owners, entrepreneurs, and artists have also been affected both negatively and positively. Performances have been cancelled or postponed because theaters have closed or because performance artists themselves have tested positive for the virus and have not been able to travel. Businesses have struggled or forced to go out of business. Art and craft shows have been cancelled. And many people continue to refrain from going out.

Not all effects of the pandemic have been negative. With an interruption in their schedules, business owners, workers and artists alike are finding time to reflect on their work, careers and business models and practices and make meaningful changes. Freed from the pressures of work or attending in-person meetings, individuals have found themselves with unprecedented amounts of free time and fewer responsibilities. Many undertook new personal projects like learning a new language or other skill, writing, exploring new interests, or finally getting around to a project that was started and later abandoned. Travel, while curtailed in some ways (flying for example) was embraced by campers who could stay in their own, portable and contained living spaces. Outdoor recreation and sports experienced a surge in popularity. Having to work from home has become popular, and for many has changed work-life forever for the better.

The Cable-Namakagon COVID-19 Pandemic History Project is designed to capture the ways in which the pandemic has affected the lives of people in our area so that future historians can understand how we navigated this time in history.

Cable/Namakagon Historical Museum

The Cable/Namakagon Historical Museum is a member of the Cable Area Chamber of Commerce, the Bayfield County Historical Society, and the Wisconsin Historical Society.