Living history, and documenting it too in San Mateo County

Now 10 months into the pandemic, Blair said the association is eager to collect a broad selection of stories. Most of what’s been collected came from the early days when store shelves were empty and families were first learning to go remote. 

But holidays have passed, requiring vastly different celebrations and, while a vaccine is out, a second surge has hit communities harder than the first. With feelings being so raw, Blair said stories collected in the throws of the pandemic will provide a more detailed picture of what has been experienced.   

“Twenty, 30 years from now, people will have memories of this but it will be filtered through time so you won’t get the same level of detail as you would if you record in time,” said Blair, who has been documenting and contributing entries of her own experience. 

Early on in the pandemic, museum staff recognized the gravity of the moment, Blair said. The Museum Auxiliary, a volunteer group, began documenting their stories while Blair and a small team developed an online contribution site for the public. While routinely updated diary entries and photographs have been ideal submissions, the association is also collecting one-time entries, artwork and videos. 

Submissions from children are also highly sought after. Blair said she’d like to partner with schools to encourage students to participate, noting a child’s experience of the pandemic has been vastly different than that of an adult. 

“It’s an incredibly formative time for the children so if you ask the same person about it 30 years from now they will filter it in different ways,” said Blair. “To get the stories from them when they’re still children puts a different spin on it.” 

In 2009, Blair helped lead a similar project to mark the 20-year anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, a 6.9 shake that injured 3,757 people and claimed 63 lives in the Bay Area. To fully understand that single-day event, stories were collected from roughly 244 individuals and more than 850 students from 51 different schools. 

After nearly a year collecting stories of pandemic life, only 40 people have participated for about 270 submissions, said Blair. Recognizing sustained contributions over that long of a time period can be difficult, she noted staff thought the project would be completed by the summer when many thought the pandemic would be under control. 

By May Blair said she understood a quick recovery was unlikely and now believes the stories of how people learned to adapt or still struggle to do so are important records to keep.  

“Oftentimes you’re not aware when it happens what a significant event might be but some events you know at the time,” said Blair. “In no way did I expect in March and April that we’d still be collecting today.” 

Visit historysmc.org/covid-19-stories/ to learn more about the San Mateo County Historical Associations COVID-19 stories collection project. 

sierra@smdailyjournal.com 

(650) 344-5200 ext. 106