Society to document COVID-19’s local impact
By Angie Landsverk
The Waupaca Historical Society is encouraging local residents and business owners to help preserve this time in history.
The organization is asking them to collect items related to the COVID-19 pandemic and donate them to the historical society later, after the state’s Safer at Home Order is lifted.
“History isn’t always easy, but it’s important to be aware of times that will appear life-changing or community-changing in the future,” said Tracy Behrendt, the organization’s director.
As the COVID-19 issue grew, she thought about how the organization could document this time.
Then Trudi Hahn Pickett, one of the society’s volunteers, emailed her and suggested they encourpage people to preserve this history.
“That was the extra push I needed to spend more time thinking about this,” Behrendt said.
She offered some ideas on what people can start putting aside for the society’s collection.
“The first things we likely think of are special mail items, signs, newspaper clippings, photographs,” Behrendt said. “On the business side, special menus, order tickets, special supplies ordered, photographs are all good things to preserve.”
People may consider donating things they created, like a knitting project, artwork, homemade face mask or game they made up, she said.
Other ideas include children’s homework and new recipes.
Behrendt has noticed people are decorating front windows.
“Take a photograph and email it to us. If you take photographs, note the date, time, and where (and anyone pictured),” she said.
Her email address is [email protected].
The historical society is located at 321 S. Main St., in the Holly History and Genealogy Center.
Documenting the moment
Items donated to it will be preserved, Behrendt said.
“When people or organizations donate items or artifacts to the Waupaca Historical Society, they all go through a similar process,” she said. “The donor signs documents transferring the property to the Waupaca Historical Society.”
Behrendt said each item is documented and cataloged separately.
“We have a special computer program that allows us to enter in all sorts of information about an object – what it is, what it looks like, its condition, its measurements, who donated it and its story,” she explained. “We give each item a special number so we know exactly which item it is. Each item then gets put in a certain location so we can find it easily in the future. All of this information is stored in our computer program. We also take photographs of each object.”
Behrendt said donated items will be used in a future exhibit.
Due to its space and number of objects in its collection, the historical society cannot exhibit everything it has at all times, she said.
“So, we switch out exhibits a few times per year. These items would make a great exhibit in a year or five years to look back at what happened during this time and how our society changes,” Behrendt said.
She said nothing in recent history compares to this time.
The 1918 flu pandemic was similar, but the society does not have any artifacts related to it, Behrendt said.
“The closest thing I can think of is World War II and life on the home front,” she said.
There was rationing, conserving of resources and certain people working on the front lines while others did their own parts at home, she said.
“There are parts of that time that are reminiscent of our current situation,” Behrendt said. “The way the coronavirus is affecting our economy and workforce can be compared in some ways as well.”
She also believes the idea that “we are all working toward a common goal for the greater good is a theme that runs through both time periods.”
Behrendt says it is interesting to live through this, having studied other time periods when governments called for action in various ways.
Encouraging people to preserve events and objects that tell the stories of this time is the society’s way of staying active and relevant in all of this, she said.
“It’s definitely a story all of us will tell our grandchildren in years to come – and the Waupaca Historical Society will tell that story as well because of this project,” Behrendt said.