18 | FEBRUARY 18 • 2021
W
e don’t have to tell
you that this time
is unprecedented
or how drastically our lives have
changed due to the coronavirus,
but future generations will want
to learn from what we are living
through today.
Throughout this experience,
we have wondered how our
ancestors tackled the challenges
of the pandemic of 1918. A cen-
tury from now, our descendants
could be asking the same ques-
tions about us. With shutdowns
around the world, protests
across the country and daily life
flipped on its head, our reac-
tions and adjustments will help
tell the story of how we went
through such an exceptional
time. We want to save that story.
That’s why we’ve teamed up
to create a platform that will
collect, preserve and, one day,
share our experiences.
LAURA’S WEDDING STORY
Our wedding was scheduled
for Oct. 18, 2020. The venue
was booked, the photographer
scheduled and the wedding
dress purchased. Then COVID-
19 hit, and what would have
been a classic big Jewish wed-
ding celebration turned into a
private backyard ceremony and
a drive-by reception.
Instead of pictures with tables
full of people, our wedding
photographs captured “guests”
with smiling faces, waving from
their cars, safely distanced from
us newlyweds. I never imagined
our wedding would be a live-
streamed event, but it allowed
loved ones from all over the
world to connect with us on our
special day.
This was not the version we
planned, but it forced us to find
a new, still meaningful, way to
share the milestone with our
community. No doubt, it was a
day we will always remember.
Our photographs and mem-
ories from this simchah will
be shared in the COVID-19
Archives Collection, adding a
piece to the puzzle of how our
community adapted to life in a
pandemic.
ROBBIE’S LIFE-THROUGH-
SCREENS STORY
For some of us, the pandemic
has not been marked by missed
celebrations or juggling work
while homeschooling kids.
Instead, it has been end-
less hours of isolation with
little more than Netflix for
company. When the stay-
at-home order was issued
in March 2020, I assumed it
would be just a few days or
maybe a couple weeks. I had
no idea I would not return
to my office until July 27.
The work I was able to do at
home filled my days and kept
me sane … until I was fur-
loughed in April. Suddenly,
time lost all meaning.
Alone for months, my
only respite were trips to
the grocery store and long
walks when the weather
was nice. Zoom calls with
family and friends helped
some of the loneliness. But
most of my days were spent
on the couch, reaching the
farthest depths of streaming
service catalogs. Using the
questionnaire on the COVID
Archives website, I will be
documenting my ups and
downs over the past year and
reflecting on how this time
changed the world around
me.
WHO TELLS YOUR STORY?
This COVID-19 Archives
Collection project seeks to
ensure the memories — from
the celebrations to the mun-
dane to even the painful
moments — are preserved
and made accessible to any-
one in the future. A collec-
tion of your photographs,
videos, journal entries or sim-
ply your thoughts on life right
now, will all come together to
tell the important story about
how our community navigat-
ed this historical moment —
even as we still live it.
PHOTOGRAPHER, JULIE YAKER, EYECATCHER EVENTS
Instead of letting future generations
rely on snippets from the newspaper
or a random photograph, let’s give
them the gift of knowledge and
certainty.
You Have a
Pandemic Story.
We Want It.
ROBBIE TERMAN, LEONARD N. SIMONS JEWISH
COMMUNITY ARCHIVES
LAURA WILLIAMS, RABBI LEO M. FRANKLIN ARCHIVES
OUR COMMUNITY
Signing of the ketubah: Laura
Williams, Jacob Allen, Rabbi
Aaron Bergman (standing), Lee
Trepeck (signing) and Jon Shaw
(back to camera).