File photo: Chas Hundley
Coronavirus resources: CDC on the coronavirus, Oregon Health Authority resources, Washington County resources, Oregonian reporting on the coronavirus, OPB glossary of coronavirus terms, NYTimes free reporting on the coronavirus.
OREGON – The Oregon Historical Society has put a call out for one-page letters, or hand-written notes, sharing individual reflections and experiences during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
OHS executive director Kerry Tymchuk said, “Some of the most priceless treasures in the Oregon Historical Society collections are the handwritten diaries and journals of individuals who made their way across the Oregon Trail.”
OHS suggests writing stories of isolation from friends and family, stories from Oregon’s past that may have provided courage, what scared you, what it’s like living in this new normal, and what you learned about yourself, your friends, and your family that provides you with strength at a time when the world still looks for solutions and a cure.
Letters can be submitted through this online form, or by mailing handwritten notes to the OHS Research Library, 1200 SW Park Avenue, Portland, OR 97205).
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All written and electronic submissions must include the author’s full name, location, city, town, or reservation, and the date.
An OHA statement on the form’s page says, “In this period of chaos and turbulence as we all deal with the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to make sure to take a moment and make a record for the future, as we are experiencing something right now that practically no one on earth has experienced before.”
