How is the pandemic affecting you and your family?
The Trail Museum and Archives want to know.
So the city’s keeper-of-history is asking locals to share their thoughts and feelings through this coronavirus pandemic by writing them down in a journal to share with others in coming years.
The Journal Family Project is a unique opportunity for children, parents, and grandparents to interact and help enhance the community record during this life-changing event.
“These are unprecedented times,” says manager Sarah Benson-Lord. “Here at the Trail Museum and Archives we find considerable value in the journals, letters, and personal papers of Trail’s past residents,” she explained.
“These records document the social history of our city. As part of your days and weeks at home, consider keeping a personal or family journal of thoughts documenting how current measures are impacting your life.”
A few questions Benson-Lord suggests to get writers started are, “What worries you? What gives you hope? How do you think life will change when this is over?”
She asks the community to begin their journals today.
“When this is over, consider donating it to the Trail Museum and Archives in the Riverfront Centre. We are creating a specific collection of research material,” she said.
“And we will happily copy any records you donate for your own family records.”
The Riverfront Centre, which houses the Trail and District Public Library and the Trail Museum and Archives, closed until further notice on March 17.
This was one of the first shutdowns the city announced as part of COVID-19 precautionary measures.
The province reported three new deaths and 27 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, April 14.
That brings the total number of test positive cases to 1,517, while deaths are now at 72. Dr. Bonnie Henry said 942 people have recovered, putting the province’s recovery rate at 62 per cent.
Most of the new cases are in either Fraser Health or Vancouver Coastal Health, at 10 and eight, respectively.
The number of people in hospital was at 134 Tuesday, with 58 in ICU. Henry said more modelling would be revealed Friday to give British Columbians a better sense of the real number of cases in the province.
“I do believe hospitalization is a much more stable number that tells us how many people are in that more severe group,” she said.
“Even if we didn’t know someone had COVID-19, if they have a severe enough illness that requires them to seek medical attention… we will be able to detect and find them.”