Great work, and wish more local historical societies would have done similar interviews back in the day. As a genealogist, I also wonder why we aren’t encouraging community-wide sessions for people to record and preserve their Covid experiences…seems like a pretty historic event to ignore.
Thanks for reading Lori! I suspect there are many such interviews which were done and sitting in filing cabinets. The Museums at Lisle Station Park is run by a Park District and is very small. They have a lot of material but to my knowledge, have only ever had one full-time staff person working. A local Heritage Society has provided volunteer support but from my observation, they don't really do much beyond a few speakers a year and a weekend long event. One of their volunteers however, wrote up bios on four men from the area who died in WWII prior to me meeting him. He also compiled a list of all veterans at the local cemetery.
We have used that list plus a list from NARA in the 1990s for that project and the veteran questionnaires to create a "master" list of local veterans. However, those NARA lists are not accurate. My cousin who lived in Cook County was listed in Randolph County. The only reason I can think of is because he may have trained there in the Army Air Corps in 1940-1941. Anyway - with typed pages stuck in a cabinet and no one really knows they are there or after that particular exhibit the curator moved on......things get forgotten until someone volunteers or asks questions about a specific topic.
As for Covid - I have no answer for that except that since it's so recent and it's a Collective Trauma, people may not be quite ready for that. From my perspective and experience, the whole thing was more a spiritual experience through which I was invited to grow. I know many who feel this way about that and we have used our experiences to help others - we just haven't officially documented it in any archive. I would also guess that since that began, the country and world has been pushed to take sides and we've seen censorship over not following the "party line" whatever that is on a given day and people getting in trouble. So fear of speaking out about experiences, beliefs, etc. probably will not happen for many years as a collective. Some would also say we are still going through it because the media says so. When a group of people are still living within a trauma, it can be hard to heal.
Dr. Tirzah Firestone, a Rabbi, talks a lot about this in her book "Wounds Into Wisdom" where she talks about Israel and the constant living in a collective trauma due to the Holocaust being present every moment of a life, since all people are taught about it and it's reinforced in many ways daily. Plus the ongoing struggles in that geographical area. Her book is very informative even if you don't live there or are not Jewish - there is a lot of info on inherited trauma and family patterns that we can all learn from.
Thomas Hubl, an Austrian therapist also talks a lot about Collective Trauma healing. I believe he may have done some sessions and articles on Covid but his work on Collective Trauma healing is powerful. I've taken many of his classes and have one of his books.
If you or anyone reading this hasn't heard of those individuals or resources, I invite you to explore them. We are in a time of massive healing and global rise in consciousness. We each have to do our part - or not. It's all a choice.
Thanks so much for the additional information on the project in which you’re involved and also your thoughts and insights into the preservation of Covid memories and collective trauma. I’ll be checking out both books/authors, as well. Love you last line ❤️
Great work, and wish more local historical societies would have done similar interviews back in the day. As a genealogist, I also wonder why we aren’t encouraging community-wide sessions for people to record and preserve their Covid experiences…seems like a pretty historic event to ignore.
Thanks for reading Lori! I suspect there are many such interviews which were done and sitting in filing cabinets. The Museums at Lisle Station Park is run by a Park District and is very small. They have a lot of material but to my knowledge, have only ever had one full-time staff person working. A local Heritage Society has provided volunteer support but from my observation, they don't really do much beyond a few speakers a year and a weekend long event. One of their volunteers however, wrote up bios on four men from the area who died in WWII prior to me meeting him. He also compiled a list of all veterans at the local cemetery.
We have used that list plus a list from NARA in the 1990s for that project and the veteran questionnaires to create a "master" list of local veterans. However, those NARA lists are not accurate. My cousin who lived in Cook County was listed in Randolph County. The only reason I can think of is because he may have trained there in the Army Air Corps in 1940-1941. Anyway - with typed pages stuck in a cabinet and no one really knows they are there or after that particular exhibit the curator moved on......things get forgotten until someone volunteers or asks questions about a specific topic.
As for Covid - I have no answer for that except that since it's so recent and it's a Collective Trauma, people may not be quite ready for that. From my perspective and experience, the whole thing was more a spiritual experience through which I was invited to grow. I know many who feel this way about that and we have used our experiences to help others - we just haven't officially documented it in any archive. I would also guess that since that began, the country and world has been pushed to take sides and we've seen censorship over not following the "party line" whatever that is on a given day and people getting in trouble. So fear of speaking out about experiences, beliefs, etc. probably will not happen for many years as a collective. Some would also say we are still going through it because the media says so. When a group of people are still living within a trauma, it can be hard to heal.
Dr. Tirzah Firestone, a Rabbi, talks a lot about this in her book "Wounds Into Wisdom" where she talks about Israel and the constant living in a collective trauma due to the Holocaust being present every moment of a life, since all people are taught about it and it's reinforced in many ways daily. Plus the ongoing struggles in that geographical area. Her book is very informative even if you don't live there or are not Jewish - there is a lot of info on inherited trauma and family patterns that we can all learn from.
Thomas Hubl, an Austrian therapist also talks a lot about Collective Trauma healing. I believe he may have done some sessions and articles on Covid but his work on Collective Trauma healing is powerful. I've taken many of his classes and have one of his books.
If you or anyone reading this hasn't heard of those individuals or resources, I invite you to explore them. We are in a time of massive healing and global rise in consciousness. We each have to do our part - or not. It's all a choice.
Thanks so much for the additional information on the project in which you’re involved and also your thoughts and insights into the preservation of Covid memories and collective trauma. I’ll be checking out both books/authors, as well. Love you last line ❤️