Taking Our Temperature: Covid-19 In Marion County

Welcome to "Taking Our Temperature: Covid-19 in Marion County," a Marion County Heritage Center exhibit created in conjunction with data collection efforts of Mrs. Brown's oral and local history class at Marion County High School in Lebanon, Kentucky. We are currently collecting recorded and written interviews from our community about how Covid-19 has affected lives. If you would like to be interviewed as part of this project, we will practice socially distanced in-person interviews, Zoom recorded interviews or written interviews. After the data is collected, there will be an interactive display at the Marion County Heritage Center.

Help us document history as it happens. This pandemic is an unprecedented experience for all Americans, and now is the time to preserve this history. What are the thoughts, feelings and experiences of citizens of Marion County? Anyone can participate. We would like data from children and adults, healthcare workers, educators, policymakers, business owners, farmers, factory workers and everyone in Lebanon. We've all been affected by this pandemic, so what's your story?

How has Covid-19 affected schools? Here is our story, written by students, about how coronavirus concerns have changed our school day:

Last year we had to finish the year on the Chromebooks. This fall, school started virtually on Chromebooks, but the administration made it optional to come to in-person school September 9th. Although school isn't anything like it used to be, we're still here everyday. We have to wear masks all day and we can't share anything. Every day, five minutes before the bell, our teachers have to wipe down and sanitize the desks. At lunch, we can't eat in our cafeteria with our friends. We have to eat in our gym, on the bleachers, six feet apart. In the bathrooms there can only be a maximum of 5 people, which is frustrating for the students because we try to hurry back to the classroom. The school has all-around changed due to Covid-19, but our school and community is doing a great job adapting to change.

Ham Days Before Covid

This photo, taken in 2018, shows that Marion County Ham Days is the premier annual event of the county. Pre-Covid, there were rides and games you could play for prizes. They'd have booths throughout our downtown where you could buy anything, along with a hog calling competition, hay bale toss, constant music, and the Ham Days parade.

Ham Days After Covid

After the Corona Virus hit Marion County, most Ham Days events for 2020 were canceled. No rides, games, parades, or music this year. We still had a drive-thru breakfast tent, a virtual 5K, and commemorative t-shirts, but it wasn't the same opportunity to meet up with family and friends.

So now you know a little about what happened to us during Covid. Now we would like to hear from you! We would like to hear about your experiences, whether they are good or bad. We are collecting photographs, audio or video recordings of interviews, journal entries, newspaper clippings and more. Show us what your high school graduation, prom, weddings, window visits at the nursing home, and other events looked like during the spring and summer of 2020. Below, you can find written questions that you can submit, and also a place to submit pictures or audio recordings. For questions about the project, or do donate objects like homemade masks or artwork, contact Alecia Ford at the Marion County Heritage Center at 270-699-9455 or Jamie Brown at Marion County High School at 270-692-6066.

Thank you for helping us record and contribute to the history of Marion County, Kentucky!

Written Covid Interview Questions

Click on "Written Covid Interview Questions" above to answer interview questions for the Heritage Center museum display.

Covid consent form and donations

Click on "Covid consent form and donations" above to submit pictures, audio files or other artifacts that could be used in the "Taking Our Temperature" exhibit at Marion County Heritage Center.

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