2020: A Year That Will Be Remembered (Not In A Good Way)

The year 2020 will go down in history as the year of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Starting in mid-March, the virus affected about all aspects of life – from businesses temporary closing, to closing school for the remainder of the school year, to how students now attend school, to how milestones of birthdays (drive-bys), graduations (virtual with a graduates’ drive through town), weddings and funerals are observed.

The new normal is zoom meetings, “attending” church through facebook, work-from-home, cancellation of entertainment, vacations, summer camps, and public events – including the Wheat Festival.

Youth summer sports seasons were canceled, the Nashville pool season was shortened, and the Nashville Theater that closed in March has not yet reopened.

Churches reopened for in-person services in June, limiting capacity for ample spacing.

For the first three months restaurant service was limited to carry-out, then extended to patio dining on May 29.  Inside seating resumed June 26. When it was again restricted in September, most restaurants and bars in the county ignored the restriction, which  continues.

In mid March schools in Illinois closed for in-person learning. The original  plan for a two week closure was extended until the end of the school year.

Unit District #10 and Nashville Grade School resumed in-school classes in August, with students and staff wearing masks.  Nashville High and St. Libory Grade School alternate students for in-person and remote learning.    

Perhaps the most notable change was restricting contact between family and friends with the social distance mantra. Residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities went months without seeing their families – and died without a family member at their side.

Life outside the house in 2020 meant wearing a mask and staying six feet away from others.

Read the full year in review in this week’s issue.