A personal letter to the future leaders of St. Tammany Parish from Parish President Mike Cooper. Blue masks. A covid-19 testing kit. Bergeron said that while history books may document the physical impact of the virus, including its rapid spread, the horrific death toll, quarantines, and the race for a vaccine, people’s stories belong to them.
The watertight time capsule, which weighs 25 lbs., includes an inventory of news clips covering the pandemic, letters from students, community members, and elected officials — and, of course, hand sanitizer. It will sit on a shelf in the museum, the letters protected with archival material. The collection also gives a special nod to video communications software, such as Zoom.
“If there’s one thing I regret, it’s not buying stock in Zoom at the start of the pandemic,” Bergeron said. “It was used to teach classes, for work meetings, and so that isolated family and friends could connect.” Addressing his letter, Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer touched on key moments throughout the pandemic, including how the recommendations by researchers and medical staff to wear masks and to have people remain home sometimes conflicted with what business owners and parents wanted.
Editor’s Note: The capsule is missing a few items such as VAERS data reports that can be viewed here. —mmd