How & What Should I Document?

• Writing (handwritten or typewritten)
  • Daily journals (genealogyreporter.com offers suggestions about creating meaningful daily journals, either for donation or personal use)
  • Weekly summaries of your experiences
  • Writing about specific experiences or issues encountered or reflecting on general experiences 
  • Poems
• Time Capsule student forms:  We will collect a selection of Time Capsule student project forms, created by Bruce County students, of various ages, donated with their parents’ permission.
• Photographs
  • Reflecting changes in your daily life, or in the community
• Video or audio recordings (100 MB maximum for online submission) Contact archives@brucecounty.on.ca to discuss donating larger video files.

Your services, and experiences as business owners, are valued, now and in the future!   

 The personal sharing of your own story and experiences will resonate with Museum visitors and researchers for many generations. 

 If you wish for all or part of your submission to be restricted from public access for a period of time, we can accommodate that type of request. 

 When you are ready, these are some suggestions of information you may wish to share.  Write about all of these topics, only one, or others not listed.  Submissions may be long or short.   

Overall / personal observations 

• Share your business services and geographical, as they were before the pandemic
• What business concerns have you been addressing?

 Customer/ Client Interactions

• In general, how has your operating model or interactions with your clients and customers changed? 
• Were you required to close to the public or cease operations; when? 
• What were/are the re-opening or essential business restrictions applicable to your business? 
• What kinds of changes did you make to adapt your operating model or customer interactions in order to comply with provincial regulations? 
• How did you source your PPE and other newly necessary supplies? 
• How did your public communication / marketing initiatives change? 
• How have your customers/clients responded to the necessary changes and/or your communications? 

  Support

What kind of support have you received or appreciated?  You may wish to share information about support you received from: 

• Government (federal, provincial, county, municipal) 
• General public 
• Community service groups or other businesses 
• Industry or business associations 
• Others

 Economic / Business impact  

• Statistics related to financial, staffing & customer impact 
• How did the pandemic impact your staffing levels? 
• If your business closed, the events you care to share leading up to that occurrence.  

Some perspectives you may wish to reflect in your writings, images, or recordings:

• How has this pandemic changed your daily or weekly routine (work, leisure, shopping)?
• How have you or your business been impacted?
• How has your family or organization been impacted?
• How are you keeping children occupied during self-isolation? What has been their experience with online learning?
• What acts of kindness have lifted your spirits during the pandemic?
• What are some things you are anxious or frustrated about (caring for loved ones, making ends meet)?
• What are some things you are thankful for (Zoom or Skype meetings with friends, a helping hand from a neighbour, our nurses or doctors)?
• If you like, share your feelings about your experiences in the midst of the pandemic: grief, joy, frustration, reflection, anger, hope, fear, exhaustion, renewal, scarcity, abundance, clarity, uncertainty, community, loneliness, purpose, confusion …
• What changes have you observed in your community?
• Has your engagement with media changed?
• How have people, businesses and organizations been helping people and how have communities faced these challenges with compassion and care?
• Have you any inspirational stories or comments to share? Is there something that has made you happy or encouraged you to be positive during the present situation?
• What would you want future generations to know about your experiences? The more detail you include, the better able future generations will be to understand.

Youth submissions are welcome (We ask that parents complete the submission form or deed of gift for students under 18 years of age).  Topic suggestions include:

• When did you first hear about COVID-19?
• What are your sources of information about the pandemic?
• How were your planned March Break activities affected? 
• How were your part-time or casual jobs affected?
• How did you feel about the initial school closure, and then subsequent closure extensions?
• How has your daily routine changed as a result of the new e-learning schedule?
• What does the online educational experience look like? What are the challenges and/or benefits of school from home?
• Have you found it difficult to comply with physical distancing guidelines and restrictions on social gatherings? 
• What have you been doing to try to say connected to friends or family?
• What are some things you are anxious or frustrated about; what are some things you are thankful for?
• Have you received or given any “acts of kindness” during this time?
• Is there something that has made you happy or encouraged you to be positive during this situation?
• Have you observed changes in your community?  How have those changes affected you?
• Did you change the way you celebrated Easter, Mother’s Day, Birthdays or other special events?  If so, how?
• Have you learned anything you would like to share about yourself, your family or community from this experience?

With your family members’ permission, you could also interview them to express their perspective related to some of the topics on this page, and/or how COVID-19 has impacted their experiences in their roles with in your family, their work, and community.

Your experiences may be expressed through journals, essays, articles, poetry, short stories, photographs with explanatory captions, or video.