I've been seeing a lot of articles this week about the five-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic. As I look back over my newsletters from that week, I'm struck by how quickly things changed.
Tuesday, March 10, 2020 - The Day Before (No cases in Jeffco)
It was a normal Tuesday in Golden, with lots of in-person events:
- The City held a meeting about the proposed land swap for the former Heritage Square.
- Golden Beer Talks met at the Buffalo Rose.
- Earth Sweet Botanicals held a class in which they made body butter.
- The Golden Tones Band met at the Front Porch.
- The Chamber held a VIBE@Five at Cheese Ranch.
- A French conversation group met at Goozell Yogurt & Coffee.
- Runners High held a women's self-defense class.
- EDComm met at City Hall.
Wednesday, March 11, 2020 (1 case in Jeffco)
I opened the March 11th newsletter with breaking news that Jeffco Public Health had announced the first Jefferson County resident to test positive for COVID. I linked back to several history articles I had written about the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic.
In the meantime, life carried on as usual:
- Students from the Golden-area schools hosted A Night at Hogwarts at the High School
- There was a meeting about mental health at the Community Center
- The City held a workshop about the Heart of Golden
I offered this advice from Jim Dale, who spent his career working in Public Health: WASH YOUR HANDS AND DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE!
Thursday, March 12, 2020
The usual events continued, but I was thinking about diseases, so that day's history article was about historic public health concerns in Golden, including tuberculosis, measles, and polio epidemics as well as sanitation concerns from outhouses and animal waste.
Friday, March 13, 2020 (4 cases in Jeffco)
By Friday, there were four known cases in the County. Jeffco Libraries were still open, but the Jeffco Schools planned to close the following week. The School of Mines canceled all in-person classes for the rest of the semester and planned to move to online instruction. Miners Alley Playhouse had been set to open a new play but instead postponed the production (and paid the cast and crew in full). Jefferson Symphony canceled their weekend concert. The Buffalo Rose closed their performance venue for the next week, with plans to reevaluate at that time.
Saturday, March 14, 2020 (6 cases in Jeffco)
County Health announced that there were six cases in the County. City Hall was still open, but board and commission meetings were canceled. The Community Center, Foothills Art Center, Golden History Museum, Golden Visitors Center, and Coors Tours all closed. People were starting to lose paychecks with all the closures, so Calvary Church was hosting a food drive.
Sunday, March 15, 2020 (8 cases in Jeffco)
There were eight known cases in the County. The Library and the Geology Museum closed. Restaurants were still open, and many still offered live music. In light of all the closures and our shrinking world, I decided to make the "Golden History Moment" a daily feature for the duration. I also posted my first "Golden Eye Candy" for much the same reason--an effort to keep people entertained while they were stuck at home.
Monday, March 16, 2020 (12 cases in Jeffco)
There were twelve known cases in Jefferson County. The Christian Action Guild (now Golden Pantry and Thrift) was accepting donations of non-perishable food for area families. The Buffalo Rose was offering St. Patrick's Day-themed drinks, including Irish Tea (which wasn't really tea), Irish Handcuffs, and Irish I Was in Mexico. The Golden City Brewery was serving green beer and green glitter beer.
After I posted those seasonal drink offerings, I received an angry note from a reader, who thought I shouldn't be encouraging people to leave the house.
Tuesday, March 17, 2020 (16 cases in Jeffco)
There were sixteen known cases in the County. The Railroad Museum, Quilt Museum, Dinosaur Ridge, and Buffalo Bill Museum all closed. All City buildings were locked. The Governor suspended dine-in service in the state. Restaurants let it be known that they were open for take-out and merchants wanted their customers to know that they would bring purchases to the curb.
Thus ended our first week of the COVID pandemic in Golden—seismic changes in a very short period of time.
