Dispatches from Home - Disaster Journaling

Kitty enjoys helping me with quilt projects- in this case by keeping my lap warm while I do some hand stitching

So now we’re at… week 2 of working from home, probably somewhere like week three for  being closed to the public? Check with local health authorities and those folks as they know best, but from the information I’ve picked up, we’ll be in this boat for a little bit. I’m sure many of you are looking for something to do, some way to look forward to a future where we can all go outside and enjoy the company of others without fear. I know I am. I miss seeing friends and family, not to mention thrift shopping, the Redwood Empire Quilters Guild, going to a movie… But I get why we have to do what we have to do, so I’ll keep myself busy with work, sewing, baking, and reading. Ah, and of course hanging out with my absolutely archaic cat, Kitty (she’s 21 and I think is powered by sunlight).

I’m part of a Facebook Group called Archivist Think Tank (along with a few other history-related groups) and someone mentioned the idea of encouraging people to write about their experiences during this time in journals, and later donate those journals (or copies) to their local history organizations for future researchers trying to understand the pandemic’s affect on the community. (Not to mention that journaling is a great way to relax and decompress after a difficult day or event).

We, in the larger history organization sense of the word, have journals, newspapers, letters and more from another life changing event -the 1918 epidemic. The journals and lettersgive us an inside look at the event from the view of people who lived through it, and a view into how the epidemic affected individuals and communities, while the papers give us a larger picture idea of what was going on. These resources have been used locally to write up articles on local responses to the 1918 epidemic, and these articles can be found over at the Historical Society. You can also read excerpts from a diary by someone who lived through the epidemic on their website, linked here. Their Facebook page has been very active through these events in sharing the steps local residents took to protect themselves and their community in 1918, some of which are similar to today. Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing how archivists will be preserving all the art and culture that has been shared through digital means like Facebook Live videos during the pandemic, but that is a thing for another day. Now is the time to start creating that paper record of COVID-19 for future researchers. I wonder how many people are clipping newspaper articles, writing down their thoughts, and documenting how the world is changing around us as this event continues on. ​

​I grew up in San Diego (North County, the Vista-Oceanside area for those who are familiar with the area) and I remember getting ahold of the newspaper each day during the 2008 fires and hacking out photos and articles on the event. I didn’t include notes, just taped the articles into a scrapbook that is still at my parent’s house. I remember a picture taken during a flyover of a burned area - two cul-de-sacs in a cookie cutter neighborhood side by side, one circle had all its houses intact except one, and the other all of the homes except one had burned. I believe it was on the front page of the paper that particular day.

One of the melted car window photos my dad took during the fires

My dad worked for the power company, so he was part of the first group that went into the burned areas after the fires passed to rebuild the electrical infrastructure that had been decimated. He carried around a disposable camera with him to show us some of the crazy things he saw. I vividly remember him sharing a picture with us of a burned over car where the window was melted down the side of the car and in a puddle on the ash-black ground. Another image was of a power pole, where only the cross-arm (where the power lines cross the power pole) and the transformer was left- the fire had burned so fast the bottom of the pole went up but not the cross-arm. I know people to this day that have artifacts recovered from those events, a melted piece of metal that was formerly an engine block, shined up and hanging on a wall. A burned page from a magazine, with an address miles away from where it was found, carried by the wind. During that event, I sewed a lot. Nothing very fancy because I was just using random fabric that I found and I was only 12 or so, but I still have some of those things in a box that remains at my parents house called my fire box. That is the one thing they need to grab from my room if the house is on the fire path. It lives near the door to my room so it’s accessible.

These things - events, experiences, items- stay with us and we carry them with us for the rest of our lives, physically and mentally. I didn’t lose my house in that fire or the ones that have happened in more recent years, but I know people who did and they will tell you the same thing.

Initially, I wasn’t sure how long this pandemic was going to last, but eventually I began to own the fact that this will be our new normal for a bit, so I’m keeping a journal of sorts.

My journal is a little different than paper and pen story telling - I’m making a quilt block a day and jotting down thoughts on the quilt block, along with what was going on while I made it. Some I made while livestreaming on my Facebook. Some turned out wonky which may have been due to quilter error to be honest. The book I’m working from is of quilt blocks turned into pot holders, but I figure it’s a good chance to use up some fabric that I might not use otherwise, learn some new blocks, and keep myself busy during shelter in place. The book is structured in a way where you make a potholder a week for a whole year, so since I started this 6 days ago, I now have 46 days worth of blocks left. If all these blocks get made, it’ll make a quilt (roughly) 80 inches by 60 inches. With borders and all, that thing will be HUGE - but toasty warm and sure to keep me cozy in the fall when we may very well have to go into quarantine again with a resurgence of the virus (which happened in 1918 and very well might happen again). I’ll have to find another book of potholders a week if that’s the case, and stock up on fabric!

My first 6 quilt blocks

My 1955 Featherweight sewing machine

I realize now that the comfort I’ve taken in making these blocks and sharing them through social media and with my mom’s group of quilters (many of whom weathered the 2008 fires at our house when they were evacuated and needed a place to go) is just bringing me full circle. Quilting has helped me before, and it continues to help me now. Part of that is the experience of making things, part is the feeling of holding fabric, and part is the community that comes from the act of making something.

So break out some paper and jot down your thoughts in this crazy time, make some art, do some baking (I’d like to see a recipe book somehow come out of this) and we will hear from you as we trek through it together and on the other side when we can all get out in the streets and dance together- and get burritos from Los Giles at the Friday Night Market. YUM.

Until then, stay safe, stay healthy, and stay home!
-Katie