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Grace Shope oral history, 2021.
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- speakerOK, it is recording, it's as if it's a steady red light, it's a recording.
- speakerOK, this is an Ann Silverman.
- speakerInterviewing Grace Shope on
- speakerJune 14th, 2021.
- speakerI wanted to ask you for a start, Grace, when did you first
- speakerhear about COVID-19?
- speakerDo you have a recollection of that? And what was your reaction, if you can remember?
- speakerWell, they were predicting and it must have
- speakerbeen late December when
- speakerthere were rumors and also
- speakerfor some time there had been a prediction that we were due for a pandemic.
- speakerSo I was not surprised.
- speakerI guess my concern was the leadership that we
- speakerwere now faced with and what they might do about it.
- speakerLeadership at at the federal
- speakerand also the state and local level.
- speakerIn other words, I was somewhat aware
- speakerof the pandemic from the early part of the 19th
- speakercentury, and I thought that
- speakerwe should be prepared. However, the rumors were that we were not.
- speakerAnd what would you say were COVIDs most significant
- speakerconsequences for you?
- speakerFor me,
- speakerit was what is it that I'm supposed to do to protect
- speakermyself and by extension, my family?
- speakerAnd so I was alert to
- speakerwhat and following instructions.
- speakerAnd I thought that I was very fortunate to have been at Cathedral
- speakerVillage rather than at my private home in
- speakerJenkintown.
- speakerAnd what about consequences for others?
- speakerWhat do you mean by that?
- speakerLike what did you think were the most significant consequences or even
- speakerearly on for other people or at any time for others?
- speakerOh, well, number one understanding what the symptoms
- speakerwould be and whether or not they were
- speakerrelated to the flu
- speakeror just the common cold because they appeared to be respiratory.
- speakerAnd I had some concern for that because I myself
- speakertended to have respiratory infections
- speakerthat would lead to bronchitis and and sometimes
- speakera serious illness, though only one time did I have pneumonia.
- speakerAre there any particular incidents or events during COVID
- speakerthat stand out for you and in your recollection?
- speakerWell, what stood out for me was that it hit us
- speakerimmediately in March, the latter part of March.
- speakerAnd I remember
- speakerCharles talking about jelly and peanut butter sandwiches, which
- speakerI hate, and I knew that was a joke.
- speakerBut before the shutdown, I didn't realize it was going to be the next
- speakerday. But that afternoon, I did go to the grocery store
- speakerand get some canned goods.
- speakerCharles is the Director of Cathedral Village.
- speakerYeah. Yeah. So you stocked up a little bit.
- speakerYeah. But not in
- speakera significant way.. I knew that somehow I am confident that we would
- speakerbe taken care of.
- speakerOh great.
- speakerCOVID required new routines and new habits in people's lives.
- speakerAnd do you think this will have a lasting effect on people?
- speakerWell, I guess it would depend upon what your general attitude is to change.
- speakerMine's kind of for the most
- speakerpart, optimistic and has been my entire life.
- speakerAnd so I
- speakerrather whether I was naive or not, I don't know.
- speakerBut I knew we would come through.
- speakerI was positive that if I did what was expected
- speakerof me by the health professionals, it would
- speakerbe OK. I was just concerned that
- speakerI was careful to keep myself from having a respiratory
- speakerinfection. However, I had a flu shot
- speakerin October and so I felt good about that.
- speakerAnd I wore when they said to wear a mask and wash your hands.
- speakerI followed the instructions.
- speakerAnd also, my concern was that my daughter
- speakerand her family would do likewise.
- speakerAnd I had a 20 year old grandson who was at Temple University,
- speakerand I was more concerned about him because he had extended
- speakerhealth issues.
- speakerSo that kind of scared me more than anything.
- speakerHowever, I knew that my daughter's attitude was similar
- speakerto mine and she would do whatever she could do and his father to
- speakerprotect their son.
- speakerDo you have any other observations or comments or memories that you would
- speakerlike to add?
- speakerI guess the primary thing for me
- speakeris I'm I'm a doer.
- speakerAnd you can only read so many books and I watch so many
- speakerold movies on TV. But fortunately, it was the spring
- speakerof the year and I'm a gardener.
- speakerAnd so and also
- speakerI like strong physical activity
- speakerin terms of pushing myself to do things.
- speakerI noticed that.
- speakerAnd so the gardening was probably
- speakerwas the thing that kept me from being depressed.
- speakerLike some people, they just didn't know, what am I going to do?
- speakerAnd I had something to do every single day.
- speakerAnd it was physical work.
- speakerSo at the end of the day, I was tired.
- speakerAnd so and I think the other thing,
- speakerthough, the thing that did stress me, though, was
- speakerthat was the television and
- speakerit was not good in terms of
- speakerthe leadership out of the national government.
- speakerAnd so when I should've turned the TV off,
- speakerI, I kept it on and I listened to the nonsense and that
- speakerwas distressing.
- speakerBut I, I was aware of that.
- speakerAnd so I, I attempted to limit it unless
- speakersomeone would say did you hear and I had not heard then
- speakerI would turn the TV back on again and see what I missed.
- speakerAnd it wasn't that was not helpful.
- speakerWell, thank you so much, did I did anything else you wanted
- speakerto add?
- speakerNo other than I'm glad that I had
- speakersomething to do in the season that you do it.
- speakerAnd it kept me going then on through
- speakerthe fall and into the winter because I knew spring would come again.
- speakerRight. Thank you very, very much, Grace.
