Niwot Historical Society calls on Niwot community to help preserve local COVID-19 history

Though difficult to comprehend in our current environment, the events of COVID-19 mark an unprecedented moment in our shared human history. Focusing on local historic impacts, the Niwot Historical Society has put out a call for pandemic-related information in an effort to, as its mission states, "preserve, collect, and protect the history of Niwot." The historical society is asking volunteers from the community to help document this moment and the impacts of COVID-19 in Niwot's history.

The Left Hand Valley Courier caught up with Kathy Koehler, president of the Niwot Historical Society, to get her take on why preserving this history is especially important in light of present events, as well as for more information on how volunteers can get involved.

Left Hand Valley Courier (LHVC): What prompted the Niwot Historical Society to put out this call for information?

Kathy Koehler (KK): The call for contributions about how this worldwide pandemic has impacted Niwot is a way to record history in the archives of the Niwot Historical Society. We know of no written history of the pandemic of 1918 in Niwot, so we wanted to record the many ways this current pandemic is impacting Niwot in 2020.

LHVC: Why do you think it is important to document this moment in history?

KK: This pandemic is, hopefully, a once in a lifetime event, and there should be a record of the impact to our Niwot community. As the historical organization in Niwot, we have a responsibility to have a record, and that is why we are creating a "scrapbook" of various documents. The goal is to have personal Niwot experiences since there will be major historical documents filed for the county, state of Colorado, nation, and the world. We are Niwot, and this scrapbook artifact will be a small part of our story.

LHVC: Who do you think will benefit from this documentation?

KK: Authors, researchers, and anyone reflecting back on how Niwot was impacted during the 2020 pandemic.

LHVC: How will this history be preserved and presented to the community?

KK: A request for contributions to a scrapbook to record the impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus was sent in April to Niwot Historical Society members, to Niwot Elementary School, and to the Niwot High School social studies staff. The volunteer stories and/or items are planned to be combined into a scrapbook which will become an artifact to be accessioned into the Niwot Historical Society archives.

LHVC:: How can people participate?

KK: Niwot residents of all ages, community organizations, and business owners are most welcome to submit items. Some people have taken photos of businesses with a short caption on the shop. Two teachers at Niwot High School, Ken Benson and Michael Rees, offered a writing assignment to some history students to share a diary as to how the pandemic has changed their activities and lives.

Perhaps families and teachers at other grades will volunteer stories on how their lives have changed. Maybe people have a new hobby or have taken up gardening. I was fortunate to help distribute gift cards to many local front line workers that were purchased at Niwot businesses. Vicki Maurer at Warren, Carlson, and Moore law offices is gathering articles from the Left Hand Valley Courier to be a section in the scrapbook.

LHVC: What are some ideas or suggestions for scrapbook submissions?

KK: I think photos of families together in face masks would be a fun entry accompanied by a short story on how the pandemic has changed their lives. Perhaps the family assembled lots of puzzles, so they could have a photo of their favorite puzzle and how many they have put together. Maybe they "howled" nightly at 8 pm as a sign of support for front line workers or created positive chalk drawing messages in driveways.

Or photos and stories of unique or memorable events like Chris Doyle serenading the Niwot community with his bagpipes while folks sat on the common lawn area at Cottonwood Park West across Niwot Road. Everyone still needs their masks to wear now, but we will possibly have some masks as artifacts when we come out of the crisis.

LHVC: Has the Niwot Historical Society ever done anything like this before?

KK: We have not put out a plea of support like this to record an event in our community. The Niwot Historical Society has, however, requested residents share historic Niwot-related items as artifacts. For example, in March, before business closures and social distancing, we received some artifacts from Judy (Gould) Dayhoff that she discovered in a box from her mother. The community was also very generous when we asked for donations to help restore and update the Fire House Museum a few years ago. However, there has not been an event in recent times like this pandemic that has impacted the whole community. This pandemic is a one-of-a-kind event.

LHVC:Do you know of any other Colorado towns or museums doing something similar?

KK: I am quite certain other museums are collecting information or items in some way about their locations because this is a historic event. With this project, we are interested in Niwot-related events, family life, business experiences, organizations, and personal activities. As our motto states, "Be a part of Niwot's future by helping to preserve our past."

Niwot-related stories and photos can be emailed to the Niwot Historical Society at [email protected]. For more information on the Niwot Historical Society, visit their website at http://www.niwothistoricalsociety.org