Dear Friends,

There’s a song that we often hear this time of the year. No one really seems to know the words, but we all try our best sing it. The song I am referring to is “Auld Lang Syne”. It goes something like this:

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And days of auld lang syne?”

Did you ever play the game “desert island”? A fun game that tries to draw out those things you can’t live without. “If you were stranded on a desert island but could only take (yada yada) with you, what would it be?” You can really insert anything for “yada yada”, but you get the point. So, if I were stranded on a desert island and could only take five movies with me, ‘When Harry Met Sally’ would be on that list. At the end of the movie, Harry and Sally are at a New Year’s Eve party. I won’t ruin the story for those of you who have not watched it, but while they are at the party, you hear ‘Auld Lang Syne’ playing in the background. Harry (played by Billy Crystal) stops the intense conversation he’s having with Sally (Meg Ryan) and says “What does this song mean? My whole life, I don't know what this song means. I mean, 'Should old acquaintance be forgot'? Does that mean that we should forget old acquaintances, or does it mean if we happened to forget them, we should remember them, which is not possible because we already forgot?” To this, Sally responds, “Well, maybe it just means that we should remember that we forgot them or something.”

As we head into the final days of 2020, I want us to remember what we have been through together. Let’s not forget the struggles, the hardships and the successes of the year. It would be an insult to everyone who worked hard to support this community, and especially to those we lost. I don’t want us to forget 2020. It was hard. It was dark. It tested and challenged us in ways we never dreamed. Who could have ever imagined the year we had?

Now, thinking back to mid-March 2020, and the initial scare of COVID-19, we started hearing about people getting sick, a few “hot spots” near the city and throughout the country, mostly in the major cities and it still seemed so far away from us here in rural Chenango County.

Then suddenly, there was an explosion of our numbers in New York State, and by the end of March, New York was facing the “Pause”, invoking industry shutdowns and forcing schools to pivot immediately to a remote learning model. Food distribution centers were set up by schools for families, and laptops and iPad’s became a necessity for long-term learning needs. Our businesses were also pushed to make quick adjustments to their workflow and we quickly became adept to Zoom, Microsoft Teams and other remote platforms.

Next came quarantine rules, and information on how you could contract the virus seemed to change daily. (Anyone else wipe down their groceries or packages?) We became dependent on the daily briefings from Governor Cuomo. We regularly checked in with our county health officials to get the latest quarantine numbers, active cases and we mourned the deaths. There was a struggle to access PPE, there was hoarding of grocery items, cleaning supplies, essentials like toilet paper, and stores had to set limits on purchase quantities.

Everyone learned how to make masks; you could watch a YouTube video on how to make one out of bandana, t-shirt or any fabric. The issue of wearing a mask took spotlight after an Executive Order from the Governor mandated that everyone wear one. There were strong discussions and opinions on this issue. While most took this to heart and complied, many laggards still fought the EO and others went to social media to share their disgust with this mandate, many questioning if COVID was even real. Seriously?

Testing was an issue from the start. Due to lack of testing kits, it was difficult to get a test unless you showed a number of symptoms. Drive thru testing was developed and more hospitals and walk-in centers were slowly being equipped with enough kits. Now we have rapid testing!

Businesses tried to understand the complexity of the phase-in process that was put into place. The statewide industry guidance, timing, and requirements caused many to struggle. Some developed curbside pickup plans, and delivery models. Instacart grew overnight and provided a necessary service for those who couldn’t leave their home because of quarantine, or those who were too scared to go out.

In the fall, we had hope that a vaccine was close, but much of the conversation was tied up in a very contentious and ugly election year. Was there a vaccine? Was it true? Is it safe? Then finally, we all started breathing a little easier because yes, there was a vaccine. In fact, there were two and so began the discussion of distribution plans and now we sit and wait to hear when it will be our turn.

Whirlwind of a year, right? I know just writing this brought back all sorts of feelings and emotions. It’s frightening to know you could get this horrible virus, and that you know so many that have tested positive, and to personally know people who have lost the fight.

In many ways, 2020 showed us who and what we are as a community. Chenango County is resilient. We are strong. We are tough. We have people and organizations who care. Our businesses are creative and strong. Our community members are generous and kind.

Let us be thankful to those who have helped lead us through this dark time in our history. Let us be hopeful that there is a light in 2021. Let us agree that we won’t forget to remember when this pandemic is behind us and we have all moved on.

Stay well, Chenango and Happy New Year.

~ Kerri