Coronavirus. COVID-19. Shutdown. Remote. Stay home. Mask up. Wash your hands. Keep your distance.
Virtual. Hybrid. Stop the spread. Vaccinate.
These are all words that have been added to our daily lexicon one year ago as the virus invaded our
world, changing our homes, workplaces, social lives and school.
Here’s a look at some of the impact locally.
State of emergency
Bowling Green State University President Rodney Rogers had a clear and vivid memory of a conversation
just as the pandemic started.
“I was off campus, at a donor event, trying to raise money for the (Changing Lives for the World)
Campaign. My most vivid memory was a call from Sue Houston, chief of staff, saying “It appears that
there’s going to be a state-of-emergency, what do you think we should do?”
The event was in Houston, where there is a large alumni group. He had just boarded the plane to return
home, and until the call came in he was thinking about the travel ahead, for both he and his wife.
“So on that long flight home, just coming back and on that drive down from Detroit, I still remember
thinking, going through my mind were all the things that we had planned for,” he said.
“As you know, we had a plan, a pandemic emergency plan in place, that we had reviewed as a cabinet a few
months before. Nobody thought it would be this severe, but at our cabinet meeting we had thought through
many issues. I was going through my head: ‘This is real. We’re going to have to do all those things we
had planned for.’”
Rogers recalled that the plan was to bring BGSU students back to campus after spring break. The virus
wave in New York City made him realize that was not going to happen.
“At least that was our plan here at Bowling Green,” Rogers said. “Really just hearing more and more, I
have family in the city, and just hearing some of their stories, made me think, ‘Oh no, this is
incredibly serious.”
Rogers didn’t hesitate with an answer about the positive changes coming out of the pandemic.
“I think we have demonstrated and learned so much about flexibility and adaptability. I was talking to a
state legislator the other day, and often higher ed is accused of not being adaptable, and changing
quickly, or not quick enough. I think we proved that we could do all of that. The faculty and staff
quickly adjusted and adapted with changes in curriculum.”
He was equally sure of what he missed most.
“It’s the human contact. It’s the engagement. You know, I have not done any traveling since I came back
to campus 361 days ago. That would have been the last time I was on a plane,” Rogers said. “So I’m on
campus every day and I try to eat lunch in the union and in the dining halls. So I have an opportunity
to engage with students in small groups, and look at the faces. That’s the biggest thing I miss. You
know the reason you get into this line of work, really, is the students.”
Businesses hit hard
Bowing Green Beer Works had just opened an expanded area in March 2020, and had events planned the week
before the shutdown. There were several art exhibits and a big St. Patrick’s Day event that included
live music and Irish step dancers.
“The Sunday before we were shutting down ended up being a very busy night for us. Everyone was out, which
was surprising,” said owner Justin Marx. “It wasn’t the weather. It was just all regulars. It was a
little odd, considering.”
Then the stay-at-home orders came from the state.
“We canceled that art show, because we had openings, and we canceled the St. Patrick’s Day show too. It
was going to be a big launch for us. So right when we finished the build-out, which was a big deal for
us, it shut down,” Marx said.
“Then we had to retool and figure out how to get our product out, without a taproom. We bought a canning
machine and started canning, and that helped. But one of my biggest memories was how generous people
were in trying to keep small business afloat and how much people came by to get beer.”
He had to lay off one person, but there was also someone who moved and another who quit, because of the
danger related to the job and COVID-19.
“I never thought it was going to be only two weeks,” Marx said. “I’m thinking things will be almost
normal in September, unless something really bad happens, a variant or something that none of the
vaccines cover. I think we will see a lot of normality by June.”
There are a number of things he misses from pre-pandemic days. He used to be an art dealer with a gallery
and loved the show openings with people gathering.
“Going to see live music. A lot of arts and entertainment have been devastated. I feel for those people.
Dinners with a band. That was their livelihood. I miss the closeness of our taproom, with the
friendliness. That might go away for a long time, with that personal space we’re all used to now,” he
said.
Marx sees positives coming out of the pandemic.
“I think we won’t take our friends and family for granted as much now, and our ability to move freely
through society,” Marx said. “The hugs, the smiles — jeez, because of the masks. I think it’s worse than
the hugs, actually. Just being able to talk, communicate and catch up with people.”
He thinks there will be a lot more attention on hygiene and keeping things contactless. At the bar,
people bus their own tables so the employees only touch clean glassware and clean tap handles. They
purchased hundreds of glasses so they can sit for 10 minutes prior to washing.
“I do think the whole outdoor thing is going to blow up. It’s going to become big. I’ve always been
surprised it wasn’t bigger in Ohio,” Marx said.”
Chris Watson, owner of the Bard’s Coffee, Perrysburg, said he had a bleak view of the future last March.
“I went to shut down and I assumed we would never reopen,” he said. “We had not even been open a year.
“I made the assumption that it would be year one all over again and I didn’t know if I had the physical
strength, the stamina, or just the emotional strength to do it all over again.”
He was also unsure of the financial aspect. He thought he would be completely on his own, because there
hadn’t been any talk about payroll protection or support from the city.
“I had enough capital to keep two employees on, and I kept them on. One of them was a full-time manager.
I kept them on regardless, in the hopes that something would happen. I didn’t have the heart to lay off
employees. Then, yes, I benefited, not from any of the grant money, but from the loans, thanks in no
small part to good banking.”
The Bard’s Coffee reopened as soon as the restrictions were lifted on restaurants.
“We were fortunate, because we had always intended to add four tables outside. We got permission from
Perrysburg. We made that application in January to put four tables out as sort of an outdoor cafe
seating area,” Watson said.
He also set up grab-and-go.
“I miss the ability to fill the shop. When the weather cooled down, I’ve had to turn people away that
wanted to sit in our shop,” Watson said. “People’s favorite place to sit in the shop, we have three
tables out by the window, and everybody loves to sit there. That was kind of the cat seat. It’s kind of
the perch, where you could watch people order or go by outside.”
His sales have gone up. He attributes that to meeting the public health objectives.
“We did everything we could to meet the public health objectives, and we demonstrated that on a daily
basis. What does that engender? Trust, right?” Watson asked. “They noticed that we cared about them and
about their health. That, to me, increased our sales.”
Back to school
“Everything happened so fast last March,” said Otsego Local Schools Superintendent Adam Koch.
He praised the collaboration that occurred in his district.
“We all came together and asked ourselves ‘what do our students, staff and community need during this
time of uncertainty?’ We always kept this statement in mind and went to work. Communication was key. As
soon as we received information we shared it with our community,” he said.
Koch said he assumed at the time that the shutdown would last for the rest of the 2019-20 academic year.
There were enough Chromebooks for every student to take home which allowed remote learning.
Otsego officials started planning in June for different scenarios for the return to school in the fall
and started purchasing supplies and equipment.
He never had second thoughts about returning in August five days a week in person.
“We were confident in our decision and had the support to move forward,” Koch said, adding that they had
daily monitored county coronavirus data. “Because we had communicated out plans out early, we felt
confident in our ability to make a change if the numbers warranted it.”
Students genuinely wanted to be in the buildings, he said.
“They were so happy to be here, students stepped up and took care of each other and made sacrifices for
the better good and they were OK with it. They understood the importance of sacrificing to be here and
participate,” Koch said. “There was a sense all year that we were in this together.”
Attendance has approved and there has been a virtual elimination of the flu and the common cold because
of masks and sanitizing, he said.
Bowling Green City Schools students were out of the classroom from March 2020 until February.
Stacey Higgins, who teaches second grade at Bowling Green’s Crim Elementary, said she appreciates the
patience that most parents have shown teachers “because we have been building the plane while we were
flying it.”
When Gov. Mike DeWine outlined a plan to get all teachers vaccinated, Bowling Green administrators made
plans to go from remote learning to hybrid and students returned the third week of February.
“It is wonderful to have the kids in the room, even for two days,” Higgins said.
She recalled last March, hearing rumblings that schools would be shut down, and Bowling Green scheduled a
teacher workday March 13 — right before the announcement was made on March 14 to shutter schools.
Higgins, who has taught in the district for 22 years, said everyone was hoping for a return in early
April, then it was pushed back to early May.
The decision was finally made to keep schools closed through the end of the term.
“That was just heartbreaking,” Higgins said. “It was so hard that we had finished three quarters of our
school year last year and knowing we wouldn’t cross that finish line in the usual manner was sad.”
Although the buildings were closed, teachers continued to work — harder than ever.
“The buildings might have been closed, but the teacher school day was extended,” Higgins said.
She said they tried to communicate with families and track down students to give them the tools they
needed to keep learning.
“It felt like a 24-hour-a-day job. It wasn’t a vacation.”
Postponing the start of the school year until Labor Day made sense, Higgins said.
“I really do believe in July the intention was to be in the classroom as soon as we could be,” she said
in reference to the month the board of education decided to start the school year remotely.
“I think there is hope to get back to close to normal after this summer,” she said.
She said she misses being physically close to students and families.
The annual musical Higgins does with her class didn’t happen last year and won’t return this year.
“That’s what I really miss at school,” she said. “I think a year in, the feeling that comes to mind is
just exhaustion. Everything has changed. How we work, how we learn, how we interact.”
Two things that started during the pandemic that she hopes are continued are the increased focus on hand
washing and the graduation parade.
“That was a really fun event that allowed a lot of people to participate,” Higgins said.
Spring sports and beyond
Dave Shaffer has been with Lake Local Schools as athletic director and teacher for 33 years.
“We didn’t think at first the entire season would cancel,” he said, looking back to March 2020. “We
figured at some point it would be salvaged.”
But track, softball and baseball were all canceled for high school students.
“One of the biggest disappointments was we had a wrestler who would have had his third trip to the state
tournament. We’ve not had a kid make it three years in a row. Great kid — and for him not to be able to
compete in the state wrestling tournament, we felt awful for him,” Shaffer said.
Antonio Lecki was a senior.
“We got through not having spring sports and wondering what fall would like,” Shaffer said. “We didn’t
know how they’d do football, when we’re talking about not breathing on each other, not touching each
other.”
Non-contact sports were allowed early in the fall and football was eventually given the OK.
“One of the big disappointments was the limited attendance, for fans not to be able to come,” Shaffer
said.
Limited concessions and admission policies have been financially devastating to area schools, he said.
“Everybody’s budget’s been destroyed,” he said. “The money we collect at gates pays for the officials,
all the equipment, tournament entry fees.”
There will be track, softball and baseball this year.
“We’re thankful we have spring sports because those kids lost that opportunity,” Shaffer said.
And the Friday night lights will be shining in the fall, he said.
Bringing up baby
Ed Kolanko and Melissa Szabo of Walbridge were expecting their second child as the shutdown started.
Grace, who just turned 1, has never experienced anything but pandemic living. Her brother Eddie, who is 2
1/2, had a big party with family and friends for his first birthday. His first year also included visits
to the library and the zoo, daycare while his parents worked, and another celebration for his baptism.
“None of that has been possible with Grace,” Kolanko said. “It’s tough as a parent. It’s not any fault of
our own, but it’s something she hasn’t had the experience of.”
Szabo works from home while Kolanko splits his work duties between home and office; he’s also the mayor
of Walbridge.
“It makes it tough at home, it presents a lot of stress on the relationship,” he said. “The flip side is
we’ve become a very close-knit, tight family unit because we had to. I’m grateful for that.”
He and Szabo are engaged and are waiting to set a wedding date until they can have a big celebration.
“We just want to get back to the things that we feel are normal, going to church on Sunday, going to a
restaurant, visiting family … all that stuff we’ve taken for granted.”
He’s hopeful for the future and appreciative of the better weather in the last week that allows outside
activities with the kids.
“That was fantastic, just to get out of the house. We got a wagon!” Kolanko said with a laugh. “There’s
so much appreciation for walking down the street and seeing other people.”
End goal in sight
Health Commissioner Ben Robison was working for the state in February 2020 — he joined Wood County in
August — when Gov. Mike DeWine called a coronavirus summit.
Health commissioners from around the state and other officials gathered in a packed Ohio Department of
Transportation meeting room.
It was one of the last face-to-face meetings he would attend.
“The things that have defined our experience weren’t there yet,” Robison said.
What makes COVID so traumatic is that it has been all encompassing, he said.
He recalled working in the health field during the 2009 H1N1 crisis. Staff would work during the day,
then do “normal” family activities.
“When we go home during COVID, we still follow distance guidelines and don’t see family,” he said. “It
just speaks to the severity of this disease.”
He said he misses time with family.
“I haven’t hugged my mom since Christmas of 2019,” he said. “It’s been more than a year since I hugged my
mom.”
He knows that the end goal is near, though.
“The one thing that we don’t want to do at this point is fumble the ball on the 1-yard line,” Robison
said. “As much as I want to hug my mom I need to wait.
“This is the last big ask we have of our community. We’ve got to make sure we’re finished.”
He added that coronavirus has shown us what we value.
“You recognize what you miss when you don’t have it,” Robison said. “We’re fighting for community, for
our family, for our kids, for what makes up the fabric of our society.”
(Debbie Rogers, Roger LaPointe, Marie Thomas-Baird and J.D. Pooley contributed to
this.)
