The face mask, in the view of the Aurora Historical Society, will become the icon of the Covid-19 era. For historians it will be the pictorial marker of a time and a symbol standing for how Aurora and the world strove to deal with a public health menace. It will become a way to date photographs. And it will be something that gets donated to museums when future generations start cleaning out Grandma’s attic.
That is why the society is collecting photographs of Aurora residents wearing their masks.
“Show Us Your Mask, Aurora!” is a digital initiative to collect as many images as possible, along with identifying information that will enable the society to archive the pictures for future use, such as research and exhibits.
Historical society vice president Greg Probst is managing the program because, he says, “the time will come when another generation will be wondering what it was like here in 2020. The AHS will be able to show some of the answer.”
Anyone wishing to contribute a photograph should visit the Aurora Historical Society’s website at www.aurorahistory.net.
Both the Tanner House Museum and the Pierce Art and History Center are currently closed due to the pandemic.
— Aurora Historical Society