FOLEY -- From a run on toilet paper to restaurants closed down these are historic times we are living in right now. Historians say we all can be preserving some of this history for future generations.

Mary Ostby is the Executive Director of the Benton County Historical Society. She says writing daily in a journal is a great place to start.

Because every individual's system is going to be different.  Some people are at home with their family and other people are having to go out and work their jobs.

For example, Ostby says in their records that have some newspaper clippings from the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, but not a lot of personal stories.

She says, it may not seem like it now, but 100 years from now people will want to know what it was like to live through the coronavirus in 2020. Take photos and make notes when you see things that have been changed.

What businesses were considered essential and what businesses were not considered essential and how people functioned with that.  I just saw a report of some of the businesses taking the temperatures of people walking into their building for work.  I mean that's just unheard of.

Photo by WJON.com's Jim Maurice
Photo by WJON.com's Jim Maurice
loading...

She also suggests you take lots of photos of the usual things like the empty isles where the toilet paper is normally stocked or store signs with their changes hours, and also family photos of how your spending your days and nights together during the Stay At Home order.

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

COVID-19: Signs of the Time

More From 98.1 KHAK