2023.034.002

Oral history interviews with people in Lawrence and Lowell, Massachusetts (the Merrimack River Valley), who experienced the sickness and pandemic living restrictions of Covid-19 in 2020 and 2021, plus diary excerpts from residents who reported on their daily fears, hopes, and challenges.

Produced by the Lawrence History Center and University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML), with contributions from Phillips Academy Andover, this is the first published documentary about the impact of the pandemic in the Merrimack Valley. Interviews were conducted by sociology students from UML and Spanish language students from Phillips Academy Andover (guided by educator Mark Cutler). The two working-class, highly diverse cities in eastern Massachusetts had sustained high rates of infection with the related disruption of employment, education, and normal community life. The interviews offer a useful case study of the effects of Covid-19 in one region. The interviews examine the implications of the Covid-19 to learning, teaching, studying, providing healthcare, and building community.