From time to time we’ve been looking back on our lives in the COVID crisis, based on a running summary (now 133 pages) that I’ve been keeping for Steuben County Historical Society. We pick up today with June of 2020.

Steuben County lost about 3800 jobs in May.

Following the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, socially-distanced protests took place at multiple locations in our area. Elmira-Corning NAACP held a virtual town hall with the mayors of both cities.

Corning Pride conducted a vehicle parade, but all its other activities were mostly on-line.

It was announced that Corning Inc.’s Valor Glass would be used for the upcoming vaccines. The company said it would add 94 jobs at the Big Flats plant.

In mid-June public pools and playgrounds were allowed to reopen, with restrictions. Summer day camps were allowed to operate, but overnight camps were closed. Bath V.A. Living Center opened the gates for a vehicle parade, so that residents could again see family members, albeit from a distance.

Seven of the eight Southern Tier county executives wrote Governor Cuomo, asking that each county health officer be allowed to set the conditions and procedures for high school graduations.

DMV offices in Corning, Bath and Hornell reopened by appointment. Hospitals in the Arnot and Guthrie systems allowed limited visitation. Arnot Health received ten million dollars in emergency federal aid. On June 22 Steuben County Legislature met in person (with distancing) for the first time in months. Movie theaters were allowed to reopen, with restrictions, at the end of the month.

The Democratic primary had a record number of voters, thanks to over 3000 mail ballots. Nearly all libraries in the five-county system reopened in late June or early July. Hornell Public Library, which is a city government function, had to remain closed, but took advantage of the opportunity to do renovations.

Artemus the Bison (on Rockwell Museum’s exterior Pine Street wall) was fitted with a three-foot by four-foot protective mask. Hornell blasted its fireworks at a higher altitude than usual, so that people would not need to crowd in to see them. The New York State Festival of Balloons in Dansville was cancelled for the year.

Tim Marshall, director of Steuben County Office of Emergency Services, told the Public Safety and Corrections Committee that the recent 91-day operation is the longest time the Center has operated continuously, the previous record being a week during blizzards. On July 7, Steuben County Historical Society reopened Magee House, with limitations. Starting July 9, the state permitted severely-restricted nursing home visitation for the first time since March 13. Corning Community College reduced staff. Hornell announced that the sewers were having problems because of people flushing disinfectant wipes.

On July 20, Steuben County reached 300 reported cases. Wilkins RV in Bath reported much-increased business. “With the new travel restrictions, airlines – all that kind of stuff, they are trying to avoid all that and they really want to get out and do something just together with their family.”

Stay tuned – we’ll be back with more!