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A look back at 2020 in pictures
2020 was in many ways a difficult year as the arrival of the coronavirus closed schools and businesses and canceled many events. Yet, residents persevered through it all, finding ways to keep in touch with their friends and loved ones. Jefferson County was able to hold its county fair, youngsters were able to participate in a high school prom held a few months late, and grocery store shoppers adjusted to life behind a mask.
It is hard to remember everything that happened during this unique year.
For most people, they cannot wait to see the end of a year marked by a pandemic, racial tensions and kids spending more time at home than in school. The Southeast Iowa Union staff looked back through the papers we published this year to find the highlights in the photos that captured what it was like to live through 2020. Here are photos that summarized the year in Jefferson County.
Dhyana Miller, left, screens a student at Maharishi International University with a temperature check before administering a COVID-19 test in August 2020. (Photo courtesy of Ken West)
A Parkview Care Center resident in Fairfield waves to the caravan that came to visit them on March 29. Fairfield Fire Chief Scott Vaughan hatched the idea to assemble a parade of fire trucks, police and sheriff vehicles to visit nursing home residents to let them know people cared about them, even though they couldn't visit them in person due to COVID restrictions. (Photo courtesy of Parkview Care Center)
The statue of William Henry Coop in Fairfield's Central Park is seen covered in ice, which blanketed southeast Iowa over the weekend of Jan. 10-12. Coop was the first pioneer settler born in Jefferson County (1836). He and his young friend have been sitting in Central Park since 1981 (sculpted by Christopher Bennett). (Photo courtesy of Werner Elmker)
Although they're not old enough to vote, these youngsters were full of enthusiasm for Bernie Sanders on caucus night Feb. 3 at Washington Elementary School in Fairfield. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
As voters packed into Washington Elementary School's gymnasium in Fairfield on caucus night, Feb. 3. They were met by activists passing out stickers for their favorite candidate. Pictured are, from left, Perri Huggins supporting Elizabeth Warren, Teresa Brennan supporting Andrew Yang and Joan Masover supporting Amy Klobuchar. (Union photo by Andy Hallman)
Six-year-old Adalyn Schleicher leads her calf to the show arena of the Jefferson County Fairgrounds before the 4-H Clover Kids calf show on June 27, 2020. The fair was a bit different this year as attendance was limited to exhibitors and their families. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Brook Larsen of Weaton Capital in Fairfield demonstrates how a face shield is worn. Weaton Capital announced in April that it planned to produce a quarter million of these shields in the following weeks and months. (Photo courtesy of Nate Weaton)
Maharishi School third grade students in Diane James's class show off over Zoom the water gardens they created for Earth Day 2020. Meeting on Zoom was something local students became accustomed to in the spring when they could not meet in person. (Photo courtesy of Diane James)
Everybody's employee Shane Miller hands plastic grocery bags to customer Colleen Stone on April 28, 2020. The Fairfield grocery store implemented a policy in early April requiring both employees and customers to wear masks, one of the first in the area to do so. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Walking the red carpet outside Quality Inn & Suites in Fairfield are, from left, Rachel Thomas, Gracee Lisk and Callie Ledger, who participated in a prom in July 2020 put together by Summer Lisk and other parents after the Fairfield School District had to cancel the prom planned for April. (Photo courtesy of Summer Lisk)
Fairfield High School and Maharishi School graduating seniors were featured on banners like the one seen here throughout Fairfield's downtown for about a month in late May and early June. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Fairfield High School band director Jim Edgeton reviews a piece of music with then sophomore French horn player Sophia Fritz in January. (Union photo by Andy Hallman)
Fairfield resident Mark Stimson stands beside his 2009 Kandi Coco in January. Stimson uses the all-electric vehicle for trips in town. (Union photo by Andy Hallman)
Vaisnavii Mohanraj, left, was a sophomore at Maharishi School in Fairfield when this photo was taken in February. Mohanraj was in her third year as a member of Girls Who Code. She said she enjoys learning new things and helping others learn, too. It helps that her mother, Renuka Mohanraj, is a computer science professor at Maharishi International University in Fairfield. Also pictured is Maharishi School junior (now senior) Shristi Sharma. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Local genealogist Verda Baird looks through a filing cabinet on Jefferson County history at the Fairfield Public Library in March. Baird and several others were responsible for compiling the articles found in the file. Baird has published 25 books and articles for the local genealogical section of the Fairfield Public Library. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Meredith Siemsen and Dee Ann Lantz act out a scene together during a rehearsal of 'Nana's Naughty Knickers' performed in early 2020 at the Walton Club in Fairfield. (Gretchen Teske/The Union)
Justin Simmering performs a back flip during a routine at practice in early December at Ide Gymnastics' new location on Pleasant Plain Road north of Fairfield. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Sweet ‘n Saucy employee Holly Harris prepares a sandwich in the restaurant's kitchen in August 2020. Though catering was down this year, take out and delivery were up. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Protesters in Fairfield hold up signs during the Black Lives Matter protest in Central Park in June 2020. The event attracted about 400 people. (Image courtesy of Luke Stenger)
Mark Smith purchased AJ's Bicycle Shop in Fairfield in January 2020 and renamed it 'The Ride.' He said interest in cycling exploded in 2020 as people looked for an activity they could do outside and at a safe distance from others. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Clint Mercer places compost around a plant in the Jefferson County ISU Extension garden in Fairfield. Many people turned to gardening as a fun outdoor activity in 2020. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Ben Sirdoreus of Fairfield caught this 6.31-pound bass in Lake Darling, which made him the state champion of a bass fishing competition earlier this year. Sirdoreus went on to participate in the national competition in Sandpoint, Idaho, on Oct. 3. (Photo courtesy of Jessica Sirdoreus)
Frank Pinto does a set on the lat pull down machine in the Roosevelt Community Recreation Center in Fairfield. Pinto won the National Physique Committee's North American Bodybuilding Championship in Pittsburgh on Sept. 5. Pinto, 72, won the title in the over-70 category. Winning this amateur bodybuilding competition makes Pinto a professional, which means he can compete against other professionals next year, and he fully intends to do so. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Susan Shafer admires the Iowa Wetland Bird display at the Carnegie Historical Museum in Fairfield, which underwent extensive remodeling this year and updates to its exhibits. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
