Pandemic muddies Memorial Day in Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The city and the state have been in various phases of lockdown for almost 10 weeks.
As the state moves toward reopening the economy, the streets, interstates and sidewalks are still quiet.
Memorial Day 2020 is the first national holiday disrupted by the virus.
The tomb that memorializes James Bethel Gresham, a Hoosier and the first American solider killed in World War I, had one visitor Monday afternoon. The American Legion Mall is quiet and for the most part void of visitors.
The wide-open green space that makes up most of the mall is about the same: empty.
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And no one was reading the letter that has been etched into granite that William Evans wrote to his parents. Evans was killed at the battle of Midway. The World War II memorial was vacant of visitors.
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument, a memorial to every American conflict, starting with the Mexican-American War, was quiet.
On a typical holiday weekend, Garfield Park on the near south side of Indianapolis is packed with families and groups of people. On Monday, there is room to roam freely. Joe Fox is one those who is ready to get out, and he wonders if the lack of crowds will be part of life from here on out.
“All the social distancing, the COVID-19 going around — it kind of broke everybody’s spirit, you know?” said Fox. “I would expect a lot more people here because it is a holiday and it is a really big park with lots of space.”
Joel Stalz and his friends were taking full advantage of the unofficial start to summer. He says he comes out here a couple times a month. He said most of the people he knows are following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and restricting themselves to small groups in open spaces.
“I would say, by and large, most of the people that I have encountered have been really careful,” said Stalz.
Are we to expect this — fewer crowds and wide open spaces — as the new normal?
“Definitely, yeah, I know that my family specifically, I know I can’t go home and visit my folks back home because they have people that are immune-comprised and even though I’m being careful, you can never be too careful,” Stalz said.
Memorial Day will have an asterisk next to it in the history books: no parades, few family gatherings and no Indy 500 race. The unofficial start to a summer that many hope brings an end to the pandemic.