‘Our lost summer’ — Voices from Erie

America Amplified: Audio diaries from the pandemic

• Ed Mahon
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Ed Mahon comes to Spotlight PA from PA Post, where he covered state politics and policy, produced radio stories that were broadcast on public media stations throughout the state and on NPR’s national newscasts, and co-wrote a weekday newsletter. Prior to joining PA Post, Ed worked for six years as an investigative and political reporter for the York Daily Record, part of the USA Today Network. His reporting on failures in Pennsylvania’s system for protecting domestic abuse victims was a finalist in the national 2018 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists in the local reporting category. He was also part of a team whose coverage of the criminal justice system, including the aggressive use of civil asset forfeiture by York County prosecutors, received the 2018 G. Richard Dew Award for Journalistic Service from the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. Before joining the York Daily Record, Ed covered K-12 education at the Centre Daily Times in State College and worked as a stringer for suburban sections of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He grew up in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

 Composite by Ed Mahon / PA Post. Photos courtesy of the subjects

In this photo composite, Daria Devlin, center, is with two volunteers at the Troika Russian Festival in Erie in the top photo; YahMoorah Shakoor-Hooker is in the bottom left photo, and James Sherrod is in the bottom right one.

Composite by Ed Mahon / PA Post. Photos courtesy of the subjects

In this photo composite, Daria Devlin, center, is with two volunteers at the Troika Russian Festival in Erie in the top photo; YahMoorah Shakoor-Hooker is in the bottom left photo, and James Sherrod is in the bottom right one. (Composite by Ed Mahon / PA Post; photos courtesy of the subjects)

Here’s something YahMoorah Shakoor-Hooker wants you to know about her community:

Summer in Erie is a beautiful time. The waterfront makes it a great place for outdoor concerts and festivals.

“All of that is up in the air,” Shakoor-Hooker, 43, said in an audio diary she recorded for America Amplified, a community engagement journalism initiative.

The coronavirus pandemic changed Shakoor-Hooker’s plans in many ways. She hasn’t been able to visit her grandparents in northeastern Ohio. During Ramadan, she missed breaking fasts in the evenings with many of her family and friends. And a June convention to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority has been cancelled.

“So that’s very disappointing,” she said.

Daria Devlin, another Erie County resident, planned to kick off her summer by organizing the 12th annual Troika Russian Festival, three days of food and fun. The event, a sort of unofficial kick off to a season of festivals, features an ice bar, vodka drinks, Russian food and an international group of dancers.

Devlin, 43, recorded her audio diary last week while looking out at the Church of the Nativity, the Russian Orthodox church that hosts the festival. She thought about how normally there would be people cooking food, putting up signs, marking off parking spaces and doing a bunch of other things to make sure the event went smoothly. None of that was happening as Devlin recorded her audio diary.

“Instead, there’s just quiet,” she said.

But there’s still a sense of optimism, as James Sherrod expressed in an audio diary he sent me. He’s the executive director of the Bayfront Neighborhood Action Team Organization Inc. / Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Center.

“We can still enjoy the warmth of the sunshine, the magnificent growth of plants and flowers, along with the beautiful sunset over Presque Isle — one of the greatest sunsets in our nation,” Sherrod said. “All is not going to be lost this summer.”

Best of the rest

Keith Srakocic / AP Photo

Raymond Piacquadio wipes his brow as he kneels at the grave of his mother during his visit to the Cemetery of the Alleghenies, a Veterans Administration National Cemetery, Saturday, May 23, 2020, on the Memorial Day Holiday weekend in Bridgeville, Pa. (Keith Srakocic / AP Photo)

• Honoring veterans: PennLive’s Aaron Kasinitz looked at what it means for veterans to miss out on large Memorial Day gatherings t. “It leaves a huge hole,” said Charlie Yost, a former chaplain for the U.S. Army Reserves, as told to PennLive’s Aaron Kasinitz. In Pittsburgh, a virtual ceremony took place on Monday, Sean D. Hamill reports for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I think this is one of the best Memorial Days in my 71 years of my life in this world,” said Dan McPoyle, a Navy veteran who honored his father.

• Trump calls Lamb an ‘American Fraud’: On Monday, President Trump spent part of his Memorial Day criticizing a military veteran — U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Allegheny). Here’s some background on Lamb’s time in the U.S. Marine Corps. “Lamb’s form DD-214 shows Lamb served in the Marines from October 2009 to September 2013, including one year and eight months of foreign service as a military prosecutor in Okinawa,” Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 reported back in 2018. “He was awarded medals for national defense service, global war on terrorism service, and for a Navy and Marine Corps commendation.” And here’s some background on the political contest that Trump is seeking to influence: Lamb and Republican challenger Sean Parnell, another military veteran, are poised to face off in November. And Jonathan Tamari of The Philadelphia Inquirer corrected a false statement and a misspelling in the president’s tweet.

• Two very useful guides: NPR spoke with experts to help you make decisions about what activities are riskiest this summer. There is lots of good news in this story for me. Going to the beach, exercising outdoors and camping are all considered low risk. NPR also has this handy guide to where different states are in their stages of reopening, including which ones are allowing barbers and hairdressers to operate. For those looking to cross a border: Ohio, West Virginia and Delaware allow barbers to operate statewide, while it varies in parts of Maryland. New York and New Jersey join Pennsylvania in keeping them closed.

• Reminder: Absentee and vote-by-mail deadline is today. Registered voters in Pennsylvania have until 5 p.m. today to apply for an absentee or mail-in ballot for next Tuesday’s primary election. Go to VotesPA.com for details.

Further reading:

• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Dispute between state and coroners over COVID-19 deaths might have a resolution

• LNP: This economic crisis will long outlast COVID-19. Here’s what that means for you and your wallet

• Reading Eagle: Will ‘pandemic insurance’ become a business norm after COVID-19?

• The Morning Call: Your View by Apollo Grill owner: Can the American Dream survive the coronavirus?

• The Philadelphia Inquirer: Smaller crowds and shuttered rides mark Memorial Day in Ocean City

• The Philadelphia Inquirer: Philly region pays tribute to Memorial Day by virtual ceremonies, visiting war memorials, and playing ‘Taps’

• WHYY: ‘Disheartened and sad’: Businesses at the Jersey Shore lament slow Memorial Day weekend

• BillyPenn: #CovidBenFranklin challenge: Revise a Benjamin Franklin quote for coronavirus times