What will we remember from the year that is passing?
Perhaps it will be the election with its large turnout, lines forming during morning and evening rush. Maybe the economic growth that carried …
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![Mexico High School’s homecoming parade was switched to a drive by, with long lines of cars passing stationary floats. People were forced to adapt by COVID-19. [Dave Faries]](https://epsilon.creativecirclecdn.com/mexicoledger/original/20210723-135838-Copy%20of%20homecoming%20drive%20by.JPG)
What will we remember from the year that is passing?
Perhaps it will be the election with its large turnout, lines forming during morning and evening rush. Maybe the economic growth that carried over from 2019 into the early months of the year. How about catching Korean baseball on television?
Yeah, that last one is a possibility. Otherwise 2020 will forever be the year of the mask, of COVID-19 and all the economic and personal devastation it wrought. In March, the unemployment rate for Mexico dipped to 3.7 percent, down from 4.0 percent a month earlier. In April it soared to 10.3 percent.
Local schools shut down. High school athletic fields were silent. The Audrain County Health Department issued a mask advisory.
We all remember the chaos.
But there’s also that spirit of human resilience to look back on. People adapted.
“We’re going to look back and say we’re doing things better because of 2020,” observed Mexico High School principal Brad Ellebracht. “There’s a lot of pride in how we’ve gotten through it.”
Many Audrain County farmers were forced to change market strategies as the pandemic took a toll on the restaurant industry and the workforce at processing facilities. Some began selling meat directly to consumers, bypassing the middleman. But when harvest came for corn and soybean growers, the year began to look up. Prices were strong.
“It was an odd year,” said Clarissa Cauthorn of the Adrain County Farm Bureau. “It was adapt and overcome for many.”
Ayanna Shivers, mayor of Mexico, recalls the work COVID-19 couldn’t stop, such as work on the new Parks and Recreation Department pool.
“I was especially pleased with our improvements at Garfield Park because we listened to the community,” she added. “The black community felt the city was listening to their needs.”
Although discouraged by the political divisiveness of 2020, Shivers is able to look back on the values of local officials.
“One of the advantages of Mexico’s City Council is we’re a non-partisan council,” she said. “It’s about what really matters to the people we serve.”
So when many area residents take a moment to remember the passing year, it will be the people and how they remained committed that will stand out.
“I’m most proud that our downtown is thriving,” Cauthorn said. “Our community has stepped up to support each other, and we should continue that for years to come.”
