As stay-at-home orders continue across much of Pennsylvania, businesses, nonprofits, and individuals continue to struggle with what this means for them. Many non-essential businesses remain shuttered and most essential businesses are operating limitedly. Right now, there’s no definitive answer to when this will end. Even once businesses reopen, they will face guidelines that may change they way they do business permanently. Greene County was recently moved into the yellow phase of the state’s reopening plan, and while it means many of the area businesses will reopen under strict rules, others remain closed.
Many local events have been affected by the pandemic and subsequent shutdowns. Beloved annual festivals such as Sheep & Fiber Festival, the Annual Hammer-In, Rain Day, and Rices Landing Riverfest have been cancelled, leaving a dent in the tourism that these events bring and the monies they raise. As of now, other summer festivals, children’s programs, and fairs are sitting on uncertain grounds. If these events continue, expect changes in the way they operate. “Although we are planning to be available for some form of summer camp, it is almost certain that it will not look like a traditional camp experience,” says Carla Witters of Camp Cornerstone, in regards to their summer activities.
“The difficult part of COVID-19 has been to see so many businesses and organizations temporarily close and even consider permanent closures,” says JoAnne Marshall, Greene County Tourist Promotion Agency director. “The number of events and milestones that have been postponed or canceled for 2020 has also been difficult to process as these are often prepared with hours of staff and volunteer work that usually begin a year ahead. They are highlights that we as a community and visitors look forward to annually.”
One of the many spring events to be canceled or postponed was Southwestern PA’s HauntedCon, held in Waynesburg for the first time last year. Originally scheduled for May, the event has been rescheduled for Halloween weekend. Event organizer Kevin Paul says,” The most difficult aspect has been in planning. There’s a sort of laundry list of expected problems you can plan for and check them off as you go but with this virus there’s the sense of waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
In regards to the event itself, Kevin has been able to find a positive. “The first HauntedCon was held in May last year primarily because of speaker availability. Most of the prominent regional researchers and speakers as well as the more nationally known are booked well in advance. That factor ruled out holding the event around Halloween. Attendance was good last year, and several attendees and vendors expressed interest in holding the event closer to Halloween. This virus literally cleared nearly everyone’s calendar simultaneously and as a result created not only an opportunity to hold HauntedCon on Halloween but should help boost interest in the event by doing so. I’m optimistic and expecting good results.’”
Kevin adds, “I believe that Greene County events that are able to improvise in the face of the restrictions will also see good attendance. People will be looking for things to do in a less crowded, more relaxed environment and regionally Greene County is well positioned to provide that.”
Tourism altogether may see a benefit from Greene’s rural location. “The trending values of travelers will be a benefit to Greene County with our charm and rural nature. We are also within driving distance of large populations for quick day trips such as Pittsburgh and Morgantown, and even further distances such as Columbus and Cleveland in Ohio that can still be done in a day,” says JoAnne. “Travelers are also looking to a beach/resort destination or a small town/rural area as their first post-pandemic trip with an emphasis on avoiding highly populated and COVID-19 hard hit areas.”
The Greene County Historical Society Museum also took a hard hit when the shutdowns forced them to postpone their annual opening day festivities, including a pancake dinner and the Blast from the Past 5K; it’s also caused them to postpone or cancel other upcoming events, like a planned car show in early June. “The inability to host on-site events has been a huge hit to our fundraising but the GCHS is lucky to still maintain a truly astounding amount of support from the local community,” says Matt Cumberledge, executive director. “We’ve had to make considerable changes to serve the public as almost all of our public outreach is done in person at our museum in the form of events, lectures, educational presentations and general admissions to our museum. We began doing Virtual Tours on Facebook, and on April 25th we successfully accomplished our first “Virtual Event” where we put out educational presentations, discussion, and videos of many varieties on our Facebook Page and hosted a Virtual 5k run.”
The American Cancer Society has had to close its physical offices, but is still working to provide families with support and information through their 24/7 hotline. They’ve also lost needed incoming funds, shares their Senior Community Development Manager, Dillon Spencer. “COVID-19 has required us to postpone or cancel all local fundraising events through the end of June, resulting in a budget gap that our dedicated staff and volunteers are working to fill in creative new ways so we can continue to save lives, celebrate lives, and lead the fight for a world without cancer.”
Other non-profits are facing similar situations. Make-A-Wish of Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia has had to postpone 100 local wishes and nearly 50 fundraisers. But even in this difficult time, it remains committed to its vision of granting the wish of every eligible child. They are working remotely to fulfill what wishes they can. Four-year-old Caroline, who is diagnosed with cancer, wanted to have a puppy of her own – but it had to be fluffy, black and white and have enough energy to play with her on the good days and also cuddle with her on the harder ones. Right away, Make-A-Wish went to work to find the perfect pup for Caroline – a Cavachon. She promptly named her Sprinkles – because, as Caroline said, “Everything is better with sprinkles!”
Because they are part of the PA Department of Education, both Flenniken and Bowlby libraries closed once the schools closed. And the libraries are still unclear as to when they will be able to resume serving the community. “Our main issue is lack of information,” shares Nicole Mitchel, the director of Flenniken Library. “We have no idea when we will be able to open. Nothing has been said in regards to what color level libraries fall under.“
During the closures, the libraries have moved to provide more digital interactions via social media, with videos for story times, crafts, and other virtual activities, like virtual bingo at Bowlby Library. Through their websites, extra databases have been made accessible to patrons. But many of the patrons don’t have reliable Internet service and don’t have access to these additional online services. A digital Summer Reading program is being initiated at both libraries.
“The hardest part has been not being able to help patrons. Libraries are here for the community to help with all kinds of needs, ranging from things as simple as making a copy or faxing, to helping with job searches and resumes. It saddens me greatly that we can not help with basic book lending when we had a process for contactless materials pick up,” Nicole adds.
Kathy McClure, director of Eva K. Bowlby Library agrees, “It is frustrating to not be able to provide in-person services to patrons. Though we are providing virtual services, I am concerned for the regular patrons who either do not utilize Facebook or have reliable Internet service.”
Both Bowlby and Flenniken are working to implement new systems and strategies for when they open. At Flenniken and Bowlby, computers are being moved so that they are spaced at least six feet apart and patrons will have time limits; after each use, they will be disinfected. Ionizing air cleaners have been installed at Flenniken and, once returned, books will go through a sanitization and quarantine process before they can be released at both libraries. There will be limited access to the libraries and both patrons and staff will wear masks and follow stringent sanitization processes.
While some states have allowed the operation of drive-ins during the pandemic – after all, what better way to watch movies and remain socially distant – Skyview Drive-in remained closed under Pennsylvania’s stay-at-home regulations. Co-owner Elizabeth Walker says the most difficult thing “has been paying the drive-in bills while having no operating funds.”
Changes are being made to ensure proper social distancing as they return to business. “Our employees are wearing masks and gloves and no customers are permitted in the snack bar. Concessions can be ordered through an app or online and picked up by customers at the snack bar’s modified take out window door. Instead of two cars parking in between poles, only one car is allowed between two poles until social distancing is fully lifted.”
Other local businesses, such as those that provide personal care and entertainment, are still unable to open now that the county has moved to yellow. ManKind Gentlemen’s Cuts celebrated their first year anniversary and 16 days later, was shut down due to the closing of non-essential businesses. Business had just been picking back up after the long winter months and owners Lydia Hobbs, Heather Jeffries, and Laura Johnson have had to put plans and hold and use savings to staying afloat while the doors are closed. Once they have the green light to open their doors, the owners want to give back to those in the community and will be offering specials.
Much like other small businesses, Your CBD Store of Washington has been struggling with the COVID-19 closures. Since they closed their doors on March 13, they’ve laid off their 3 part-time employees and consolidated their products and registers into their Beaver County home. They’ve continued operations from their home, taking phone orders and offering free USPS shipping. But owner Beth Joliffe has seen a positive come from the situation, “One thing positive that has come out of this is how our downtown community of business owners has come together and held biweekly zoom meetings to brainstorm ways to help each other.”
As an essential business, HealthWorks Rehab and Fitness has been able to continue offering physical therapy services to their patients. To keep everyone safe, they’ve continues their strict sanitization processes. “We regret that our patients cannot see our smiling faces through our masks, and that we must use gloves to keep everyone safe. Frequent hand washing and thorough cleaning of our equipment has always been performed in our clinics, but the completion of those procedures before and after each patient is more important now than ever,” Sara Ryan, Waynesburg clinic director, says.
Jesse Pento, who owns Dunlap Lake, has remained open during the pandemic, but it has not been without struggles. “Normally, the PA Fish and Boat Commission stock Dunlap Creek Lake with trout about four times a year, the first starting in mid-April. However, things have changed this year due to the COVID-19 Crisis. Instead of the lake being stocked throughout the year, the commission decided to only stock the lake once this year, at the beginning of April. So instead of there being a steady flow of trout, thousands of trout were released all at once, forcing the lake’s private stocking committee to double their efforts to keep the fish supply steady throughout the rest of the season.”
Matt Cumberledge summed it up perfectly when he added, “Greene County is a truly amazing place, in the last few months I have personally witnessed us become a stronger and more united community, supporting each other, helping out, and generally making this tough time a lot easier to get through. Greene County, you’ve got it going up, and keep up the good work! We’ve showed that we can adapt, overcome and move forward in the most trying of times.”
To continue helping our county’s businesses during these difficult and uncertain times, make sure to shop locally, whether in person or online. Consider changing suppliers for your business to a local one – if you can get it in Greene, why go anywhere else?