On March 11, 2020, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was found in Mississippi – in Hattiesburg, to be exact.
In remembrance of that somber occasion, officials from the City of Hattiesburg will host an upcoming series of events and displays to honor the local lives affected and lost to the pandemic as well as to appreciate those individuals fighting the disease on the front lines.
“I think it’s certainly a significant marker in the recent history of our city, and particularly in a very tough season,” Mayor Toby Barker said. “We look at this one-year anniversary as an opportunity to reflect and to grieve, but at the same time, we see a light at the end of the tunnel.
“I hope it’s a time for us to refocus and renew our commitment to doing the smart things that it will take to put this pandemic firmly in the rearview mirror.”
The schedule of events will begin at 5:30 p.m. March 11 at Town Square Park in downtown Hattiesburg, where Barker will be joined by local pastors, health experts and government officials to speak about the effects of the pandemic.
Two hundred and twenty empty chairs containing luminaries, or lighted candles, will be set up on the park’s lawn in front of the stage. Each chair and candle will represent a life lost to COVID-19 in Forrest and Lamar counties.
“It’s going to be very short, and it’s going to be broadcast on social media,” Barker said. “It will be a few words of reflection, a prayer, and some thoughts from pastors on the idea of grief and also hope.”
On March 12, the city will host Paint Hattiesburg Red Day, designed to showcase the spirit of unity, determination, hope and faith displayed by residents throughout the pandemic. City residents are encouraged to display the color red on their homes – or to wear red – to honor all the frontline workers in healthcare.
“It’s anything red, just a show of support and gratitude for the people who put themselves in harm’s way for well over a year now to take care of folks,” Barker said.
That same day, a mask and hand sanitizer distribution event will be held from 9-11 a.m. at Jackie Dole Sherrill Community Center, 220 West Front St. in downtown Hattiesburg. The event is made possible with the help of a local business that donated more than 500 gallons of hand sanitizer for use by churches, small businesses, nonprofits and restaurants to help comply with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Masks also will be distributed while supplies last.
“The Forrest County emergency management center has done several events like that, and gives away thousands of masks and bottles of hand sanitizer,” Barker said. “These help bridge the gaps between when the EOC does theirs once a month, and it allows us to continue involving businesses, churches and schools in trying to meet those needs.”
Beginning March 11, a display of photos — many taken by Samantha McCain, the city’s chief communications officer — will hang in the windows of Forrest Tower on Forrest Street. Titled “A Year in Pictures,” the display will include photos from the initial days of the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus, testing and vaccine announcements, and city progress and events that took place during the pandemic.
The display will stay up through the end of March, and a virtual gallery also will be available at hattiesburgms.com/oneyearlater for an expanded look.
“So much has happened over a year, and so much happened very quickly, and many of us were able to see Samantha’s work as she periodically posted pictures every month or so,” Barker said. “It reminds you of how — at least me — of who you were in the trenches with, and who the real heroes in this community are.
“I remember seeing some of the pictures from the first press conference that Forrest General and Hattiesburg Clinic held with Dr. (Rambod) Rouhbakhsh and Dr. (Bryan) Batson, and our stakeholder meetings that began in person, and Merit Health Wesley, and boards of supervisors.
“Eventually, all those things went virtual. It’s a very powerful documentation of our history over the past year, and I believe it will be a very powerful storytelling tool for future generations of what 2020 and 2021 was like in the City of Hattiesburg."
