How to Take a Walk—in Buffalo, and Beyond: Coping with Covid

William Graebner

We continue the series on walking Buffalo, from the intrepid couple who walked every day—no matter the weather—in the first 30 months of Covid. They think (without being systematic) they walked every street in Buffalo, and many in other cities and towns, taking some 20,000 photos, some of which are shared in this series. While not itineraries, we hope to encourage others to “walk the walk,” to see, observe and appreciate Buffalo—and beyond. William Graebner and Dianne Bennett are also 5 Cent Cine’s film critics, here.

Today’s Photo-Essay: Coping with Covid

The English expression, “may you live in interesting times,” might well apply to the tragic Covid-19 era, now more than 30 months long with only a glimmer at the end of the tunnel. The phrase is sometimes labeled a “Chinese curse,” and it’s meant to be deeply ironic, as in “it would obviously be better if we didn’t have to go through this”—better, that is, if we lived in “uninteresting times.”

What follows is a visual record of some of the ways, seen on our daily walks, that Western New Yorkers have coped with the deadly Covid virus.

In the beginning, there was panic and, as people prepared for the unknown, shortages. At Steve’s Pig and Ox Roast in Lackawanna, a $40 purchase included a free roll of toilet paper:

There was fear, too—fear of being too close to, or touching, others.

A wall-size warning, seen in Rochester

Niagara Street

In the spring of 2020, even outdoor facilities, including city parks and community gardens, were closed.

A community garden in Black Rock, closed, photo May 2020

Riverside Park, photo May 2020

People stayed home. On a day in April 2020, Niagara Falls resembled a ghost town:

Downtown Niagara Falls

Some of us, sometimes, wore masks and gloves.

A slow day at a major testing site, south of the 190, downtown

And many got tested (and then vaccinated).

On Buffalo’s Main Street, the Salvation Army offered inspiration:

And a gas station at Amherst Street and Elmwood Avenue reached out to help those who were having trouble making ends meet:

We all made adjustments. Restaurants introduced new outdoor seating:

The Left Bank parking lot, Rhode Island Street

Amid the towering trees of the City of Tonawanda, residents experimented with a distanced social hour:

Broad and Clinton Streets, photo March 2020

Once it became clear that being outdoors was safer than being indoors, informal seating arrangements were created outside homes, factories and office buildings:

Off Grote Street, east of Elmwood, photo September 2021

By the fall of 2021, some East Side skeletons were holding a Halloween get-together on Zoom.

Skeletons learn to Zoom

When City Hall, fearing that contact on basketball courts would spread the disease, decided to take down the hoops on Buffalo’s public playgrounds, the kids on Arnold Street put up their own version of James Naismith’s peach basket.

Arnold Street, West Side

Larkinville

And when school graduation ceremonies were canceled, student accomplishments were celebrated with yard signs and banners.

In a back yard off Gill Alley in the Delaware District, we found an informal, socially-distanced performance:

Gill Alley

Not everyone agreed on what should be done to prevent the spread of Covid.

This Chippewa Street restaurateur was expressing frustration with the governor and the county executive for imposing Covid-related restrictions.

But we came upon many expressions of gratitude.

A decorated tree on McKinley Parkway, South Buffalo

Thank God for deliveries, and truck drivers/Sheridan Park

Katherine Street, Old First Ward

And, across the area, we found signs of the will to transcend trouble: a sense of humor, fashioned for “interesting times.”