Signs of the COVID Times

The marquee sign at Merced Mall reminds people that Big Lots and Target are open. Photo: Steve Newvine

How Merced is coping in the corona virus era

The marquee sign in front of Merced Mall has become a barometer of our community’s response to COVID.

Immediately after Governor Newsom imposed quarantine at home restrictions on March 19, the sign informed passersby that the Mall was closed.

It is a sign of the changing times in Merced.

A clerk at a neighboring store told me how he felt when he drove past the Mall with all the empty parking spaces.

“It’s eerie,” he said without breaking his smile. “I never thought I’d see a time like this.”

In the days since the restrictions were announced, the sign was changed to reflect that the nearby Target and Big Lot stores were open.

In the foreground heading East on Olive, the sign promoting the Mall expansion project remains.

Barriers have been placed at the parking lot entrances at St. Patrick’s Church in Merced. Photo: Steve Newvine

We’re now in the COVID era where church parking lots are empty, and lines form a half hour before some grocery stores open.

The churchgoers turn to televised services on line or on their televisions.

The shoppers are hoping to find TP, paper towels, hand sanitizer, and a myriad of food products that seem to disappear overnight.

Some call it the COVID era. Others call it the hoarding era.

A grocery store clerk lamented, “In the store I asked a man I know who is single why he needed two large packages of toilet paper. He just looked at me and said ‘Why should you care?”

Empty paper product shelves symbolize the state of flux in area retailing. Photo: Steve Newvine

On a lighter note, I recognized an acquaintance waiting in line at a store that opened early one weekday morning just for seniors.

He told me, “I feel as though I’m at my fiftieth high school reunion with all these familiar faces.”

We know this crisis will change the face of commerce in many ways. Restaurants are converting to take-out and delivery transactions as dining rooms are shut down.

The iconic Branding Iron sign waits for the day the popular steak house reopens. Photo: Steve Newvine

On Sixteenth Street, a familiar neon sign has gone dark. Merced’s Branding Iron sent a message on Facebook in late March saying they were shutting down until further notice.

The management thanked customers for their support in the post adding, “Alright, so we kept going as long as we could but the time has come now when we HAVE to shut down completely until further notice.”

While the primary shopping area is closed to shoppers, construction crews continue their work on the Merced Mall expansion. Photo: Steve Newvine

The signs we see, whether in front of the Mall, or taped to an empty store shelf, each share a part of the COVID story’s impact on our city. Some may offer a ray of hope for the future.

Construction continues on the Mall’s expansion project. The project remains on schedule.

We’ll know things are getting better when the marquee changes one more time at the Mall, and when the neon is blazing again at the Branding Iron.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced.

He has written Course Corrections, My Golf Truth, Fiction, and Philosophy. The book is available at Lulu.com