Signs in windows and doorways throughout Salem are alerting residents to changing business hours and access limits as life adjusts to pandemic times. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
In many ways, signs tell the story.
Signs of warning. Signs of sorrow. Signs of determination. Signs of hope.
Signs of solidarity.
Hand-written or printer-produced, the signs are a prolific indicator of the changes affecting Salem amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Salem Reporter photographer Ron Cooper was struck by the varied messages and displays as businesses and agencies reach out to their customers.
He saw not just paper and ink, but emotions – sadness, resilience, humor, vulnerability, gratitude and confidence – as Salem encounters a remarkable transition.
Cooper’s hope in chronicling this scene: “That historians, viewing the photos at some distant time, will see a glimpse of a beautiful city in the early spring, on the cusp of profound changes no one can predict.”
Signs tell of changing times in Salem as the COVID pandemic persists. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Signs tell of changing times in Salem as the COVID pandemic persists. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Signs tell of changing times in Salem as the COVID pandemic persists. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Signs tell of changing times in Salem as the COVID pandemic persists. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Signs tell of changing times in Salem as the COVID pandemic persists. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)Signs tell of changing times in Salem as the COVID pandemic persists. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Signs tell of changing times in Salem as the COVID pandemic persists. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Signs tell of changing times in Salem as the COVID pandemic persists. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Signs tell of changing times in Salem as the COVID pandemic persists. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Signs tell of changing times in Salem as the COVID pandemic persists. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Signs tell of changing times in Salem as the COVID pandemic persists. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Signs tell of changing times in Salem as the COVID pandemic persists. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Signs tell of changing times in Salem as the COVID pandemic persists. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Signs tell of changing times in Salem as the COVID pandemic persists. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
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Photographer Ron Cooper and his wife Penny moved to Salem in 1969 to take a job as photographer at the Oregon Statesman (later the Statesman Journal). Their three children, Monica, Kimberly, and Christopher, attended and graduated from Salem public schools. Cooper retired from the Statesman Journal in 2001 but, has continued his passion for photography in many ways, including as a photographer for the Salem Reporter.
