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Moments: Images of 2020

It was a year that didn’t look like any other. Elbow and fist bumps were goofy until they became a sign you cared. Masks were a joke, then they were ubiquitous. Crowds were a sign of a bustling economy – until they became a target of scorn.

Here’s a look at 20 images that help to tell the story of 2020.

This photo – which we used on the cover of our July 10, 2020, issue – perfectly captures the divided mindsets and behaviors that the safety guidelines produced among Wisconsin’s and Door County’s population as we moved into the height of summer. Photo by Brett Kosmider.
In the days after Gov. Tony Evers issued his Safer at Home order, downtown Sister Bay was a ghost town. Photo by Myles Dannhausen Jr.
When a police officer killed George Floyd by holding his knee on Floyd’s neck for seven minutes and 46 seconds on a Minneapolis street in May, it sparked nationwide protests against police brutality. Protestors expressed their support for Black Lives Matter and police reform throughout the summer in Sister Bay. Photo by Myles Dannhausen Jr.
Door County Public Health Officer Sue Powers and Door County Medical Center’s Dr. Jim Heise held Facebook Live sessions every Monday evening throughout the season. The two became leaders in the fight against COVID-19 through their efforts to change behaviors and perceptions to minimize community spread of the disease.
High water levels put shoreline property owners on edge during the spring as beaches washed away and some homes were endangered. Municipalities and landowners scrambled to install riprap and shore up waterfronts. Photo by Myles Dannhausen Jr.
Kasia Klotz, 18, is seen in her car during the processional at the Sturgeon Bay High School graduation ceremony on Sat. May 30, 2020.  High school graduations had a much different look in 2020. At Sturgeon Bay High School, students received their diplomas during a drive-up ceremony at the school’s front doors. Photo by Coburn Dukehart.
Large crowds followed the Resource Planning Committee as it deliberated earlier this year that on whether to grant a special use permit for an RV park and condo development at the old stone quarry in Sevastopol. Photo by Myles Dannhausen Jr.
Poll workers sit behind newly built sneeze guards, provided by municipal services, at the polling location at Sturgeon Bay City Hall in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., during the Wisconsin primary election on April 7, 2020.
Dollar General approached the Town of Egg Harbor with plans for a new store on Highway 42. The plans required a public hearing, which the town scheduled for early November but then canceled because of COVID-19 concerns. The hearing had not been rescheduled by year’s end. Meanwhile, the Eggs Against Dollar General opposition group coordinated an online petition and sign campaign in an effort to stop the chain store from moving into Northern Door. Photo by Myles Dannhausen Jr.
Long lines – such as this one at Peninsula State Park in October – formed to enter Door County’s state parks on busy fall weekends as people flocked to get outside during the pandemic. Photo by Brett Kosmider.
Many of the county’s business and government operations shifted to the world of remote meetings. Early meetings were filled with hiccups as municipalities adjusted to meeting online, but scenes such as this meeting of the Door County Board of Supervisors became the new normal for government participation.
Nearly 80 families were left scrambling when the Door County YMCA announced it woud close the Barker Child Development Center in June. Within weeks, former employee Alexis Fuller had worked with Door County Medical Center and the YMCA to take over the center and give it new life as the Door County Child Development Center. Photo submitted.
Congressman Mike Gallagher visited Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in February to promote ice-breaking legislation. Photo by Len Villano.
Even Amos the dog could read the signs at the Piggly Wiggly in Sister Bay, which began requiring masks for entry early in the pandemic. Photo by Gloria Dougherty.
The Sister Bay Village Board of Trustees held an emergency meeting March 16, becoming the first municipality to declare a state of emergency, and the first to begin holding meetings socially distanced with limited capacity. Photo by Myles Dannhausen Jr.
Fire Chief Meeting
Businesses like Jerry's Flowers joined the call for mask-wearing even when the county board declined to approve a masking order. Photo by Myles Dannhausen Jr.
Many events and projects were put on pause in 2020, but not the construction of the new Eagle Tower. By year’s end, the project was nearing completion and was expected to open in the spring of 2021. Photo by Brett Kosmider.
The new Door County Maritime Museum Tower lit up the Sturgeon Bay skyline on Veterans Day. Photo by Jane Moroney.
Sevastopol's girls cross country team excelled in a year that looked much different for prep athletes. The Pioneers advanced to the state meet. Submitted.