Chicago's Community Response to COVID-19

Mary Edsey's salvaged toilet paper roll

Many people were strangely hoarding toilet paper when news of the pandemic first broke. With a personal supply of five rolls, I left the few packages remaining on the shelves for others, thinking I had enough for one person. Several days later, when not a roll could found anywhere in Chicagoland, I was mortified to find that my roof had been leaking into my bathroom linen closet and had damaged two of my remaining rolls of toilet paper. I'm not sure if I was more upset about the leak or the toilet paper. Relieved to see that the entire rolls had not been destroyed, I tore out the stained sections and salvaged the rest.

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