This week, cries of “Good riddance, 2020!” can be heard in every language around the globe because of multiple factors, the main one being the appearance of SARS-CoV-2, better known as the coronavirus.

That epithet rings across no municipality more loudly than Butler County, where residents lost loved ones, battled uncomfortable symptoms at home, missed beloved seniors in care homes, became erstwhile teachers for their young children, worked at home and attended Zoom meetings while cats pounced on their heads.

Residents cooked endless meals and considered their significant others either a lifeline to sanity or the single most annoying individual on Earth.

These prickly pandemic problems were exacerbated by the cancellation of virtually every event, gathering and activity loved and attended by Butler County residents after Gov. Tom Wolf issued stay-at-home orders in March to try to deny the virus the human hosts it requires to flourish.

While it is impossible to list every canceled event in our festival/parade/sports-loving county, the Butler Eagle has endeavored to list the 20 things residents of all demographics missed the most in 2020, a year that will live in infamy.

Is there anything more festive than a loud, jubilant procession down a town's main street? From the Fourth of July, Veterans Day and Spirit of Christmas parades on Main Street in Butler to the Pooch Parade in Chicora or Tractor Parade in Harrisville, county residents had to conjure memories of antique John Deeres or smiling pompom girls proceeding down the street. The Saxonburg Holiday Parade and the Zelienople Christmas Parade were canceled to stem the spread of the invisible yet potentially deadly new bug.

No thwack of a wooden bat could be heard at Michelle Krill Field at Historic Pullman Park. Marathon runners were on their own as events such as the Butler Road Race, Buffalo Creek Half Marathon and various Turkey Trots were canceled because of the pandemic.

A big blow to Butler County was the cancellation of the Big Butler Fair in July and the Butler Farm Show in August. The Saxonburg Carnival also was a victim of the pandemic restrictions for the house-weary residents of the county's southeastern sector.

Fun itself seemed to be unavailable in Butler County this year, because the North Washington Rodeo, Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival, Butler County Farm Tour, Penn's Colony Festival, Butler Symphony Christmas House Tour, Cranberry Community Days, Mingle on Main in Saxonburg and other well-attended events were scrapped because of the potential for the virus to spread. We could almost see the organizers' tears as they were forced, reluctantly, to pull the plug.

Alameda Waterpark in Butler Township, the Cranberry Township Waterpark, the pool at EDCO Park in Evans City and others saw closures in 2020 as the heavy breathing associated with swimming past a neighbor could spread COVID-19 in those settings.

In-person history lessons will have to wait as mannequins and spinning wheels sat alone in locked museums throughout the county. The Walter Lowrie House in Butler, the Harmony Museum, the Sample School in Cranberry Township, Passavant House in Zelienople: all were shuttered for the pandemic to adhere to the governor's ban on indoor gatherings.

Extra dusting was required in the nine libraries in the Butler County Federated Library System as books sat idle on their shelves. In addition to curbs on book lending, the programs offered for adults and children alike also got the kibosh in 2020. Storytimes for kids and book clubs for adults were canceled in 2020.

While Moraine State Park, McConnells Mill and the trails at Jennings Environmental Education Center were more heavily used because folks were encouraged to exercise outside while socially distanced, the programs offered by those state entities were sorely missed by many.Ferryboat tours at Lake Arthur, programs inside the mill at McConnells Mill and the plethora of educational programs conducted each summer at Jennings will hopefully be available next summer, depending on the status of the pandemic, of course.

Only hospital personnel are more frustrated with the pandemic than parents of young children, who struggled to educate their students at home via emails from teachers and spotty internet connections. But many programs conducted at the county's school districts were also canceled in 2020, including homecoming dances, proms, extracurricular activities and more. Butler County Community College and Slippery Rock University were also closed for the pandemic, with students doing their best to pursue their majors at home via online classes.

Many families learned in 2020 that they eat out way more than they thought. While most restaurants welcomed takeout customers, dining rooms sat empty for much of the pandemic.During the short time in the summer when restaurants were permitted to be open, any drinking had to be accompanied by a sit-down meal. Many establishments removed chairs from around their bars and put out signs declaring that no patrons were permitted to stand around the bar either.

The stages of the Butler Little Theatre, Musical Theatre Guild, Succop Theater at BC3, Butler Symphony, Sing Hosanna and other groups were dark and quiet in 2020 for obvious reasons. Instead, county residents watched endless hours of television and YouTube videos clad in their fuzzy pajama pants.

The faithful prayed for the pandemic to end in the comfort of their homes in 2020 as almost all houses of worship were forced to cancel services. Many watched masses on TV or viewed services online while pastors in the county's numerous churches worked to keep their flocks connected in various and creative ways.

Jim Davis of Center Township and Karl Herold of Franklin Township, both World War II veterans, picked a rotten year to turn 100. Davis' party in late March at the American Legion in Butler had to be canceled and the plane tickets of his far-flung children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were refunded.Herold, for his 100th birthday, sat on a chair in his driveway earlier this month to receive flags, pins, a plaque, a rifle salute by a Marine honor guard and a visit from U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th.

Six political races in the county were to be the focus of the 2020 Candidates Debate, which is sponsored by the county Chamber of Commerce and the Butler Eagle. Because of COVID-19, the debate was to have been livestreamed, but many candidates dropped out of the event.

Couples planning the weddings of their dreams had to get creative or dial it way back if they still wanted to marry in 2020. Mary Jo Phillips and John Sorbo had an outdoor, drive-in wedding in Butler, in which Phillips drove a 1956 Ford down the “aisle” with Sorbo in the passenger's seat. Guests watched from their vehicles as the couple became mister and missus.

Volunteer fire departments and other groups that rely on bingo, sportsman's nights, pork chop dinners or other gatherings to raise money were sent into a tailspin in 2020, when large gatherings were prohibited. Some fire departments livestreamed raffles or conducted drawings on their Facebook pages, but canceling the events seemed like a wet blanket to many fire companies.

Body builders, or housewives worried about their mid-life spread, also had to get creative in pursuing fitness as workout equipment was idle at the county's two YMCA locations and private gyms everywhere during most of the pandemic. Runners, cyclists and walkers could still pursue their chosen mode of exercise as long as they stayed at least 6 feet apart.

An American past time since the Golden Age of Hollywood came to a screeching halt in 2020 as movie theater marquees continue to read “temporarily closed” instead of listing the names of the latest movies flickering on their multiple screens. The Regal Cinema at Moraine Pointe Plaza and the South Pike Cinema in Buffalo Township have remained dark since March, much to the chagrin of movie buffs throughout the county.

State officials decided that nothing says “come hither, COVID-19” like the closeness between a stylist and his or her customer. For that reason, many residents during the early part of the pandemic could be seen with inches of dark roots or bald tops with hair inching over a pair of ears. Salons can now operate at 50% capacity, so our neighbors are a little easier to look at these days.

Maybe no one missed those except, of course, brides and prospective mothers.