Airing of the quilts

As it does each year, the Dezell House in Greensboro drew visitors from near and far for the annual Airing of the Quilts this past Saturday.

With the threat of rain looming overhead, many of the colorful quilts that were on display outside of the museum that morning were soon moved inside.

The gloomy weather didn’t seem to put a damper on the West Gadsden Historical Society’s annual Airing of the Quilts and Spring Bazaar held on March 23.

Some of the quilts displayed date back more than a century. The quilts made that long ago were not machine-made. Sometimes they were sewn. Sometimes they were hand-tied.

Jane Clark with the historical society said years ago, long before there were store-bought blankets, everyone used handmade quilts.

The quilts were used during the winter, aired out as spring began in March and packed away for the summer.

“Everybody had quilts,” Jane shared. “We had a space heater in the middle of the house. The bedrooms didn’t have heat. It used to be so cold.”

And the quilts weren’t just used as bed covers. They were sometimes used as tablecloths and curtains.

Jane said back then, the quilts weren’t easily washable, as there weren’t any washing machines.

Many of the quilts from that time were pieced from old flour sacks, sugar sacks and even feed sacks.

Jane said in the 19th and early 20th centuries - when many of the quilts on display that day were made - the batting inside was loose, natural cotton straight from the field, making them impossible to wash.

Hanging the quilts outside was a much easier way to freshen them up.

One quilt in particular that stood out this year was a friendship quilt, with names immaculately embroidered by hand.

“That one belonged to Annie Owens,” Shirley Clark said, as she sat in the dimly lit sunroom, surrounded by quilts hanging at the windows.

In the early 1940s, Annie Owens was the head of the Quincy Sewing Room.

The sewing room was a part of the Works Progress Administration, a program created in 1935 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration. It was later renamed Work Projects Administration in 1939.

“During The Great Depression unemployed women could find work in Works Progress Administration sewing rooms,” Jane said.

Jane said those sewing rooms produced millions of articles of clothing for men, women, and children.

“It was a win-win situation,” Jane said.

Women were able to earn money, and low income families received much-needed clothes.

“This quilt was made for her by her workers when the sewing rooms closed in 1943,” Jane shared as she gently touched one of the names on the old quilt. “They’re cool because people can find their grandmas’ names, great-grandmas’ names, and aunts’ names.”

With one of the rooms set up as a bedroom, a handmade wedding dress worn by Ellen Poythress Clark at her wedding to Reuben Clark on July 18, 1913, stands on display.

“Her ensemble included a chemise, bloomers, underskirt, white stockings, a two-piece dress and above-the-elbow gloves,” Jane said. “She was quite the petite woman with an 18-inch waist!”

Ellen’s undergarments featured elegantly tatted trim.

Jane explained tatting was a type of knotted lace.

“Back then lace was very expensive,” Jane said. “Tatting could be made at home.”

It was used to trim garments and lines.

During the bazaar, the historical society had many hand-stitched, antique linens for sale for just $1, most dating back to the 1920s.

“People just give us linens and stuff,” Jane said. “They’re just not in style. When people are cleaning out their closets, they bring them to us.”

Not all of the quilts displayed during the event belong to the historical society.

Members of the community also bring their quilts to the museum each year to be displayed, and the historical society gives them back at the end of the show.

The museum was also open for visitors to explore, meanwhile, local vendors set up outside selling homemade goods and hand-crafted items.

Carol Bowen of Quincy, sold live plants during the event.

“I always enjoy talking to such nice people and sharing plant knowledge,” Bowen, who is a regular vendor at the event, said as she took a break to admire the quilts.

Alice Kelly, another vendor, sat in one of the rooms of the museum, displaying her hand-sewn quilts that were for sale.

Kelly said she has only been making quilts for four years, and this was her first time attending the bazaar.

Kelly said she tries to share her knowledge of quilt-making with local senior citizens when she’s at the senior citizens center.

“They said they did this as children, they don’t want to do this now,” Kelly said with a laugh.

A rush of visitors came in as the event neared its end.

Clark said despite the weather, the event was once again a great success, with between 150 to 200 people stopping by that day.

Erin Hill - Gadsden County News Service

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Airing of the quilts

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Town of Havana meets with county commission regarding fire services contract issues

The Gadsden County Times – Legals – 4/04

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