September 2 – 6, 2005
These restored messages come from the Quilt History List, an online forum where quilt historians, collectors, researchers, appraisers, and enthusiasts discussed antique quilts and related textiles. The archive dates from 1996 through approximately 2016 and is being restored gradually. Sign up in the form at the bottom of the page if you want to know when a new page is added. Original spelling, opinions, formatting, and inactive links may remain unchanged.
Primary topics of this QHL Digest:
- Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts Continue — QHL members organize donations and discuss insurance and government response as the list owner reminds everyone to keep discussion respectful.
- The Underground Railroad Quilt Code, Continued — Further debate over the historical evidence, or lack of it, for coded Underground Railroad quilts. (see the article on Underground Railroad quilts)
- Antique Wilcox & Gibbs Sewing Machines — A newly purchased treadle machine sparks discussion of these harp-shaped, chain-stitch antique sewing machines.
- Keeping List Discussions Respectful — Amid rising political tension in the Katrina threads, members and the list owner discuss keeping QHL focused and civil.
Date: Fri, 02 Sep 2005 10:22:15 -0400 | From: Patricia L Cummings <quiltersmuse@>
Yesterday, my husband and I wanted a brief respite from work. Since we work at home, when we are home, we are working! We decided to take a little ride up the road a piece, as they say here in New England, to see a quilt show in a museum setting. We attend this event in Vermont, every year.
After paying our $9.50 each admission fees, I turned around and saw a sign, “Underground Railroad Lecture at 12:00 noon). Moseying upstairs, I found the quilt exhibit and a woman sitting at a quilting frame. After her husband had explained to me the meaning of white gloves and that only he was allowed to touch the quilts, I asked the woman who would be giving the talk in just a few minutes.
She told me that she is an art teacher and that she gives programs for children, on this topic, during the school year. She is convinced that the “secret quilt code” is true because she has gone to Africa and “seen for herself”. She did not elaborate.
As further “proof”, she said that a New Hampshire-ite told her just last week that Hanover, NH was formerly called Dresden and this backs up the use of the “Dresden Plate” in the code (as you remember this was not in Ozella’s code but was added later in the book, Hidden in Plain View). The reason she believes this is evidence is the fact that some slaves were taken in on farms, in Vermont, and worked for a living and were taught to bank their money and save until they could go on to Canada, she stated..
I took notes at her talk as I do not like to misquote anyone. The first astounding revelation was that “Monkey Wrench” is not just a quilt block. No, the term refers to “a mastermind who planned escapes”, and “Frederick Douglass was once a Monkey Wrench”. Hmmmm… wonder what Mr. Giles Wright would have to say about that.
“Carpenter’s Wheel”, she said, is a symbol of the songs, “Steal Away” and “Follow the Drinking Gourd” and a symbol of Jesus himself. The block means to pray before beginning the long escape trip.
She stated that “Basket” stood for everyday containers, in the code, and were a symbol for all provisions for the journey north. This is a new wrinkle, but she had said that she “researched and found many more blocks that would have been used to communicate between slaves”.
“Wagon Wheel”, a block that appeared in a very simplified version in the quilt she had put together for demonstration purposes, is a symbol of the song, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”…coming for to carry me home, “obvious symbolism”, she added.
“Bear Paw”, as she called it, provided a guide to food and water.
“Crossroads” – a Mason symbol she said, meant the destinations of Cleveland, Philadelphia, and NY City, and warned people to get a different hair-do and dress differently, according to the speaker. (I realized that Cleveland was a known destination. Does anyone have info. on these other two locations?)
“Log Cabin” blocks with red centers meant, “Don’t knock on their door”. Black centers meant, “you’ll be safe”.
“Bow Tie” is in quadrants with an hour glass, and a bowtie”. She did not elaborate very much on that block, except that it also meant to dress up.
In her quilt was also “Jacob’s Ladder” which she doesn’t realize was not renamed “Underground Railroad”, (a term for an entire quilt), until a much latter time, after the fact.
She also mentions “Drunkard’s Path” with along with a misquote of the original statement that I quote directly in my latest online article. The quote revolves around the Tice Davids incident.
In addition, a “Sailboat” a simplified Mariner’s Compass block, a “North Star” block and a “Dresden Plate” can be seen on the quilt.
After she was finished speaking, she turned to me and asked if I had anything to add. While I was saying a few words, one very rude man got up and walked out. Only two people wanted my card that has a link to my webpages where people can read more about the UGRR. One of those requesting a card was a child. The other was the public relations person at the museum.
I came away feeling very discouraged. This brainwashing of America continues and people are buying the “story”, mainly because they want to believe their teachers. When programs of this type are held at museums and schools and higher institutions of learning, people are at the mercy of the story-teller because they truly want to have faith that the information they are hearing is true and correct.
This particular museum is in part occupied by the National Park Service, the same organization that printed out and distributed informational posters about the code that did not even coincide with HIPV information and had errors. Is no one reading the original source material, Hidden in Plain View? Is everyone relying on hearsay, or their friend’s opinion of the matter? One can’t really be a critic of someone else’s scholarship until what they have read what has been written by the other party, and scrutinized it for accuracy..
The “story” of the code gets more convoluted and embellished as we go along.
I could have smiled and been very pleasant and just thanked the presenter for her fine talk. While I did thank her for her talk, I am sure that I was not smiling when I revealed to the audience that what they had just heard was theory and not history and that quilt historians look upon this information as undocumented and unsubstantiated.
Sometimes, I wonder why I ever leave the house at all. The unreceptive, angry looking faces of the audience, who looked as though they’d just been robbed of something, said it all. People would rather bask in misinformation than to stare truth in the face. All I can say is that I am not sorry for having spoken up and would do it again, in a heartbeat. If a person can’t stand by his/her own convictions, he/she is a pitiful piece of humanity.
You’ll find my most recent article on the subject, under “Historical Articles” on my educational website.
Pat Cummings www.quiltersmuse.com
Date: Fri, 02 Sep 2005 22:09:28 -0700 | From: Paulette Bergman <pj@>
Hello. To those of us too new to know, please explain the freezer process for ridding quilts of moths, bugs, etc., that was alluded to with the Edwardian wool dress. Thank you! pj Paulette J. Bergman 7608 Stevens Avenue Richfield, MN 55423-4240 Home: 612.861.6965 Fax: 612.861.3310 e-mail: pj@
Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 00:14:06 -0400 | From: “Karen Evans” <charter.net>
I haven’t personally seen such a lecture yet…but I have this funny feeling I’d do exactly the same thing. Cripes, I DO do exactly the same thing when someone tells me that quilting started with thrifty colonial housewives saving their scraps. And no, people usually are not at all happy to have their bubbles burst.
You know, it sounds like it’s time for a book by multiple quilt historians responding to the UGRR business. Fighting the myth piece by piece is simply not working, for all that we QHLers and poor Giles Wright have worked so hard to counteact it. If nothing else, having something in print would make a big difference….
Karen Evans
Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 05:54:01 -0400 | From: Debby Kratovil <kratovil@>
Gail. Thanks for saying what is true about what’s going on inside N.O. Of course, all of us outside, sitting in dry, comfortable, danger-free environments feel so helpless. But I can do two (tangible) things immediately: donate $$ to the relief effort (personally, I choose the Salvation Army because they do a lot of what the Red Cross does but their top administrative officials don’t receive the outrageous financial packages) and as far as quilts – we here in Atlanta are getting a LOT of refugees and since AQS has sent out info about sending bed sized and baby quilts to them for distribution, we have decided to just make and get them to the shelters here in our town and state.
The heroic efforts of all involved – local, state, federal and from other states – we are to commend them. As this is so far beyond anything we’ve ever even imagined or encountered, of course there will be mistakes, bumbling, etc. But now is not the time to blame (as we see occasionally on our tv screens). I wish the politicians would just bow out unless they have something constructive to DO. Debby — Debby (with a “y” and not “ie”) Kratovil Quilt Workshops & Programs http://www.quilterbydesign.com
Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 07:37:02 EDT | From: Karen Evans
> I’ve heard a rumor that the National Guard is not letting relief supplies in, > and is not letting refugees leave the flooded areas. There are reports of > checkpoints around the city. Does anyone who’s closer to the scene know > what’s > going on? > > This is probably just a rumor, but it still upsets me… > > Karen Evans >
Fox News, specifically Sheppard Smith and Heraldo Reviero, reported checkpoints. Both reporters were agitated and emotional about the dire situation where they were located.
Baton Rouge and N.O. AM stations that are up again are reporting “unconfirmed reports” of the same thing, but everything in print is jumbled and sources are quoting one another at this point.
Here’s my best best guess, based on above and what we in Louisiana are learning about the general situation from people who are ooming out, either from helping rescue efforts or from natives who at last have been able to get out. First, I suspect the people on the Interstate bridge near Metairie are \ being prevented from leaving the area. Second, I also believe military checkpoints exist throughout the city.
Even with the heroic efforts of the Nat’l Guard who went in yesterday, at last under their own commandant, (most of them from a Louisiana unit which has served in Iraq. They are the ones who found Saddam and treated with dignity that surprised everyone) and estabished order throughout most of the city, we hear from B.R and occasional N.O. AM radio reports that gun battles between the Guard and local thugs continued last night and that some of them were intense, involving gangs or New Orleans thugs with powerful assault rifles.
To turn people into the night would be foolhardy, no matter how bad the situation might be where they are.
The people to whom Sheppard Smith referred were withing viewing distance of Metairie in Jefferson Parish, whose President has maintained tight security from the outset. Consequently, peace was generally maintained, lives were saved there early, and the area evacuated quickly, even though it also took a hit with water. Many of the people on those on the bridge are hardened criminals who have from the outside raped and killed innocent people and fired on the small police force within the SuperDome. To turn them lose into Metarie would be irresponsible and counterproductive to rescue efforts.
Why more food and facilities had not reached that group, I do not know. I do know that all reports from within the city suggest that the first rea order within the City of New Orleans since the storm hit was established yesterday, with the entrance of reinforcement Guard units and with all Guard units being placed under military command system.
My guess is there were only so many people to perform the needed work, and the Superdome situation had deteriorated so that it was given priority.
But that is a guess.
Jesse Jackson, who just got through meddling in Venezuela, was claiming evacuations were being made on a racial basis. Neither he nor a Washington reporter and the NYTimes who reported same thing know what they are talking about. Have you looked at the color of the policemen? The mayor?
The city popultion is over 80% African-American. The Superdome seems to have been made up mostly of people from the Desire Street Housing project, which is the bes of times, dangerous. Children take guns to schools and principals refused to take them up because they know the chldren may not make it home, past the drug lords, otherwise. Even owning a pencil can become a liability.
I do not believe the Guard is refusing to let relief supplies in. They might not be permitting vehicles in unsecured areas. Might be permitting only air lifts. They are working under great hardhip. I expect a change today..
gi
Date: Sat, 03 Sep 2005 05:16:06 -0700 | From: “Carroll” <rl.carroll@>
> Sorry, can someone please remind me of the website with information on > sending quilts for the refugees? I can’t seem to bring up current messages > in the archives. > Sally W
This came across one of my lists. The Houston Quilt Festival people are very generously offering help, including matching donations made to the Red Cross, and distributing quilts.
“Quilts Inc are the folks who put on the quilt markets and festivals. They are coordinating collection for quilts and bedding from quilters for the hurricane disaster victims who are arriving in Houston. They are also matching funds sent to the American Red Cross from quilters (up to a maximum. If you want any information on these items the web site is http://www.quilts.com/hurricane.htm (or quilts.com for the whole site.”
Also a search for Houston Quilt Festival will bring up the homepage with the same information.
Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 10:24:42 -0400 | From: “Karen Evans” <charter.net>
Thanks for the clarification. It’s hard to know what’s going on from 1500 miles away…
Karen
Date: Sat, 03 Sep 2005 11:05:44 -0500 | From: Gail Ingram <gingram@>
Just a note to report that an official with Louisiana Endowment for the Arts told me the Cabildo, Historic N.O. collection, and other important historic archival/museum resources in New Orleans appear to have weathered the storm in pretty good shape architecturally. Their collections also seem to have been generally spared.
I apologize for earlier, unspell-checked posting, written earlier this AM when I had just returned from local shelter. I’m really not an early-morning person.
Thought I would also mention the gratitude everyone acknowledges here in LA to individuals and state of Texas.
We are a small state, and our communities are not equipped to absorb all the refugees from New Orleans. Our own little town has a well-supported public shelter, and individuals have taken into their homes many people who are now homeless. Baton Rouge has doubled in size. Hospitals all over the state are filling beds with people from N.O. Facilities. But we cannot easily absorb the population of what was our state’s largest city.
Without being asked, Texans have reached out to help Louisiana in more ways than can be named. For instance, Texas A & M has offered to help take students from Tulane and perhaps other colleges and universities. Their major cities have opened their facilities to refugees, and private citizens have taken in strangers who have lost everything. Texas hospitals volunteered early to help evacuate and house patients from hospitals. In fact, in many cases Texas government officials have led Louisiana officials.
Louisiana will be singing the country song “God Bless Texas” for a long time.
And the idea of providing quilts to people in shelters is generous. For many they will be the only personal possessions they have.
Gail
P.S. I noted some talking head from Washington claiming the term “refugee” was a “racist” term, reserved for people of color. Maybe in D.C. That is true. It is not true here. Moreover, the term has a long history in the South. During the Civil War, people went “refugeeing” and were called “refugees” when they fled their war-ridden home communities for other, safer places. In every hurricane, those who flee the coastal areas are called “refugees.”
I wonder about people who can attempt to politicize a situation so horrific as the one that exists in New Orleans. I hope the world beyond our state will take the time to think twice about such claims.
Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 09:30:00 -0700 (PDT) | From: catz@
This is the infor for Karey Bresenhan frim International Quilters Association in Houston:
To participate in QUILTERS COMFORT AMERICA, send an email to exec5quilts.com (subject line: COMFORT AMERICA) to let us know how many quilts you are sending. That will help us help the Red Cross in its planning. Use this address to send your quilt/s: COMFORT AMERICA PROJECT c/o International Festival 7660 Woodway, Suite 550 Houston, TX 77063 Please note: for security, do NOT use the word ‘quilt’ ANYWHERE in your address label!
Marie Johansen Western Washington
Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 11:38:51 -0500 | From: “Karen Musgrave” <karenmusgrave@>
Pat,
I’ve been meaning to share this and your recent posting as prompted me to do so. I was at a small museum in Illinois viewing an exhibition-not quilt related. This museum has had Quilt National in the past so I queried the museum director to find out if they were going to have it again. We got to talking and she mentioned that she was considering having a local teacher come and speak on the Underground Railroad Quilts. I simply told her that I thought she should understand more about the topic before booking this woman. I promised to call her when I got home with a link (your site) that she should read which I did. I am happy to report that the woman was not booked for the lecture. Thanks for providing a place for people to learn and understand the truth.
Karen Musgrave
Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 13:06:21 -0500 | From: “quilt25” <quilt25swbell.net>
Busses, hundreds, maybe thousands of busses have rolled into and through my city here in Texas.
A closed mall is being utilized as a staging area. Here people are being registered and assigned to a shelter. This information is being computerized to aid in reuniting families. These families are heading for shelters in North Texas.
I feel sure this scene is being reenacted in other cities and even in other states. Relocating this many people is a major undertaking, something the United States has never had to do before.
These people need the basics. Items the Red Cross and Salvation Army can provide, food, clothing, medical supplies. Eventually these people will need more as they leave the shelters and begin to rebuild their lives.
Let us also not forget the people who had the money and the transportation to evacuate ahead of the storm. The Hampton Inn in my town has a number of these people and they are discounting rooms for them, knowing they will be here for a long time. One couple told our Pastor they would be here as long as their credit card held out. The economy is tight, jobs are scarce. Long term solutions are needed.
Sorry, did not mean to get on my soap box.
Peg in North Texas
Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 15:36:10 -0400 | From: <suereich@>
I am sitting here in Connecticut on one of the most beautiful days of the year. It is far from enjoyable, however, the prospect of feeling too comfortable gives me waves of guilt instead of pleasure. > My daughter in Cambridge, MA. has just offered up the third floor bedrooms of her house to victims of Katrina. We are seriously considering making our four empty bedrooms available. I have a question for those of you who closer to the scene. Is there wisdom in displacing people this far from their roots? That is my only concern. In our haste to help, are bedrooms thousands of miles from home a realistic solution? > A co-worker ER nurse is waiting to be sent. He is on a State-wide disaster relief team. The first groups are already on their way to the multiple ground zeroes in the South. Many of us are also seriously considering volunteering to spend the two weeks of our lives the assignment would require. Small price to pay for all that we have been given and spared from. > Ugh! What a wretched summer this has been! I believe that making quilts under these circumstances provide a greater benefit for the makers than the recipients. As helpless as we are all feeling, perhaps that is the only way we can give aid. > Seeking guidance from our Southern friends, sue reich
Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 16:42:10 -0400 | From: Sandra G Munsey <munsey@>
Pat:
Philadelphia and New York City definitely were way stations on the UGRR. Tom Calarco’s well-researched book entitled “The Underground Railroad in the Adirondack Region”, McFarland & Co., Publishers, 2004, references that the “itinerary of the runaways took them on foot to stops at the farms of Quakers” in and around Philadelphia (p. 83). In another chapter he states: “While many sympathizers were ready to assist them on the Underground Railroad in northern New York, central New York was the primary destination of most fugitive slaves who had come through Philadelphia, New York, and even Boston, where there vigilance committee worked with Stephen Myers in Albany.” He also writes that “most runaways moved up the Hudson by boat from New York City; the rest came on foot, through Philadelphia and New Jersey.” (p. 182). Even though his focus is on the Adirondack and central New York State, there are many references to the surrounding New England and Mid-Atlantic states. The northeastern port cities were a logical gateway because runaways were aided by “Black Jacks”, black freemen sailors on cargo ships sailing up and down the coast.
Mr. Calarco’s book is worth the reading to anyone, not just New Yorkers, seriously interested in the UGRR because of its excellent “Works Cited” as he went to many primary resources from the period as early as the 1830s. Admittedly, the book is pricey at $45.00, but perhaps your local library could be persuaded or would welcome a donation. I think it is available on Amazon.com. Because the author is an experienced journalist, the text is enjoyable reading as well as academically sound.
My only connection to Tom Calarco was the opportunity to speak with him at some length after his presentation last spring at the local community college. He did tell me, however, that in his approximately 10 years of research before publication last year, he never discovered any evidence of the “quilt code”.
By the way, the term “runaway” is the term he prefers to use throughout this book, and a smaller guidebook to UGRR proven and highly likely locations in NY, instead of the more commonly used “fugitive slave”.
Sandra on Cape Cod
From: Tom
In a message dated 9/3/2005 2:36:54 PM Central Standard Time, suereich@ writes:
> I have a question for those of you who closer to the scene. Is there > wisdom in displacing people this far from their roots? That is my only concern. > In our haste to help, are bedrooms thousands of miles from home a realistic > solution?
It may be tough for many to get moved so far away in the short term, but the growing reality is that it will probably be necessary.
Up to a couple of days ago, America knew of about 10,000-12,000 at the Superdome and it was estimated that there were around 15,000 at the convention center.
As people continue to emerge- especially now as the violence is subdued- those numbers are rising quickly. As of this morning, it is thought closer to 25,000 have come through the convention center. More are arriving now.
As helicopters fly over the city to drop supplies, they are finding many, many more people who remained in their homes and come running into the streets when food and water are dropped.
When they finally get the pumps working, noone has really made it clear whether those thousands still in their homes will be allowed to remain during the cleanup. But I get the feeling the current plan is to completely empty the entire city.
At the end of this process, there could well be close to 100,000 people evacuated out of the New Orleans area who rode out the storm there. Texas has been able to make room for 60,000+, but even most of those solutions are temporary. I am proud of my home town of Houston for all that has been done, but I think everyone knows that it would be cruel to force 12,000 people to live in the Astrodome for 3-4 months or longer. This is not a long term solution, though a critical short term one.
And so housing for all these people will have to become a nationwide effort.
My only personal concern for many is that they be careful in extending the use of their homes. This is not about the fact these displaced people are poor or largely African-American- I do not mean to imply that is an issue at all.
It is about the very real strain of having strangers in your home for potentially long and indeterminate periods of time- a strain that happens even with close family members who come for extended, and indeterminate, stays.
I applaud all who have offered to open their homes to these people as they try to rebuild their lives, but I just hope all consider carefully how to make this work for several months because once these people arrive they need to be able to stay and have a real chance to get started again. Even if these people find local work and their own housing, that basic process can take 2-3 months in some cities.
As for the displacement issue, this could have far reaching impacts. There is an excellent book by Barbara Enrenreich called “Nickel and Dimed- On (Not) Getting By in America” which, aside from some annoying political jabs, is a stunning and eye-opening first hand account of what life is like in this country for the working poor- people who live paycheck to paycheck and quite literally are a week’s pay or an unexpected $50 expenditure away from being homeless.
As impossible as it was for many of these people to leave New Orleans, coming back could prove similarly difficult. I expect a significant number will find work in the places they are relocated, and a few months from now- back on their own but living paycheck to paycheck- many will not be able to afford to quit their new jobs and move back to New Orleans. Crazy as it sounds to many of us, a lot of these people will not be able to take 3-4 days without pay and go home by even the cheapest means available (and 3-4 days without pay assumes they can find immediate work when they get back to New Orleans.)
I am confident the government will find a way to address this in some fashion and make the return home more feasible for New Orleans citizens who wish to return. But even with those offers in place, I suspect for many thousands who re-establish a paycheck to paycheck existence elsewhere, it will seem too risky to go back.
Take care,
Tom.
From: Gail Ingram
First, I think you, of all of us, should not feel guilty for feeling comfortable. Quoth Solomon: unto all things there is a season, and I think this is your season for comfort.
Indeed, I don’t think anyone should feel guilty for feeling comfortable and certainly not guilty about being unable to help people displaced by Katrina. This is going to be a very long affair, a year at the least, and I’m sure we will all find ways to help. Right now, those on the ground in New Orleans are doing all that can be done there. Shelters throughout Texas and Louisiana and Arkansas are requesting bottled water, food, and similar supplies to supplement their own overdrawn reserves and the reserves of the Red Cross. The requests are being met quickly. The Southern Baptist Churches of our state have taken over preparation and serving of meals in many shelters. Other groups are offering other or similar services. Schools all over the state have collected needed items and are taking youngsters from the displaced areas into their classrooms. Hospitals have taken thousands of transfers from New Orleans hospitals as well as new patients. Now that the federal government has taken over the operations in New Orleans (and that is basically what has been done, though discreetly), things are moving ahead more rapidly than had seemed possible three days ago.
My own suggestion is that people wait a while for those in New Orleans to assess and announce the needs of those who are displaced.
Most real New Orleanians would almost certainly prefer to remain near the region. Let’s face it: many of them chose not to leave even under mandatory evacuation orders. They are almost a race apart. The rest of Louisiana considers New Orleans part of it, but New Orleans does not lay claim to the rest of the state. It is a world unto itself. Like all who are displaced from their homes, these people feel more comfortable just being within driving distance of “home.” A family here told me they felt like they were in the mountains (!!!!). We are, of course, located near Mt. Driscoll, the highest point in LA—350 ft above sea level.
I also suggest that if one desires to open her home to refugees, she do so through a reputable agency, not some internet bulletin board. I know the Lutheran Church is maintaining a list of needs of their members as they become available, and I imagine every other religious group is doing the same. Military and Caast Guard families in the region probably could be located. Same for other special interest groups. I’ve thought of chronically sick children and their parents. Ronald McDonald Houses could supply information about their needs. Certainly the Catholic Church would have information.
Taking a new family into one’s home requires a lot of emotional energy, and Sue, I recommend you take a little time for yourself. You have a lot going on this fall already. And you’ve had a long summer. If I hear of a perfect match, I’ll let you and list know.
Christmas will come and there will be families with limited budgets for gifts. Perhaps you might begin a little bag of gifts for that time.
Our banks are staying open on Saturdays and visiting shelters for those who are already applying for financing to build new homes so that everything will be ready when the time for return comes or should they choose to locate elsewhere. Requests for state and federal aid will begin to be made next week, I’m told. These things can be done in the vicinity, not from many miles away.
Enjoy that weather!
Gail
Date: Sat, 03 Sep 2005 23:51:24 +0100 | From: Sally Ward <sallytatters@>
> I believe that making quilts under these circumstances provide a greater benefit for the makers than the recipients.
Everybody’s reasons for donating, and reaction to receiving, quilts will be different, of course, but I think I can reassure you on this. For some years I have been tracking down quilts which are here in the UK because they were made during WWs 1 & 2 by Canadians and Americans and sent here to be distributed by aid agencies to those displaced by events. Perhaps they had lost all possessions through bombing, or been hospitalised, maybe they were refugees arriving from Europe, or youngsters living away from home as land workers or in barracks. That these worn out (and to be honest sometimes quite ugly and utilitarian) quilts still turn up 60 or more years after they were made is testimony to how much they meant to the recipients and how long they were treasured. In the rare cases where I have been able to record comments from original recipients this long after events, to a man they speak of the comfort of the colour and the cloth and the thought that someone cared enough to send it.
A 1940s Red Cross quilt now in my care is the pattern I used this afternoon when slicing up my stash for quilts to send to the IQA appeal. I felt it was time to return the favour <G>.
As an aside, it was illuminating to read the request from the IQA, outlining the range of quilts which might be pressed into service. WW2 Red Cross quilts that are recorded vary from the very basic to some quite beautiful and labour intensive piecing. We’ve long speculated that the ‘better’ tops had been originally destined for other homes, but been donated instead. It seems that future historians looking at ‘Katrina quilts’ may be drawing the same conclusions.
Sally Ward Yorkshire, UK
From: “Doug and Sarah Hough”
To add my thoughts – I have been volunteering at our local Red Cross office since Tuesday. We have opened two shelters here (Panama City, FL) and they are full and there are lots staying in motels and with friends and family. The people that came here had transportation (many times an overfilled car) that made it here and that is about it. No money, no credit cards, getting public assistance. They need so much that it is heartwrenching and most are grateful for help you can give them.
According to what I have been told, the Red Cross cannot match up people with offers for individual housing due to liability. I would be very careful about who you invite into your home unless there is some agency doing screening. I know that sounds very harsh.
Sarah
From: Vintagegal46@
As I have watched in horror this week at the suffering from the hurricane, I have had many of those thoughts about why it has taken so long to help the victims. I just want to say that I very much appreciate the information that Gail has been providing us; I know there are many wonderful people out there trying to help, as is the way in this country. Maybe we’ll start hearing positive things from the media now, and stories of survival and gratitude. I hope that every American in some way helps with this situation.
Thank you Gail for taking your time to provide an insider’s perspective. Julie Kiffin Sunrise Beach, Missouri
Date: Sun, 04 Sep 2005 10:33:06 -0400 | From: Patricia L Cummings
Dear friends:
Thank you for all of the supportive private notes to me, and also the three public posts from Karen, Sandra, and Karen, regarding my last letter to the list.
Personally, I have no plans to write or to publish a book refuting the “secret quilt code”.
As for terminology, “runaway” seems like a more aesthetically pleasing term, but I wonder about its ambiguity. We have had runaway trains, runaway prices, and runaway brides. I prefer to continue to be more exact and use the words “escaping slaves”. The Black people in question were kidnapped and enslaved and were trying to run away.
Good to know that the speaker was not telling a tale made totally of wholecloth and that New York City figured into the equation as a destination for the UGRR.
As for Karen’s post, I feel happy that yet another talk of this kind was diverted. At the same time, I feel very sorry for the potential speaker who was trying to “share” what he or she thought she knew. On a human level, this is all very distressing. I will have to say that as I walked away from that talk the other day, I did not have any good feelings whatsoever, if anything, there was an overwhelming sadness in my heart.
I felt bad for the vacationers/museum goers/homeschoolers who went to hear about this wonderful part of “American History”, only to hear someone other than the “teacher”, throw cold water on the idea. They did not know me from Adam, nor did they know of my educational background or writings, so they probably thought I was just some obnoxious troublemaker. Of course, this reaction would happen any time someone would attempt to question “authority”, the “authority” being the one who has the floor, at the moment.
I heard Jesse Jackson last night in a brief news clip on TV. He calls things as he sees them. I didn’t write down the exact quote, but he said something to the effect that people of color are always looked down upon as though they are stupid and don’t quite measure up in the intelligence department. They are considered less than. In my latest online article, I have addressed this very topic in regard to the secret quilt code.
How ironic that we would visit that museum on a day that this talk was being presented, knowing nothing of this, in advance. I wondered if a force greater than myself was responsible for this occurrence. Knowing me, my very gentle-spirited husband took a walk to commune with the sheep and cows. He knew that I would speak up, and he hates confrontations.
I have no answers but am left with many questions. Will the American public ever understand where this new myth came from, and will they ever try to turn around this current situation in the schools, etc?. I have done my part and am feeling overwhelmed and worn out by the whole subject, as I am sure you are, too. I will try to refrain from future postings on this. My thoughts are a matter of public record now. If anyone wants access, they can read my online article for starters.
Pat Cummings www.quiltersmuse.com
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 07:42:45 -0700 (PDT) | From: Kris Driessen <krisdriessen@>
> Like many others, I am very concerned about the situation in New > Orleans. I am completely at a loss to know why the organization to > deal with this tragedy wasn’t in place beforehand. If officials are > saying they didn’t know what was coming, I suggest we buy them a > subscription to National Geographic. They predicted it last year. > (http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0410/feature5/) >
Kris,
Thank you for providing the site for the Nat’l Geographic article. Actually that article was written almost two years AFTER the outcome it described was predicted in a joint meeting of federal and state officials from Gulf states.
So we’ve known. This information has been shouted from the rooftops both here and in congress. I got angry just reading it again. So frustrating.
Like many other states and perhaps our entire nation, Louisiana is simply short-sighted and driven by the need for revenues and greed. We want the easy way to wealth. So we have closed our eyes.
“The Big One” has been talked about with an odd mixture of awe and disbelief in this state. It’s grocery store conversation, talk that trails off into a “well….” And the REALLY Big One didn’t happen: Katrina did not follow the river north toward Baton Rouge, where most of the oil and chemical refineries are located.
The hard data of wildlife experts and professors at Tulane and LSU are dismissed by politicians responding only the most recent poll. They are tree-huggers, right? All of South Louisiana and a lot of North Louisiana goes to an LSU game, gets dizzingly drunk, and enjoys “the good life” that helps pay the exorbitant salary of the most recent football coach. After Christmas, everybody moves the act to New Orleans for the mardi gras season, which has gone national and brings in big bucks in tourist dollars. We build gambling casinos along our waterways and are grateful for the dollars they bring in, even though we admit publicly those dollars will not last long. Instead of educating our young people and getting our public ethics act together, two things that might provide a potentially sound economic base for our state, we advertise our short-sightedness, our lack of “care.” New Orleans is “The City That Care Forgot.”
My sister, who lives in Baton Rouge area, told me that last night on their local television station some politico was putting forward a “great idea”: the N.O. Saints (not the winningest team in the nation) would play their games as usual, except they would play them in Tiger Stadium at LSU. LSU would play on Saturday night, followed by the Saints on Sunday night. The refugees would love the diversions, he opined! Which leads one to wonder if Baton Rouge is the City that Brains Forgot.
Our constitution was rewritten to assure us generally poor choices for state offices. To weaken or preclude a vigorous party system, the state Democratic Party, which controls the legislature, set up a general election system for state offices. Here, parties do not hold separate elections and nominate a candidate, so there might be some policy issues discussed. We have one big free-for-all. The constitution has worked to achieve the desired result, to make it easier for a Democrat to be elected to state office. And it has consistently given us final choices like the iconic choice between David Duke, Klan leader, and Edwin Edwards, a former governor who boasted publicly about his criminal actions and the inability of the federal government to stop them (He’s now in jail)— In other words, no real choices, just what two different varieties of radicalism toss up. Good people run. They just rarely get into the run-off because of the large number of candidates.
So we elect a governor like the current governor who, when asked by a television interviewer why she had not activated the Nat’l Guard and related Army units on Monday, actually replied, “Well….Now, let’s see, what day is this?” The mayor of New Orleans was desperate and furious, using language former CEOs of major corporations learn not to use in public. And she couldn’t remember what day of the week it was. No wonder.
The nation has been amused at Louisiana’s carelessness. Now, at last, it sees the consequences of carelessness, and surprise of surprises, those consequences affect the nation.
Yet what will be done? Does anybody think the administration that refused to ante up the money required to stop or even slow coastal erosion will open its eyes to environmental issues now? The record of the Democratic Party, both in our state and nationally, is equally dismal. Neither party has been willing to do what is required to free us from the slavery to oil and gas industries world wide. I don’t think the American people are willing to do that. After all, it is largely the public love affair with SUVs and gas-guzzlers that has made all of this a non-issue. We are the nation that care forgot.
This is a fairly small list and it’s made up of people who are no doubt considered more irrelevant than tree-huggers. But if each of us emailed and then printed out and mailed to our U.S. Representatives and senators the article to which Kris directed us—along with a polite note saying the issues discussed therein mattered vitally to us and would be a factor when we voted—well, it would be a small wave. It would be national and not one of those mailings that is gotten out by a special interest lobby. It would be something. It might broaden the discussion of our current predicament.
There is a terrible irony in this moment our nation is living through. And even as we reach out to help those whose lives have been permanently changed by Katrina, The Big One, we need to remember that this catastrophe might have been averted, given wisdom and proper priorities.
Of course, our reputation is taking a beating abroad (though there’s nothing new about that—except perhaps its well-founded nature). Why shouldn’t it?
I hope you will find the charity to forgive this posting, which hasn’t a single word about quilting in it.
And to send your congressmen and congresswomen the Nat’l Geographic article.
Gail
P.S Re K’s “I am at a loss to know why the organization to deal with this tragedy wasn’t in place beforehand.” The governor refused to exercise her authority intelligently and the mayor of New Orleans made a poor choice about how to use the few forces he had been sent. Without being asked, the President declared LA a disaster zone 3 days before the storm hit and thus gave her power to call up National Guard and military units to handle the inevitable result of a hurricane that had been bearing down on New Orleans for most of the week. Legally, the military could not enter the city until after the disaster happened, but it could have been at a staging point west of the city and been sent into the city as soon as the storm had subsided–and under the directin of Its commandant, who eventually came in kicking and hollering and activated a logical, active plan to clean up the mess that had been building. The mayor hadn’t the power to activate troops. He could request them and he did that loudly and repeatedly. But only the governor could send them into the city.
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 17:10:00 EDT | From: Kaytriplet@
This note is very long, so feel free to skim it or skip it.
I am passing along this note from Michelle Hardy, a fairly well known quilt artist from Mandeville which is directly on the north shore of Lake Ponchatrain. (You can view her quilts at http://www.michelehardy.com/Links.h tml ) I used to live in the same parish (St. Tammany) where we had a small farm and I stored my quilts as I worked in locations throughout the world. I currently live in Houston and was just assigned to a task force to get oil and gas production back on in the Gulf of Mexico. The economic impact of the LA disaster is starting to be felt in Houston, as our news reports say that 200,000 people are here in Houston right now without another place to live. Some are in hotels, some in churches, many living with friends and family. Folks at work have taken i n as many as 15 people — all relatives in the cases I know of. I am glad that I don’t have 15 relatives here with me. 😉 The universities here are taking i n students without charging fees, and SMU an elite private university in Dalla s is taking in lots of students too. Don’t know what the financial arrangement s are, but if someone just paid Tulane tuition (expensive!) in New Orleans, they probably aren’t easily capable of coming up with the money for SMU a fe w weeks later. Texans do have big hearts, and the business community along wit h individuals are making this work here. Even impacts that would never have cr ossed my mind, like Six Flags over Texas closing here even though it is Labor Day weekend to ease the traffic around the AstroDome.
Our Art Quilt group (which I attend sporadically due to my work obligations) has offered Michelle anything she could want, so she is in good hands. I understand that she and her family now are in an apartment in Katy, TX, a su burb of Houston on the west side (and birthplace of Renee Zellweiger.) While what Gail says about NO proper is true, there is a large professional class there as well. Business owners, dentists, multi-millionare musicians, historians, restaurant owners, etc. Unfortunately, what was on TV was the sensational si de of the disaster. I have no doubt that folks are quietly dying in their homes du e to lack of food and water, and weren’t saved because they couldn’t get the attention of those who are helping. There are times when it pays to be angry .
I understand that in order to limit looting, the national guard is indeed keeping people out. Families at work are very frustrated, as they want to ge t back and rescue what they can — get clothes in the washer before they rot, get items from the second story of the house, etc. They may open up Jefferson Parish for one day, but can you imagine the traffic with flooded streets, et c. if they allow that? And if it is only Jefferson Parish that makes this allowanc e? CNN is reporting that the fires at Saks Fifth Avenue Canal Place Shopping Center were arson. Thieves covering their tracks? Shop owners with fire insu rance but not flood insurance? Angry, destructive people taking it out on a symbol of white money and power? We will probably never know.
As for taking families in, I agree with others who have expressed caution in doing so. NO people are kind, generous and great to be around with the small exception of the thugs in the projects. I have been welcomed at events where I was the only white person I could spot in the crowd. However, I expect that many folks will have a very difficult time coping. I heard on the news this morning that two NOPD policemen had killed themselves with their revolvers. I believe that the people who need help the worst will need help from those tr ained to provide help. Those who just need a foot in the door can likely find that where they landed. Personally, contributing $ so that food can be purchased in bulk, etc. is the smartest choice if your are able to financially.
Being local, I have signed up for shifts at the convention center, and in ou r neighborhood putting together toiletry kits as specified by the Red Cross. You shouldn’t feel bad that you can’t do something in person for the Gulf Co ast, as none of us could do anything in person for 9/11, etc. It all evens out in the end.
Enough already — the note from Michelle:
Hi all, I’m still on no email and have only limited email/internet acces, but I wanted to check in with an update. I’ve tried several times to send, but it never seems to work. Hopefully this one will go through.
Thanks to those who I have been in contact with that have passed along my info.
Right now we’re still waiting to get into an apartment. No idea how long we’ll be there. It may take weeks to get internet/email there.
Mandeville was badly damaged on the lakefront, and utilities were hard hit. The eye went about 25 miles east of us – not very far for a storm this size. In Mandeville, there is no water (mains are broken), no electricity, and no phones. Nearly every utility pole south of I-12 is down or broken, and because this is a heavily treed area, many many many homes have trees on them or splitting them in half. For this reason, the power company is saying they must go to every single home before turning on a neighborhood after the main lines are restored.
It was heartnreaking to drive through my neighborhood. So much damage – and we are not eanywhere near one of the hardest hit areas. As has been relayed, our damage is incredibly minor: shingles off, exterior ceiling fans demolished (we brought in all exterior stuff that we could, but never even thought about removing the blades – amazingly they did not hit any woindoews as they tore apart), swingset mangled, basketball goal twisted and was down as the road.
Living in a small apartment will not be fun, but we are safe and well. Hopefully we can get the kids in school here if it looks like we can’t go back for awhile. My big (though trivial in the scheme of things) worry now is school for the kids. They attend a private school north of Mandeville that was not badly hit and will likely reopen long before we can return. Even if I can get my kids in school inb Katy (where the apt is), the curriculum is so diffeent, that they will undoubtedly be weeks behind when we can return.
I have no idea when I might ever have a studio again, and there’s really no room in the apt for me to work, and no way to bring enough stuff back to do so anyway, so maybe I can get a temp library card and read a few good books 🙂 Bbut that’s inconsequential right now – as a family, we’re ok and that’s what matters.
Most of what you see on the news is NOT what’s going on with the *million* or so displaced folks who obeyed the orders and left. Many of them have nothing to go back to, but are helping themselves and trying to figure out how to rebuild their lives and communities. It’s not just about the news on tv and those who refused to leave or genuinely could not. It’s an enormous tragedy, but unfortunately much of it could have been diminished and avoided. I’m glad to see help is finally arriving and that work is being done, not just on the necessary rescue efforts, but is also started on the repair and recovery. Noit just the city of N.O., bt the enitire region. The worst part of all of this for those who left is lack of information on anyting hapening beyond downtown.
If you are planning on making donations, please consider these folks also. Regular hard-wroking people who have no jobs or homes to go back to. It’s not just about the inner city residents, or criminals and law-breakers, or those who did not try to help themsleves.
When we were at a hotel in Tuscaloosa, entirely filled with evacuees, we met people from all areas, and all walks of life. People from N.O., Kenner, Metairie, Slidell, Biloxi, Pass Christian, Chalmette, Mandeville, etc, etc. Some knew they had no homes and businesses or jobs left. But all are planning on getting their life together *on their own* and starting over however they can. No one was sitting around waiting for a a handout or whining about wanting the government to take care of them.
The most heartbreaking stories were the kids: high school seniors who now have no home, no school, nowhere to take their SATs, no access to their records, and now no money to go to college. Kids returning to college who can’t afford to go back. Kids going to college in the affected area whose schools are now closed. These kids sought each other out and were not hanging out at the pool talking about boys, shopping, or MTv, they were trying to figure out how to get on with their lives and dreams; how to help their friends and relatives and those in need.
I apologze if this perspective bothers anyone, but please let’s not forget those other million folks. I am fine, my family is fine, and we are extremely fortunate – we don’t need a thing. But there are plenty of people in dire need who did manage to evacuate and I hope they are not entirely forgotten.
Michele Hardy
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 18:34:29 EDT | From: AG32040@
Just out of curiosity has anybody heard or seen anything about the vice-president? Amy in Miami where we have hugh trash piles all over but nobody here is complaining
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 15:44:13 -0400 | From: “Alan Kelchner” <alanalanrkelchner.com>
>Bought a marvelous Wilcox and Gibbs harp shaped sewing machine today. >It is originally electric, and has a foot pedal. Runs Like a champ, but >it needs the electric cords replaced. I need the instructions (I have >absolutely no idea where the bobbin goes. I know there’s a group of >sewing machine aficionados, but I can’t remember the name or URL. Man. >And it only cost me $125.
Well done, Alan. By harp shaped, I assume you mean what I call a C-frame? That is the most common type of W&G machine, and is a single thread chainstitcher, hence no bobbin. These were in production with very few modifications for over 70 years. Most were used in factories, although the household models were similar. Beware, they use a special needle, whose production has recently been discontinued. Some online dealers still have stock available. There is a downloadable manual available at my fav vintage SM site.
http://www.needlebar.com/manuals/index.html
Jennifer Hill Calgary, AB
Date: Sun, 04 Sep 2005 19:09:11 -0500 | From: Gail Ingram <gingram@>
Thanks to Kay for giving deeper insight into the lately unmentioned New Orleans, that N.O. made up of city professions and multi-generational locals as well as all the people who live in the neighborhoods surrounding New Orleans and across the causeway from the city.
Yesterday as I watched the reruns of old footage of people stranded on the bridge and at the Convention Center, a couple of things struck me as different and revealing. In the background of an interview, one could see a young woman who was trying to kick and push litter into a single pile and “organize” a small area where a number of mothers with babies and elderly women were standing or sitting. Hardier folks sat nearby, but one was helping he. Yet, she persisted in her efforts.
The other was footage of a man who had gone into stores and brought out baby supplies and was very quietly distributing them to the parents of babies and small children, with instructions. “Give your baby this Pediolyte. It will keep him from dehydrating,” he said to each parent. He handed out several diapers, anti-bacterial wipes, and in some cases, baby food. He had been doing that for days, apparently. Wading back into the waters and returning with supplies. He was not a doctor or medical professional, just someone who saw a need and did what he could to meet it. Surely he must have had to do some maneuvering to be able to come and go as he did.
Those were scenes that did not make prime time on CNN and FoxNews.
Nor have the scenes in motels across the South like the ones Kay described. Most of the people we have seen on our television screens this week will fall under the umbrella of governmental or social protection. One saw little about those she and her friend described, the ones who left ahead of the storm and whose jobs and homes no longer exist, folks with high school seniors or students at Tulane or UNO or Loyola or Xavier—but who are quietly dealing with their new situations. I hope some way will be provided for Americans to help this population as well.
And maybe there will be someone who will organize a way for us to reach out to the members of the police, fire, and Nat’l Guard units who stayed on the job when the city was in its worst hours.
In Bossier City, LA, across the Red River from Shreveport, there is a rather tatty looking motel that has a sign that proclaims its name in neon. Just below the name appear this phrase: “A motel for nice people.” So southern: “Have fun and be nice,” our mothers called to us.
I hope Kay and others will let us know if they discover ways we can help all the “nice” folks who have looked out for others and themselves but who will be struggling with their circumstances in the days ahead, when the acuteness of trauma has worn off and the television news agencies found new subjects.
gi
From: “Brenda & Roger Applegate” <rbappleg1@>
Or no one writes about the Red Cross from Georgia, that went to Gulfport a day in advance so they were there for the aftermath of the hurricane. An e-mail friend of mine wrote to say that she was being flown there the day prior to. Her husband wrote to say that she hasn’t left the building to see the destruction because she is so busy. Sounds like someone was trying to be prepared.
Brenda in western Pa who appreciated the nice gentle rainfall after Katrina.
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 18:22:57 -0700 (PDT) | From: Dana Balsamo <danabalsamo@>
Hi Alan, Try Relics http://www.tias.com/stores/relics/, she carries a ton on old sewing machine manuals, I noticed some copies of Wilcox and Gibbs machines here: http://pages.sewing-machine-manuals.com/173/InventoryPage/1834203/1.html
My best, Dana
Alan Kelchner <alanalanrkelchner.com> wrote: Bought a marvelous Wilcox and Gibbs harp shaped sewing machine today. It is originally electric, and has a foot pedal. Runs Like a champ, but it needs the electric cords replaced. I need the instructions (I have absolutely no idea where the bobbin goes. I know there’s a group of sewing machine aficionados, but I can’t remember the name or URL. Man. And it only cost me $125.
Alan
Alan R. Kelchner Fiber Artist Http://www.alanrkelchner.com
Material Pleasures Affordable Antique and Vintage Quilts, Linens, Lace, Textiles, Buttons & More! www.material-pleasures.com
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 21:40:52 -0400 | From: “Alan Kelchner” <alanalanrkelchner.com>
Thanks, Dana! I had no idea it was a chain-stitch machine. Explains why there wasn’t any bobbin case. I guess I’m going to have to order the manual.
Alan
Alan R. Kelchner Fiber Artist
Date: Mon, 5 Sep 2005 08:48:19 -0500 | From: “Barbara Vlack” <cptvdeo@>
Alan, I have a treadle model of the Willcox and Gibbs. Because they are belt driven, I know these machines could be converted to electric by adding a motor.
You have already found out about this machine being chain stitch, hence, no bobbin.
Go to www.ismacs.net/wg Enter the site and pick Willcox and Gibbs from the left side menu listing vintage sewing machines. It’s at the bottom of the list. From there, you can read/download information about parts identification, oiling, threading, history — just about everything you would glean from a manual, and it’s free.
I just found this site last week. I’ve had my W&G for several years (a gift from my brother and sister, especially my brother who, when I asked him to keep an eye out during his garage sale forays for a treadle machine for me decided that ANYONE could get a Singer but he wanted something special for me — I was MOST flattered). However, I have used it just for decorative purposes. Recently, as I was looking for documentation about my newest acquisition, an Elna #1 “Grasshopper,” I decided to look into what I could find about the W&G. Googling helped a lot.
This is a not-to-be-missed site!!! Have fun.
Barb Vlack cptvdeo@
Date: Mon, 5 Sep 2005 11:35:57 EDT | From: LLPalmer1234@
Hello all, Project Linus is another good way to donate quilts. It is a non-profit and all volunteer organization that has chapters around the country. Each chapter keeps quilts and other homemade items in the local area for kids age 0-18 yrs old in some sort of trauma/stress. With the current situation, they are collecting locally and will send new homemade blankets to children in all the southern states affected by this hurricane and flood. Our children and grandchildren can even get involved with making simple fleece blankets. Certainly can be a comfort measure to these kids. This is also a way to get friends and family who knit or crochet involved. The website is very good and has information for your area and simple patterns that can be made. Lois Palmer in Ct.
Date: Mon, 5 Sep 2005 14:58:32 -0700 (PDT) | From: karenquilt@
Gail, I, too saw and heard of incredible examples of people keeping their sanity amidst the chaos and helping others in spite of horrid conditions. For example, at the Convention Center (where I used to co-direct a large convention) there was a group of perhaps 20-30 Vietnamese (refugees themselves from another time of disaster in their lives) who had sought refuge at the CC and, according to the reporter, had kept their calm amidst all that chaos about them, never loosing their cool in spite of suffering right along with everyone else. And when help finally arrived they insisted that all those about them go first — that they would get on the buses last, and there they sat quielty, patiently waiting. What an incredible example for all of us to emulate under such trying circumstances!
Our eldest daughter finally reached her best friend in Mandeville. Tiffany had fled to Covington (not that far) but had just returned to her house when our daughter happened to try calling one more time from Oregon. This time the phone was answered! In fact, Tiffany’s house (in which my grandson was born in 1996) was still intact and had electricity, the only one in the block somehow to have it! Three trees had been blown down but none had done any major damage to the house while houses all about her were heavily damaged. (Storms of this nature can be so capricious!) My ex-son-in-law just happened to be visiting us this weekend. His nephew survived being drowned in the attic of his home in Slidell because a tree fell on a corner of the house and broke a hole in the roof so that the young man could climb out on the roof and flag down help. The Times-Picayune website is the best place I have found to learn more about local events that the national news is not covering. The local leaders, like police and fire etc. etc. are absolutely exhausted, physically and emotionally. My heart goes out to all of them.
The people on this small island where I now live off the coast of Washington State are incredible! A couple from East Texas who have lived here for 20 years planned a community PotLuck last night (with only 24 hours notice) to help raise funds for Katrina’s victims. I spent all day making two huge pots of red beans and rice from scratch like I learned while living in New Orleans. Gary was asked to come bring his clarinet and jam with a couple other musicians. The four of us, along with our (ex) son-in-law, all shared our stories and memories of New Orleans. The potluck raised a little over $4700. That is in addition to the $16,000 the Red Cross had already collected in the previous 30 hours on this island (of 2,000 fulltime residents) just sitting outside the grocery store or going door to door to the small businesses in the only small village here. Tourists here this weekend were also contributing. This is only the first of many fund-raisers this community plans to have over the next year. The quilters are meeting this week to begin making quilts for the victims. For a community of this size, they also did an enormous amount of giving after 9-11. It is so gratifying to again see Americans open their hearts and checkbooks and dig deep — and this time open their homes too. We have a long way to go, but it is doable with everyone pulling together.
Karen in the Pacific Northwest
Date: Mon, 05 Sep 2005 14:35:24 -0800 | From: Gloria hanrahan <gloria@>
Christine,
Thanks so much for posting this site. I finally found my “red eye” Singer from the AA series dated 1924-26. Now that I have better information, maybe I can get the two replacement parts I need.
Gloria
Date: Mon, 05 Sep 2005 18:32:25 -0500 | From: Sheryl Till <sctill@>
Gail Ingram wrote: > > Thank you for providing the site for the Nat’l Geographic article. > Actually that article was written almost two years AFTER the outcome it > described was predicted in a joint meeting of federal and state officials > from Gulf states. > > So we’ve known. This information has been shouted from the rooftops both > here and in congress. I got angry just reading it again. So frustrating. >
Thanks Gail for saying words that so many of us here in south Louisiana are feeling. My husband, son, and I are lucky. Our home was spared and although we were without power for several days, we never lost water or phone service, including long distance. We still have jobs.
State, Parish, and local governments have rolled the dice with every storm in every hurricane season. The odds finally went against them or rather went against the people living in those devastated areas. Will it change the way Louisiana does business? I doubt it. It’s a disgrace to see the way our officials have handled this. Our governor and the mayor of New Orleans should absolutely be ashamed for not being prepared to handle this. Governor Blanco has demonstrated her ineptness for making decisions. What is she thinking? Why refuse to relinquish control of the National Guard to the federal government when she clearly does not have the critical decision making skills required?
You are absolutely correct in saying the much needed protective forces should have been staged and waiting to go in. There is no excuse for New Orleans and the surrounding parishes to be forced to endure the danger thrust upon them by thugs and gang members.
This whole situation could have been so different. It would have been bad…no doubt about that…but it could have been more organized and evacuation of those trapped could have been much smoother.
There is no excuse for massive evacuation plans to not already be in place. There is not excuse for those plans to not be a “routine” everyday order of business for our state. Contacts with other states willing and able to take displaced families/individuals should have been made. Evacuation staging areas within New Orleans and other locations should have been identified…people assigned to report to specific areas should have been listed in a database…and the evacuation methods should have been set up and ready to be deployed on notice.
I am not a project planner, engineer, or government official. I am simply a woman with a family, a nurse, a quilter but I can see that our state was horribly unprepared for this inevitable event. That said…what is next? We are in the middle of hurricane season. What is to say the roll of the dice will not be against us once, twice, how many more times before the end of this current season? The thought is almost too much to bear.
I live close to Hammond, LA which is about an hour from New Orleans. Many homes and businesses in Tangipahoa parish where I live are still without power. Trees are down on houses. Houses and other buildings are destroyed. Everything is disrupted.
Please continue to pray for everyone here and for those in Mississippi, Alabama, and other states who were affected. Florida took the early hit. We need to remember them also. The effort to collect quilts is a valiant one. People in shelters will appreciate having something that is their own. Please consider donating to the proper organizations as money is what is needed most at this time.
I’m off the soapbox for now. Thanks for listening.
— Sheryl sctill@ Love feedsacks?
Date: Mon, 5 Sep 2005 17:43:44 -0700 | From: “Christine Thresh” <christine@>
I think it is a waste of time and a waste of this list’s purpose to go on and on about the “political” wrongs in New Orleans and LA.
The city did have emergency plans. See: http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx?portal46
The mayor told people to evacuate on August 27, then on the morning 28th he issued a mandatory evacuation order. He followed all the proper steps.
Christine Thresh
Date: Mon, 5 Sep 2005 18:43:49 -0700 (PDT) | From: Kris Driessen <krisdriessen@>
The topic of politics on this list has come up before. This list does not have a strict “quilt talk only” policy because quilt history cannot exist in a vacuum. Everything about quilts and quilt history is affected by the world around it. To use recent events as an example, how can we discuss quilts made for victims of Katrina without discussing why they were necessary?
I have no problem with people discussing politics – within reason, of course – or expressing their pain on list. If it gets to be too much, I will let the poster know, privately, off list. Flames are not allowed on list. Send them to me at krisdriessen@.
Kris, list mom
Date: Mon, 5 Sep 2005 21:28:30 -0400 | From: “Ilene Brown” <ilene3@>
Barbara, I have five W&G’s. I love them! I piece and quilt easy patterns like outline and in the ditch, with them. Mine have the motor base attached. One day, I want a treadle base. I have four original manuals which I got on Ebay. All but one of my machines, I purchased on Ebay. I bought my first one four to five years ago. They handle thicker fabrics and the quilt sandwich better than most other machines and without walking foot. I get new needles from Graham who runs the ISMAC site. Ilene of Raleigh, NC
Date: Mon, 5 Sep 2005 23:51:27 -0400 | From: “Alan Kelchner” <alanalanrkelchner.com>
<grin> I figured out that needle was special today. I haven’t been able to locate needles on line (yet). Can you direct me to a dealer? I really appreciate it.
Alan
Alan R. Kelchner Fiber Artist
From: Judy Knorr
I have been most interested in reading the thoughts of those who experienced the hurricane first hand or are involved in the relief efforts. The information may include some political opinions, but who among us has not already expressed thoughts about preparedness? Thanks to Gail and others for their thoughtful insight, some of which I have shared with friends who are also looking for information outside the media picture! Judy Knorr
Date: Tue, 6 Sep 2005 11:41:58 | From: Palampore@
After our discussion of leather “quilts”, I thought I would share these leather star placemats on Ebay. Once more we see leather being used as with a quilt pattern. Pretty neat!!!
_http://cgi.ebay.com/LEATHER-Cowhide-PLACEMATS-STAR-Pattern-12-inch-Round (http://cgi.ebay.com/LEATHER-Cowhide-PLACEMATS-STAR-Pattern-12-inch-Round_
As for the storm…..unfortunately we become hardened to the warnings after living on the coast for so many years. The odds are usually in the favor of the storm not hitting, so many people don’t leave. I have lived in eastern NC most of my 52 years. Rarely is it bad enough to leave, but more and more we are seeing that we must just in case. BUT where do you go??? (And if you do leave and drive several hours inland you have to take vacation time, rent a hotel, pay for gas, abandon your home and pets, etc. Then you worry about a tree hitting your house and ripping a hole in the roof, and it taking you a day to get home while the rain pours in.) I have known people who have left the coastline to go inland, and then be hit inland with the coast getting just a hefty breeze and a few downed branches. Actually people have gone to the Piedmont area and not been able to return to their safe homes on the coast due to the damage done in the Piedmont. (Hugo did this to Charlotte, and another did that to Raleigh.) Therefore, it is a tough one to call. It is also a tough call for the government especially. If the storm doesn’t hit, people complain about all the money they spent evacuating people, and the revenue lost by the businesses. If they don’t evacuate everyone and it hits, then they get the complaints. All hurricanes generate a great deal of “what ifs” due to the unpredictable nature of them. Our experience in eastern NC with Floyd flooding was much like NO’s. The hurricane hit and everyone gave a big sigh of relief. It wasn’t too bad. Unfortunately within 24 hours all hell broke loose and it was awful. The high tides, the surges, the moon, etc. worked together and overflowed the river banks, not the levees. It was called a 100 yr. flood. My heart aches for all of them in LA, AL, and Miss. Let’s concentrate on taking notes this time, and learning from it to use later. I know the Floyd survivors have been very helpful to the Gulf area helping them prepare for what they are going to face as this all unfolds. Lynn Lancaster Gorges New Bern, NC —-where we are now watching the weather map to see if Ophelia becomes a hurricane and comes up our way—— I don’t like winter, but I do like Nov. because the hurricanes are pretty much gone by then. Fall is a nerve racking time for those of us near the coast.
