Some things last if you put a lot of heart into them. Sewn together in 1976, a star-spangled red, white and blue quilt created by the Brantley County Women’s Club is still as vibrant as the day it was made, 50 years later.
The Women’s Club is no longer active and most of its members have “gone to be with the Lord”, says former club president Mrs. Sidney Walker, but the quilt they created still remains and, by good fortune, wound up in the hands of her son.
Each year, the Women’s Club would host a tea social to welcome the new teachers starting with the school system later that fall. In order to help pay for the food and drink to host the event, Walker and the other ladies sewed up a special quilt commemorating the United States’ 200th anniversary, the nation in the grip of bicentennial fever.
Raffle tickets were sold for a chance to win the patriotic creation and it just so happened Walker’s son, Mike, purchased the winning ticket.
Mrs. Sidney Walker and her son, Mike, hold up the patriotic quilt won in a 1976 raffle. It was crafted by the Brantley Women’s Club. SPECIAL PHOTO
In 1976, Mike Walker was stationed at Moody Air Force Base, working as an aircraft maintenance technician, so it seems appropriate that an enlisted man won.
These days, Mrs. Walker lives out at the Okefenokee Country Club. Her son makes his home on St. Simons Island, but both were glad to spend some time rememering the old beloved quilt as America’s 250th anniversary looms near.
Comments