Mar08_04

On Feb 2, 2008, two of Braxton County's quilters - Joy Fritz and Rosemary Fisher
travelled to Teays Valley, WV, to take part in the Home of the Brave Quilt Project.

State wide quilting guilds united at the Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Teays Valley to
sew quilts to honor the 34 fallen West Virginia soldiers. Putnam Piecemaker Quilt Guild
President Maribeth Shreve proclaimed, "These will be quilts from the heart that hopefully
will remind the families that we care about them and their lost loved ones." This is a simple
heart felt thank you to the families and letting them know their loved ones are not
forgotten.

It all started 2 months ago when Governor Joe Manchin and the Putnam Piecemakers Quilt
Guild presented the first quilt to Samantha Lanham, twin sister of WV fallen solder,
Michael Slater, who was killed in the Spring of 2007. Quickly after the presentation and
media coverage, a local resident, Bob Pedley pledged money for the Home of the Brave
quilts and then local McDonald's owners Fred Haughey and Anderson Haughey pledged to
cover the cost of making the remaining quilts for every fallen soldier from WV. Shreve says
she never imagined the local response to the quilts.

                  The Home of the Brave Quilt is a reproduction of the quilts that women made
                  for men leaving for battle in the Civil War era. The men carried the quilts with
                  them to sleep under and many were buried in them as well. The quilts were
                  made to fit a soldier's bunk bed so are an odd size by today's standards.
                  The quilts will be made using patriotic red, white and cream to match what
                   the women used back in the Civil War days. The quilts are being given to the
                  soldier's next of kin. Once the quilts are completed, a ceremony will be held to
                  present them to the family if they wish to participate.
(click quilt)        Everyone will be welcome to attend.