Exhibit at Sevierville Spirit Care Center showcased generations of Appalachian craftsmanship and personal memories.
(SEVIERVILLE, Tenn.) SMOKIES.LIVE — For generations, quilts have served as more than blankets in Appalachia. They have preserved family history, honored military service and passed stories from one generation to the next.
That tradition was on display during the annual Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, as residents at Spirit Care Center in Sevierville welcomed visitors to view quilts ranging from modern creations to heirlooms nearly a century old.
Among those making the trip was Bonny Hilburn of Loris, South Carolina, who traveled nearly nine hours with members of her quilting guild to experience the event.
“I’m part of a quilt guild in Conway,” Hilburn said. “There’s about 80 of us, and we do an entry in the convention center. We do the quilts, and we just come as a group to see what’s going on.”
Throughout the exhibit, each quilt carried its own story.
Barbara Huntley shared one of the room’s most treasured pieces — a Quilt of Valor made especially for her husband, a military veteran. She said the quilt took about three months to complete and remained one of his prized possessions until his death last year.
“It was made especially for him,” Huntley said. “None of the Quilts of Valor are alike. They’re all unique, and his is especially pretty.”
Other quilts reflected acts of kindness rather than family history.
One resident recalled receiving a handmade quilt from a church group that donated enough quilts for every resident to choose one.
“They came in and gave us two great big crates of these, and we all got to pick one,” Jane Fuscellaro said.
Another resident said she never learned to quilt she now knows ‘Tie Quilting’ is easier, especially for someone with arthritis that made stitching difficult.
“They showed me it’s easier than sewing,” she said. “You just tie it. They said with arthritis fingers, sometimes this is easier than the stitching.”
For Shirley Whitley, the quilt on her chair represents both faith and friendship.
She said the quilt was given to her and her husband by someone who appreciated his ministry and asked only that they never part with it.
“I’m not a quilter,” Whitley said with a laugh. “I tried quilting one time, and the stitches were about this long, and it was crooked.”
Some of the oldest quilts connected visitors with relatives they never met.
One quilt, handmade in 1917 by Ruby Slade of El Dorado, Arkansas, was sewn from dresses her daughter had outgrown. More than a century later, the fabric offers descendants a glimpse into their family’s past.
“So now I can see what my mother wore,” the quilt’s owner said.
For Huntley, the piece also held special meaning.
“Her quilt is special to me, too, because my grandmother was born a year after that lady’s grandmother was born,” she said. “That could have been my grandmother that made that quilt.”
The exhibit also sparked memories for some of the center’s oldest residents, who reflected on the many changes they’ve witnessed over nearly a century.
“I’ve gone through the thick and thin,” Geraldine Morrow said. “I’ve had a good life, and everything has changed considerably. A 3-cent stamp is now, I think, going to 82 cents. Just everything is different.”
Hilburn, who took up quilting after retiring nine years ago, said she hopes the quilts she creates today will become family treasures for future generations.
“I’m the only quilter in my family,” she said. “It’s just awesome to quilt. I would never get to the experience of some of these people.”
For many of those who attended the exhibit, the quilts represented more than fabric and thread. They were reminders that history is often stitched together one piece at a time, preserving stories that continue to warm generations long after they are made.
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