Barn Quilts and the American Quilt Trail Movement

ohio

 ohio Ihad begun my exploration of Ohio’s quilt trails at its beginnings—in Adams and Brown Counties. On the way out of the state, a special event made a stop in Gallia County a priority. When Donna Sue went to Gallia County a couple of years earlier to talk about the quilt trail, Roy McGinnis and Gale Leslie of the Bob Evans Farm and Heritage Museum were also taken with the story of Maxine’s quilting. They visited Maxine in 2007, and when they saw the extent of her work, they decided to mount a one-woman exhibition the following year. Gale curated the exhibit, which was in place from April to December 2008 and Wlled Wve rooms of the museum’s farmhouse with Maxine’s art. Maxine recalled, “There were literally thousands of people who came through, and nearly everyone had a quilt story of some sort. Some were more interested in one than another and would say, ‘My mother made a quilt like this one,’ or ‘My grandmother did.’ There were all sorts of questions. It was a lifetime experience for me and one that I had never hoped to have. “One of the most interesting things for me was that I was surprised at the extent of my work. I also crochet and embroider, and I just didn’t realize that I had done that much in my lifetime.” Donna Sue said, “To see her so happy and to be celebrated—that was awesome . I did realize how talented she was, but to see it all together took my breath away. It was also the dedication of their two quilt squares, so combining Mother’s barn quilts and the american quilt trail movement  artist exhibit and the opening of the quilt trail was magniWcent. Friends and colleagues came from all over Ohio and West Virginia, and that was very exciting for both me and Mother.” The two quilt squares were painted by Rio Grande University students and added to the dairy barn on the property to mark the occasion. One of the blocks combines the map of the county with an Ohio Star block and a Xeur-de-lis emblem , to create a logo for the county’s quilt trail. The other is Central Star, a Welsh pattern that acknowledges the settlers who came to the area from Wales. I didn’t have time to savor Maxine’s exhibition for as long as I would have liked; in my single-minded focus on barn quilts, I had set aside only half an hour to view the work of a lifetime. It was late in the afternoon when I set oV for my next destination. The Fellure barn is a long and narrow gray structure that sits so close to busy Route 7 that I passed right by. I neared a huge power plant and Wgured I had gone too far, and on my return I located the barn easily. By the time I had my car precariously tucked away, out of traYc and out of sight, John and Wanda Fellure had come out to speak to me about the red, white, and blue Texas Broken Star that faces the road. The patriotic quilt square is surrounded by smaller red and blue stars, and a plaque below the square lists the name, dedication date, and inscription: “In Memory of Wanda V. Waugh.” “That was my mother,” Wanda said with a catch in her voice. “This was one of the quilts that she quilted in high school, and she was always so proud of it.” I headed toward Lincoln Pike, where before too long I encountered a massive red barn whose entire end was painted with the words, “Niday Farm Centennial 1904–2004.” After greeting me at the farmhouse door, Mary Niday escorted me to the side of the barn, where the quilt block is painted directly on the barn’s sliding doors. I was impressed with the artistry, which included tiny calico Xowers in the red, white, and blue design and smaller quilt squares surrounding the quilt block. Mary and I looked through album upon album of photos of barns and family, and she eventually shared the humorous story behind her quilt square. Rather than creating a quilt block based on her earlier sewing, Mary did quite the opposite. Mary had made a batch of quilt blocks back in 1976 for the country’s bicentennial, each a diVerent pattern in patriotic colors. She wanted to make a...