University of Nebraska: Day One

June 27, 2011

Last night I experienced my first Nebraskan severe thunderstorm.  Not much different than Indiana, however, there was hail in both storms.  One hit around 8 PM and the second around 1:30 AM.  The hail kept getting larger and larger, but it didn't damage my car.

Today was my first day as a Cornhusker.  It was a shock and awe kind of day.  I think I feel like a 6^th grader at Survivor  Camp.  You walk in a little nervous, but looking forward to the hot dog and bag of chips at the end of the day and instead you walk in and have to learn the school song, lunch rules, school improvement goals and pay your book fees.  You eat your hot dog and leave excited, but a little overwhelmed.  This is how I feel tonight.

There are eight students in our class at the International Quilt Study Center.  They are from Missouri, Oregon, Texas, Florida, Nebraska, Minnesota, Illinois and Indiana.  All are in the doctorial or masters program at U of N—with the exception of ME!  That could make me feel a bit like a bottom feeder, however, I have understood everything so far.  The instructor is very nice and has a wonderful, broad based background in textile history.  She is also doing work as a textile CSI investigator.  Very interesting.

So far everyone has offered a place for me to stay on the remainder of my trip.  I may take Janet up on her offer.  She is a 4-H educator for a three county area in the Sandhills of Nebraska.  Janet is working on her masters.  As an employee of U of N she receives free tuition.  This will be a fun week with my new friends.  Everyone is kind and a little envious of my summer activities.

The class itself is fascinating.  I am learning so much.  Today we also went into the inner workings of the museum and learned that each of us will be working with a quilt that has been recently donated into the collection.  Each of us will research and analyze the fabric of the quilt, date it, and write a description of the quilt. This information will be utilized by the museum.  Stop laughing….I’m sure I will be well supervised!!

We examined several quilts today and also different sections of fabric scraps from the mid 18^th century.  When I was examining a quilt with a special magnifying glass, I could hardly contain my excitement.  I could only think—WOW!!  I will be doing this for four more days!!!

The Uof N community is looking forward to joining the Big Ten Conference.  I saw a t-shirt that said “All my ex’s live in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Iowa.”  There may have been another state on it, but I don’t remember.  It was pretty cute. 

Lunch today was at the U of N Dairy Store.  Great ice cream made from U of N dairy milk. The dairy store is a Nebraskan legend that has apparently been around since the beginning of time.  I recommend chocolate mint ice cream.

Nebraska City

June 26, 2011

Today is a catch your breath and prepare for the coming week kind of day.  Many thanks to all of my friends who let me know about the article in the paper.  I was able to read it online.

I arrived in Lincoln last night about 8:30 pm.  I spent Saturday as a volunteer at Lake Iowa County Park where Laura is the county naturalist.  Spending the day with thirteen third graders made me once again realize that while eighth graders have their quirks, I would much rather work with them instead of third graders.  Laura had a full day planned for the Brownie troop and I was her able assistant.  My job was to start the charcoal for the Dutch oven cooking event.  Of course it started raining at the same time that I was starting the fire.  I fought the rain and I won!!  With only a little help from the park ranger and a blow torch I was able to get the fire started.

After the day at the park, we both headed out on our five hour drive to Lincoln.  We took separate vehicles.  I will be starting my class at the University of Nebraska tomorrow and Laura will be meeting with early childhood education people at the Uof N regarding a nature explore classroom.  Laura applied for and received a grant to build a nature explore classroom at her park.  Now she is doing the fun part—investigating and planning.  She will stay with me for a couple of days while she studies the various nature explore classrooms in the greater Lincoln-Omaha area.  She is also meeting with people from Creighton University.  (I’m really proud of what she has accomplished in a year at the park.) We are both excited about the timing of her visit—quite an unexpected treat.

Today we went to Nebraska City and visited the Arbor Day Farm.  They have an ultra-cool nature explore classroom.  We played in the nature explore classroom(see her above playing the marimba), took a hike, visited the greenhouse area, and received our free trees.  We received tiny white pine trees (see photo above).  Laura will plant our trees near the new bird blind at the nature center. I fully expected to see a statue of Paul Beckwith planting a tree.  I love doing nature activities with Laura.  She answers all of my questions.  While we were in Nebraska City, we ate a classic “Runza”, which is some type of meat pie with unidentifiable ingredients.  I would call it a loose meat slider.  It will never be my favorite.  I enjoyed it more once I picked most of the meat out of it.  Cherries are in season here so we stopped at a local orchard and decided to pick our own—we figured it was better for us than just buying fudge.  The cherries were yummy!!

Our last stop for the day was at a downtown quilt store which was a little odd.  Laura and I play a game when we go fabric shopping.  We usually critique the restroom facilities and also discuss what we would do differently if we owned the store.  This store was a little eerie and almost creepy.  We both found some fabric that we wanted.  Laura asked to use the restroom (quilt stores almost always have cool bathrooms) and the lady said that she couldn’t let her use the restroom because she doesn’t have any hot water.  Then we wondered about her cutting our fabric, eating her lunch, etc. without properly washing her hands and we both chuckled at the possibilities.  We ended up creating a story about the rotary cutter slasher and the perfect crime that was committed in the cherry orchard on the outskirts of a small Nebraska prairie town.

Amana Colonies

June 22, 2011   

Imagine living in a cashless cooperative society in the early 1900s.  Your children attend school year round six days each week.  They go to school all day and after school they are given time to play, but are reminded to be productive.  Most kids tend small flower gardens during this time.  All meals are served in the cooperative’s kitchen.  The menu rotates over a one month period. You don’t have a kitchen or food in your home.  You are given breakfast, lunch, dinner and a morning and afternoon snack.  You are assigned a job.  You might work in the cooperative’s laundry, kitchen, garden, or on the farm.  If you had skills you might quilt, sew, weave wool, or make baskets.  Men would work in the blacksmith shop, brewery, winery, woolen mill or coopery.  Every person had a job and every person was treated equally.  You did not earn cash, but instead your earned credit or points for items not provided to you by the cooperative.  You purchased your home with points.  Last but by no means least—you attend church eleven times each week.  You attend services that represent your current position in your faith with God.  If you need to repent, you attend that type of service.  Maybe you need to go to confession, maybe you are at peace with God, you will attend the service that will tend to your specific needs.

If you wanted to marry, you would apply to the cooperative for permission.  They would remind you that they would rather you not marry, but they usually would grant approval for you to wed.  They would set the date for you and you would wait at least a year.  The bride’s family would see to it that she made a few winter quilts, several sets of sheets, tablecloths, and rugs.  The groom’s family would provide a few summer quilts or coverlets.  The wedding would be held on a weekday, with no guests.  A wedding dinner would be provided for well wishers.  The bride would then go home with her parents and the groom with his parents.  The couple would live apart for a set period of time before they were allowed to live under the same roof, however, they would sleep in separate beds for the rest of their married life.  They did however, manage to reproduce.

The Amana Colonies survived and thrived up until the late 1920’s when the flour mill experienced a dust explosion. The ensuing fire carried over to the woolen mill.  This uninsured loss was too much for the cooperative to handle and it was ultimately disbanded a short time later.

Quilting in the Amana Colonies is very different from what most of us visualize when we think of quilt.  First of all their quilts look more like a modern day comforter.  They only cover the top of the bed and they do not hang down over the edges or pull up over the pillow.  Their quilts were stuffed with feathers from the fowl around the farm.  Quilts were approximately the width of the bed squared.

No quilts survived the trip over from Germany (over 250 years ago) as there was not room for a mere blanket.  Other possessions were far more valuable.  Quilts were often remade when they became worn.  The stitches would be removed, the wool cleaned and re-carded and then the quilt would be remade.  The wool was from the local mill and sateen or printed calico from the calico factory in Amana.  The quilts were very plain and not pieced.   Since the quilts were often remade there are no quilts older than seventy-five years.  The Amana Colonies quilting tradition is carried forth today by a small group of people that understand the value of this craft via the art guild in the current community.

Herbert Hoover Presidential Museum and Library

June 21, 2011      

You might ask how Herbert Hoover connects to my project.  He does and he doesn’t.  My trip could also be titled:  Every Place Mom Wanted to Stop but Nobody Else Wanted to See.  Actually, he connects in that one of his legacies he gave to our nation was organizing a major food relief operation to the people of Belgium during WWI.  In return, the women of Belgium used the relief flour sacks to create needlework art.  Some pieces were sold, some were sent to the milling companies in the Allied nations that provided the grain as a token of thanks.  Eventually, some 450 embroidered sacks were sent to Herbert Hoover to thank him for his humanitarian relief efforts.  Many of these sacks are now on permanent display in the presidential museum.  The women were very creative as they tried to make do with their limited resources.

Hoover had a very unique and interesting life.  Once he became President he made it a priority to purchase his boyhood home and began purchasing the surrounding acreage as it became available.  The National Park Service did the same upon his death.  The library-museum compound now consists of his restored boyhood home, school, meetinghouse (Quaker), blacksmith shop (his father’s), a rather large park (maybe 75 acres), the graves of Hoover and his wife, and an 81 acre restored prairie.

Highlights of his life include being a geological engineer.  He was known as a “doctor of sick mines” and worked as a mining engineer in Australia.  He made a great deal of money and was a millionaire by the age of 40.  He then began his career in public service.  He played key roles in the American Relief Administration (WWI) as well as, CARE, and UNICEF.   Unfortunately, he was also the standing President of the United States on October 29, 1929, which appears to be the legacy that we remember.

The grounds are beautiful and really set the tone for what rural life was like in Iowa years ago.  I did see a pair of great horned owls on the property.  The ranger told me that this was the second year that they have had nesting owls in the park.  After a windstorm this spring, they found two nestlings on the ground with the remains of their nest.  They contacted owl experts who said it was imperative that they put the birds back into the tree.  They suggested a milk crate stuck up in the nest’s former location.  This is what they did—the crate remains in the tree and the nestlings are now quite large and can often be seen roosting on the cupola of the Presidential Library. 

The Tallgrass Prairie Restoration made me feel like a pioneer walking across the prairie.  It was beautiful!  Unfortunately, the whine of tires from I-80 and seeing McDonalds in the distance ruined the moment, but also reminded me of the why prairies like this need to be restored.

Adel and Winterset, Iowa

June 18

The drive to Adel would have been amazing; however, the fog limited my field of vision to about one hundred yards in any direction.  Occasionally you could catch a glimpse of the rolling green countryside to see what you were missing. 

The Prairie Women’s Sewing Circle was great fun.  The women around thirty in all were very welcoming.  Many brought their completed projects to share.  I was reminded that we all have gifts to share and our creativity varies greatly from one person to the next.  The teacher, Virginia, invited us to make fabric yo-yos as we listened to her speak.  She says she does this to keep her students from talking.  Hmmmm….I wonder what would happen if I gave eighth graders a needle, thread and fabric….if you give a mouse a cookie…comes to mind as do body piercings.

The guest speaker was from a local museum and she brought in signature quilts that were made in the local area from the 1850s to 1976.

We learned different ways signatures were added to quilts.  They vary from using indigo ink, embroidery floss and some type of ink made from an oak tree that was actually very acidic and would eat the fabric over a period of a few years.  This ink wasn’t in use for very long.  So much for those heirloom quilts.

After my class, which was delightful, I went south to Winterset, Iowa.  The birthplace of John Wayne is the main draw to Winterset.  My draw was to see the covered bridges in the surrounding countryside of Madison County.  Yes, I could visualize Clint Eastwood photographing the bridges while his thoughts were filled with his love, Francesca.

The bridges are scattered all over the county and one is still in actual use.  Apparently, way back when, the county declared that all bridges must be covered.  It was cheaper to maintain the covering on the bridge than it was to repair the exposed areas of the actual bridge.  Bridges were named for the adjacent land owner.  Multitudes of visitors are attracted to the bridges each year.  I loved the book, The Bridges of Madison County—it is one of my all time favorites—the movie—not so much, but still good.

The drive back to Iowa City was spectacular!!!  The sky was clear and the views of the rolling hills made the four hour round trip well worth the effort.

Kalona, Iowa

June 17, 2022

Kalona is a small farming community about 15 miles south of Iowa City.  Kalona’s claim to fame is the Amish community in the surrounding area and it is well known for its quilts.

I’ve been to Kalona and its quilt stores before, but this visit was to learn more about the community and the quilts that have made it famous.

The local historical museum has a fabulous display of locally made quilts from the 1850s to present day.  A local quilt historian donated her collection to the historical society with the stipulation that they build a building with appropriate lighting and climate control to protect the quilts.  The community rose to the challenge and built a building to support the quilts and also added a community room for local use and to welcome the busloads of tourists that invade on a regular basis.  The community while prosperous it is no Shipshewana.

The museum also contains a collection of thread display cases.  Apparently, back in the day, a merchant could earn a thread case by selling a certain amount of thread.  The more thread you sold, the nicer the case you received.  A local merchant began collecting the display cases and amassed a rather large collection.  His family owned a general store for generations and the cases were on display in the store.  Six years ago the store caught on fire.  The local firemen created a human chain and were able to save all of the thread cases.  These were very interesting to see.  If you have old wooden spools of thread, look on the ends to see if they have an “ONT” printed on the end.  It means “our new thread” and was printed on the spools to indicate that the thread was from a new process designed to eliminate thick spots on the thread.  It was necessary to have consistent thread to use in the new treadle sewing machines.

Kalona has also imbedded colored tiles in their sidewalks that depict various quilt blocks.  This was done to generate business in their downtown area.  I think this has been a successful venture for them as there were several people photographing them on the day of my visit.

Departure Day

June 16, 2011 

It is hard to describe my feelings as I left Angola for a five week adventure throughout the Midwest.  My excitement far overshadowed my nervousness at the prospect of being alone for at least four weeks.  It was difficult to leave my mother, knowing that she looks forward to spending time with me on a regular basis.  I am counting on my siblings to whisk her away for a day or two this summer.  Mom won’t want to leave her cat, my husband, or my plants.  But my husband will take care of her cat and the plants. 

Receiving a Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellowship does not reflect the efforts of one individual who has the opportunity to write the grant, it reflects the many, many people that have shaped and impacted the life of the person writing the grant.  My parents gave me freedom and the desire to see how others live.  I refer to this as “my itchy feet” or my unbridled need to travel.   When I was 19 my parents gave me their blessing and $500 to use as I spent the summer in Europe with my high school pal, Kathy.  My parents never questioned me, but always offered support for my endeavors.

My husband’s quiet encouragement means the world to me.  His world is so different than mine.  He is content to stay at home, putter around the barn and care for his multitude of critters.  I’m not like that at all.  I need to get out and see the world.  Doc understands this need of mine and gives me the freedom to explore, learn, and grow.  He knows where my heart lives.

Laura gives me inspiration and such great joy.  She pushes me and constantly challenges me to move onto the next level.  I wouldn’t be quilting if Laura hadn’t taunted me with her beautiful creations.  We both quilt for different reasons—I think anyway.  She loves to create and I love to learn how things were done before me.

My siblings—one of God’s many gifts to me (and no my fingers aren’t crossed) bring meaning to my life.  They are all successful in their own right, all have wonderful families and they have taught me to fight for the good things in life—the last popsicle in the freezer, the front seat of the car, the purple dinner plate and the coveted spot in front of the register on a cold winter day.

My great, great grandmother Caroline is my kindred spirit and I bring her with me on this journey.  I’ve never met her and know very little about her, but I feel a closeness to her that I cannot describe.  She would be proud of me.

Last but not least, I am grateful to my friends for their support.  My co-workers at Angola Middle School help me keep things in perspective.  We joke that we could write a book and laugh because nobody would believe what we witness on a daily basis.  My mentors Ann and Brant push me forward; Chris H. inspires me to learn.  Of course, where would I be without Anita—she has spent hours and walked miles listening to me plan this trip.  What a blessing she is in my life.

With this said, I begin my journey.