The fellowship and legacy of quilting, more than just fabric and thread

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By Missy Klatt

Making quilts for others has been a long standing tradition at both Trinity Lutheran Church in Boyceville and Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Glenwood City. The group at Trinity started in the mid 60s while the gals at Holy Cross say that there has been a group there since the churches consolidated and formed Holy Cross which was in 1969.

Trinity

The ladies at Trinity are a lively bunch and very excited to share about their days quilting. The group on hand the day I interviewed them consisted of 13 lovely ladies ranging in age from 92-65. Sadly they just lost one of their long time quilters, Shirley Dow, just a few weeks ago. Pastor Brad Peterson was also there. He usually lends a hand in tying some of the quilts if he’s around.

Trinity has had such a strong group of quilters, that when they built their new building they designated a room just for quilting. Unfortunately it’s really not quite big enough and the ladies have threatened to knock down the wall between their room and Pastor’s office to create more room. That hasn’t happened yet, so they just spill out into the fellowship hall instead.

The ladies at Trinity meet every Tuesday morning from 9 a.m. till noon with a coffee break in between with treats of course. Last year the ladies started doing a potluck the first Tuesday of the month and every fourth month they go out to eat at a local eatery. This is just another part of their fellowship and camaraderie. One of the members remarked “we have so much fun.”

Sandy Wheeler, one of the younger ones of the group comments, “we’ve all become really good friends.” She continues by saying that she is so honored to be with these ladies every week and honored with what they have done all these years. Becky Nyhus adds we’re there, supporting the ups and downs. Cheryl Wyss remarks, “we cry, we laugh, we get angry and then we go to the altar.” Which brought peals of laughter from all.

The younger members also state that they learn so much from the “more mature” ladies in the group. Mary Hetzel, said when she moved to the area four years ago her mother-in-law suggested that she come to quilting to help her meet people. “I was afraid I wouldn’t get the knot right. Now it comes second nature.” 

Besides the Hetzels, the group also boast a mother-daughter duo with Shirley Bloom and Sharon Formoe.

Most of the quilts that the ladies make go to Lutheran World Relief (LWR). In 2023 they sent 73 quilts there along with 145 baby care kits, 70 personal care kits and 26 school bags and Carol Erickson crochets sweaters and hats for young children. She has crocheted well over 1,000 over the years. 

Their quilt giving doesn’t stop there. Every baby that is baptized at church receives a quilt as well as every confirmand. Shirley Bloom makes most of the baby quilts. They also give quilts to church members who are sick, to WestCap, to Menomonie Hospital, to Luther Park for their quilt auction, for raffles in town, one for the spirit of Christmas and a couple to be raffled off at the October craft sale to benefit the women’s group at church.

Before they pack up the quilts to send to LWR, Pastor Brad does a blessing of the quilts which are displayed over the backs of the pews.

To get this many quilts done several of the ladies; Carol Erickson, Sharon Formoe, Darlene Schmidt, Sandy Wheeler, Becky Nyhus and Cheryl Wyss make quilt tops at home. Then when they meet at the church many quilts are able to be tied and the binding sewed on. Eloise Knutson, one of the 92 year olds who also has been a member of Trinity the longest of the group, threads all the needles for the ladies.

They have many people who donate fabric and they are very appreciative of the Action teams that Thrivent has provided over the years to help with other supplies.

The ladies invite all to join them. They are more then willing to teach all aspects of quilting for those interested. In the process you will probably make some new friends.

Holy Cross

The group at Holy Cross who are lead by Mary Ann Ross, meets once a month on the fourth Thursday except for November and December when they meet earlier in the month due to the holidays. Mary Ann gets there early, to get everything ready to go, sometimes before 8 a.m. and the others arrive when they can. By 9:30 they are breaking for coffee and some sweet treats, quite often Mary Ann’s cinnamon rolls and then at noon they have a delicious pot luck.

The Holy Cross Quilters make about 100 quilts a year which they also give to Lutheran World Relief (LWR). Fortunately LWR has a collection site in St. Paul, so usually Mary Ann’s daughter, Paula Anderson and family will run quilts up there a couple of times a year. Mary Ann mentioned that years ago Pastor Ralph Thompson used to deliver them for the ladies.

Besides donating quilts to LWR  they also donate some quilts to Grace Place in New Richmond as well as make some pillows for them. When residents leave Grace Place they take their pillow with them so there is always a need for new pillows.

As with the group at Trinity, Becky Hahn probably had the perfect statement “our fellowship is very important to us”. Susan Kahler concurs and wishes they would meet every week. Pam Larson remarks “it gets me out of the house”. They all agree beside the sense of accomplishment that they have built friendships with their fellow quilters.

The day I stopped at Holy Cross the group was a bit smaller but they get upwards of 14 people when they meet. Unfortunately they too just recently lost one of their faithful quilters, Sue Anderson. Dorothy Magnuson who will turn 99 in August still makes an occasional appearance. Dorothy didn’t join the quilters until after she retired but she was one of the busiest members sewing many, many quilt tops at home. Now a days Mary Ann does most of the quilt tops but has also received several from Lavonne Casseillus. 

Quilting at Holy Cross is a community endeavor and while most are members of Holy Cross, not all are. They also receive donations of fabric and notions from various people in the community. Anyone is welcome to come and help. You also need not know how to quilt. There are jobs for everyone. 

One job somewhat unique to the Holy Cross Quilters is that of the “kitchen gal”. For years now, Velma Crosby has taken care of getting things ready for coffee break and heating up food etc. for their potluck. Along with this she also does the dishes. However Velma is ready to pass the torch and has been training April Goodwin to take over for her.

Mary Ann who has been in charge of the group three different times, with this last time going on 18 years recalls that back in the day (30 years ago or so) they would have four sewing machines and an old treadle machine going on workdays. She also recalls many of the past who were long time members of the group at one time; Doris Teigen, Martina Syme, Maryann Nyhus, Ann Thompson, Orella Kelm and Frieda Busch just to name a few. She said often back then they would have 20-25 ladies working.

While these quilts may not win any ribbons at the county fair they have a more practical purpose. The simple quilts will be distributed across the country and the globe for those in need and will provide comfort and warmth. One fairly recent example is that many quilts were given to earthquake survivors in Turkey (2023) who lost their homes and have been living in tents.

If you are looking to get involved in a great cause and would love to make new friends, then maybe consider joining the ladies at Trinity or Holy Cross. All are welcome!