Thursday, December 10, 2020

Stories of the Past



Hello!
Hope everyone is well.

This evening's post is on an exhibit I went to 
Thanksgiving week. Socially distanced of 
course.



Our county Historical Museum put on this exhibit. 
It highlights the museum's quilt collection and the 
stories of the families who made them. All the quilts 
combined patch together the unique history of our 
county. When you think of a quilt, what comes to 
mind? Do you think of why we use them, the story 
behind them, who made the quilt?
When seen as a historical artifact, they are more 
complex. History, emotion, family and friends come 
to mind. Quilts of the past represent special events 
and were gifted then passed down to family and 
friends as they are today. Every quilt tells a story as 
does every family.

Below are some of the quilts in the exhibit. They had 
id tags and stories about each quilt but I did not post 
those pics.
 











OOPS!




The quilt above was a fave of mine not for the quilt 
itself but for the story behind it. 
Betsy Ingalsbe Thomas made the quilt, She was born 
in Massachusetts in 1788. Her son brought the quilt 
to our county with their family. He and his wife had 
a daughter, Jessie. She was a smart child. As a young 
woman she taught in the county schools. She saved up
her money in order to go 
to a Women's Medical College 
in Chicago. In 1886, she earned her medical degree and 
sat up a medical practice in a neighboring city here. 
Doctors made house calls back then and she traveled 
around the area providing care for  area residents.
In 1905, Dr. Thomas married. In those days women 
gave up their jobs once they married but before she 
married she made her fiance agree that she could 
continue as the community Dr. Go girl!  In the pic 
above the quilt, you can see her Dr. bag.
**you can also read the rest of the story above , 
I have given the highlights. Click on the pic.


This quilt has an interesting story also. Click the 
pic if you are interested.




I love the stories behind old quilts. New ones too. 
Such a fun exhibit to see and for most of the the 
time I was there, no one else came in so I could 
putze around without feeling like I was in the way 
of someone else.

Happy Friday!

Blogger would not let me me changes to this post,
please forgive the jumps.


~Keep on Dreaming~




2 comments:

  1. I would love to see this exhibit. The story of the doctor is the kind of history I love to hear about. Such beautiful quilts!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It was a great exhibit!
    Glad you enjoyed.

    M : )

    ReplyDelete

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