ROWLESBURG — A 70-plus-year-old “fundraising quilt” that will be displayed at the Szilagyi Center on Labor Day is more than a piece of history. The quilt is made of 42 blocks with 16 embroidered names per block, and 13 names along one edge, a total of 685 names.
“The quilt was embroidered and hand-quilted by the Methodist Women’s Circle,” Vickie Jackson said. “At that time, chances could not be purchased, as the Methodist Church looked upon it as gambling. To circumvent this, people purchased names to be embroidered on the quilt. When the quilt was completed, a name was drawn who could receive the quilt.”
Jackson said to make the quilt the blocks had to be sewn into a top for the quilt, the filling and bottom attached. Once this was done, the names had to be embroidered in the squares before it could be quilted. She said it probably took several years to make the quilt.
Mary Jon Weltman-Riggs said her father Richard Weltman’s name was drawn and he was given the quilt. She said at that time, he was serving as mayor of Rowlesburg and ran afoul of the Methodist Women’s Circle, who believed his attempt to raise funds for a firetruck was gambling.
“My father wanted to buy a fire truck,” Weltman-Riggs said. “He was having people pay to get a bingo card but no money was paid out to the winner. Instead, they were given staple items like coffee or sugar that was donated by local merchants. The Women’s Circle worked day and night to get the bingo game closed down.”
Weltman-Riggs said her name is incorrect on the quilt.
“My great uncle John Pugh and great aunt Molly Pugh (who was a member of the Women’s Circle) never had children. When my mother announced should her firstborn be a girl she was going to name her Mary Jon, Pearce’s (Weltman-Riggs’ mother) reasoning for this coming from a very large family, there had never been a Mary or a John,” she said.
Weltman-Riggs said Molly wanted her to be named Molly Jon after her.
“Molly was bedridden due to rheumatoid arthritis, but ran the Methodist Women’s Circle with an iron fist via her crank telephone,” she said. “The phone was just around the corner, and she’d have her husband bring it to her.”
She said when her father purchased the names to be embroidered she (Mary Jon) was around 3 years old, yet, the Methodist Women’s Circle, wanting to stay on the good side of Molly, embroidered her name as Molly Jon instead of Mary Jon.
Jackson said the quilt could have been lost in the flood since Pearce had the quilt in her home for many years.
“Pearce’s house and all her belongings were destroyed in the 1985 flood. Fortunately, her daughter, Deborah Weltman Gutshall, who lives in Parsons, had borrowed the quilt and it was safe in her possession,” she said.
“We want to get the word out to as many people as possible, because I think individuals would be interested in names of family members that are embroidered on the quilt,” Jackson said. “Also, it is our hope that the publicity surrounding this quilt will generate the discovery of other quilts like this one that were used for fundraising. These types of quilts are a part of history that have been lost.”
Weltman-Riggs and Jackson are seeking more history about the quilt and the names of the people who quilted and embroidered it. They are also seeking donations to have a display cabinet constructed so the quilt can be put on permanent display at the Szilagyi Center.
Anyone who has information about the history of the quilt or would like to make a donation can email Rrcquilts@gmail.com or call 301-509-8014.
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