Lebanon County has a rich quilt history.
If you own a pre-1970 quilt, it’s likely one of your prized possessions. Even if it’s just draped over the back of your sofa, your quilt has a story…an oral history, that, over the course of time, could be lost forever.
Maybe you made it yourself, or with a group of friends. Maybe it’s a family heirloom that has been passed down for generations. Maybe it was a wedding gift from Aunt Hilda who bought it at an auction. Every quilt has a story.
Like old family recipes and war stories, if nobody takes the time to write them down, they eventually fade away.
The Lebanon Quilters Guild has launched a quilt documentation project they hope will preserve Lebanon County quilt history for future generations and quilt historians forever, and they’re hoping you will help them do it. There is no charge to participate.
The Guild has scheduled several Documentation Days over the course of the next year. The first on is Saturday, October 19 from 9am to 3pm at the Lebanon Area Evangelical Free Church, 600 Shepherd St. in Jonestown.
Bring your quilt to the church where it will be measured, described and photographed and the documentation information will be recorded. You can save time by downloading the form from their website and filling it out in advance.
All quilt information will be held in a digital archive at the Lebanon County Historical Society. Eventually the Guild hopes it will be part of a national quilt database at Michigan State University. Quilt owner information will be kept confidential.
Again, for this project, the Guild is looking for vintage (pre-1970) quilts, quilt tops, and comforters that are owned by a Lebanon County resident (regardless of where it was made), and quilts that were made in Lebanon County that may be somewhere else.
Get more information on the Lebanon Quilters Guild website.
Public Documentation Days
Saturday, October 19, 2019, 9am to 3pm
Lebanon Area Evangelical Free Church
600 Shepherd St, Jonestown, PA 17038
Saturday, November 23, 2019, 9am to 3pm
Palm Lutheran Church
11 W Cherry St, Palmyra, PA 17078
Saturday, April 25, 2020, 9am to 3pm
Church of the Good Shepherd
1500 Quentin Rd, Lebanon, PA 17042
Saturday, June 6, 2020, 9am to 3pm
Friedens Lutheran Church
301 W Washington Ave, Myerstown PA 17067