82-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 6 1993
Berks Quilts
Heritage Of
CONNIE LEINBACH
Berks Co. Correspondent
READING (Berks Co.) —Most
of the quilts in the quilt show at the
Berks County Historical Society
have histories as colorful as they
ate.
The show, titled “Design and
Color Quilted in Berks,” high*
lights the best and most original
quilts the society discovered dur
ing the Quilt Harvest in the last two
years.
The harvest was concerned with
documenting quilts made in Berks
County before 1940. The work
will continue, said P. Allison duP
ont, project coordinator, because
as word spread about the harvest,
she discovered that at least double
the number of items already docu
mented actually exist
Most amazing about the more
than 1,400 quilts brought to the
harvest held in schools around the
county was the vibrant colors,
duPont said.
“What we were looking for were
aspects that are unique to Berks
County,” she said as she led a visi
tor around the display on two
floors of the society at 940 Centre
Ave.
Bright, vibrant colors are evi
dent in the cotton quilts displayed
on the first and second floor of the
society.
Several starburst quilts are fea
tured on the second floor, where
there also is set up a community
quill. Anyone is welcome to sit
down at the quilt designed by
WOOD TRUSS
ipa&m
of''
LAMINATED RAFTERS
and WOOD ROOF TRUSSES
'Ol E. Linden St., RICHLAND, PA 17087
[Telephone: 717-866-6581
Fax: 717-866-7237
The S
Of Quality
Show
Colors
Melissa Horn and stretched on a
frame and sew for as long as they
like.
While doing this they can con
template the meticulous detail
used in the quilts hanging on the
walls around them, done in star
burst patterns. Their colors literal
ly jump out of the backgrounds. In
particular, a quilt made around
1890 by Elizabeth Hatting Swei
gart shows an eight-point, multi
colored star bursting out of a royal
blue background. Another, featur
ing a “star-within-a-star” pattern,
made by Edna Mutter Ellis of Boy
ertown about 1930, shows typical
colors of the Depression blues
and oranges.
“These starburst quilts arc so
typically Berks County and Pen
nsylvania Dutch,” duPont said.
“You can see the exuberance of
them.”
One particular color theme that
has recurred in quilts duPont has
seen is an orange color she calls
“cheddar cheese.” A bright, cheesy
orange is the background on which
are appliquied designs in maroon
and forest green.
Several of the quilts feature this
color of orange.
Many of the patterns were
traded back and forth. duPont
explained. But sometimes women
would design their own, unique
patterns.
Such was the case with Mahella
Rhodes Wolfgang, who lived in
Earl Township from the late 1800 s
until her death in 1940. Mahella
(Turn to Pago B 3)
Family Farm to
Architectural Innovation
ilneered
Timber
X' y*j,
jator the quilt harvest pt .. at. jw at.
County Historical Society In Reading, explains that women in the latter part of the last
'tenpalnstar' ly quilted their undergarments and '
DuPont points out that all. quin* . icovered during the quilt
harvest is unique, many follow the same patterns using blocks enclosing a colorful
pattern or stylized design of flowers.
Over Thirty Years
Of Quality Service
-
V* *
>
UNIVERSAL ARCH
MANUFACTURERS OF
GLU-LAM ARCHES
GLU-LAM BEAMS
GLU-LAM TREATED POSTS
ROOF TRUSSES
FLOOR TRUSSES
T&G AND V-GROOVE DECKING
WE CUSTOM DESIGN OR MATCH
EXISTING BUILDINGS
COMPLETE LINE OF POST
FRAME BUILDING MATERIALS
CRANE SERVICE
Everyone at Rigidply Rafters,
Inc. is fully committed to serving
our customers and providing
them with the finest products
available. The excellence that
we strive for is to show our
appreciation for our customers
continued loyalty to Rigidply
Rafters. You deserve the bestl