Off the Editor’s Spike by Darryl Wilkinson
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Off the Editor’s Spike by Darryl Wilkinson
Before Chautauqua 2001 gets blurred among the memories of the 15 previous festivals, I want to focus your attention on something you may have missed. Unfortunately, I missed it. The quilt show is a noteworthy event in its own right — not just a side show to the list of other Chautauqua activities. Let me explain.
Janis K. Dunnington has hosted several quilt shows during the fall festivals. Quilts have been shuttled to available space — sometimes in a vacant business building on the west side of the square, sometimes in the courthouse or even in the education building of the First Christian Church. This year the show moved to the bingo hall. That makes a visit more of an effort if you’re on foot attending activities unfolding on the business square. But ample display space, tables and chairs makes this a choice spot for the 80 or so quilts on display.
Janis is a good example of why Chautauqua works. She volunteers, donates her time and effort (did you know she usually spends the night with the quilts to assure security?) and pulls off an exceptional event free to anyone interested.
Every year is different. This year, for instance, Janis said a Gallatin lady shared five quilts of exceptional value — each hand-appliqued, hand-pieced, and hand-quilted. People in the know were struck by their quality. And yet, until this Chautauqua, Janis didn’t know that this lady (who’s lived in Gallatin all her life) ever quilted!
Sharing — that’s what makes Chautauqua so worthwhile. That, and folks like Janis… or Sandra Alden at the junior rodeo… or the gals coordinating the whole thing under the Fine Arts umbrella… and the list goes on!
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Somebody rang my bell not long after I had eased into my La-Z-Boy intent on nodding off into a sleepy, cozy stupor — a Sunday after dinner tradition I had every intention honoring.
Brrrrring…
Brrrrring…
(whenever the telephone interrupts, ever wonder who in their right mind wants to pack around a cell phone all the time?).
“You might not remember me, but… “
It was Roger Woody, whom you remember as Burrhead and Hazel’s son who graduated from GHS in 1981. And he was remembering us, meaning Gallatin, his hometown.
Roger could easily have been in that wing of the Pentagon when the terrorists’ attack occurred, though normally he works elsewhere in the huge building. He is a member of the U.S. Air Force and has been assigned to Washington, D.C. since 1996. But on Sept. 11 he was away in New Orleans and was stunned by the events that unfolded just like the rest of us. Upon his return, he was named the Senior Enlisted Advisor for Relief Operations at Control Center. Which is why he called.
By coincidence, earlier last week, GHS cheerleaders decided to devote their pep rally before the first home football game to patriotism. They posted banners on the wall in the school commons, allowing students to sign condolences and their support to our suffering countrymen. All that was missing was the connection — where should the posters be sent?
Roger’s call answered that question. Gallatin’s posters will join countless others on display near the Pentagon, offering encouragement as the reconstruction takes place. Roger promises a picture which I hope we can share. Such things are small gestures, yes. But such sincerity offers a glimpse at the fiber of much deeper emotion and commitment to our motto, “United We Stand.”
Maybe it was just natural for everyone away from home to think about their hometown at some time during the aftermath of the terrorists’ attack. I’m sure glad Roger did.