refer often over the next few months. We left Vicksburg knowing that we had made new friends and that we would return.
. . .
Elsie Vredenberg and I had corresponded for several years about the quilt trail she had spearheaded in Osceola County, Michigan. More than ninety barn quilts comprised the trail, and I had eagerly awaited Elsie’s photographs that documented each addition. I was glad to have the opportunity to visit. I met Elsie and committee member Cindy Cambier at Elsie’s home one dreary morning; it was a less than perfect barn quilting day, but our mood was ebullient. Osceola is a large county, and, rather than attempt a comprehensive tour in just a few hours, Elsie had carefully chosen a few of her favorites.
Our first stop was at the Schmidt farm in Reed City. The red barn’s immaculate condition was impressive, but the quilt block looked mighty small. Before my disappointment could set in, Elsie pointed out the full-sized barn quilt on the far end of the barn. Jalayne Markey greeted us and invited us in. She beamed with pride as she told the story of her family’s Blazing Star barn quilt.
Jalayne is the fifth generation of her family on the farm that was founded by her great-great-grandfather, John Schmidt. The barn on which the quilt block hangs was built in 1877, with the house built the following year. Jalayne’s father, Garth, was born on the property in 1918 and farmed there for almost eighty years. “He was out riding his tractor, plowing fields with his nephew two weeks before he died,” Jalayne said.
The family wanted to honor Jalayne’s mother, Elvera, who had been a prolific quilter, with a barn quilt but none of her quilts seemed right for the barn. The family had a Blazing Star quilt made in the 1930s by Jalayne’s great-grandmother to commemorate Elvera’s confirmation, and the colors were a perfect fit. The farm had recently received its sesquicentennial certificate and the accompanying sign, which was hung on the side facing the house. Garth thought that the barn quilt and sign ought to hang together, but Elsie urged Jalayne and her husband, Jim, to place the quilt square on the end where it could be more visible to the public. A compromise was reached whereby the smaller version, which I had seen earlier, was painted by the family.
The family held a celebration for the barn quilt hanging, which included a cake dedicated to Elvera. For the next three years, Garth enjoyed looking out the window to see the family heirloom in place. The farm was founded on June 5, 1863, and Garth passed away on June 6, 2013, the day after the official sesquicentennial date.
Blazing Star
We left the Schmidt farm and drove through the rugged countryside, where Elsie began to point out a series of barn quilts. My favorite was a large gray barn with a Rose of Sharon quilt block. I was excited to hear that we would see the cloth quilt that went with it, but when we entered the home of Wava Woods, there was so much more to see. Wava is a collector, and she surrounds herself with her favorite things. Many were passed to her from childless aunts and uncles and preserved in a room built specially to house them. A long dining table was set with a perfect set of china; nearby were cabinets brimming with more. Teapots, lamps, exquisite embroidered pieces—I could have spent the afternoon plundering.
But of course we wanted to talk about barn quilts. An only child, Wava had come to own four century farms, two from each side of the family. It seemed only fitting that each should be home to a barn quilt. A Feathered Star quilt block that we had passed earlier represented the feather ticks that Wava inherited from her aunts and uncles and made into down pillows. A Nine Patch Variation decorates another family barn and is patterned after a quilt that is over 130 years old.
The Rose of Sharon was taken from a family quilt made by Wava’s Aunt Mabel and her husband, John, sometime in the 1940s. Wava brought the quilt out and spread it so that we could see the pattern as she talked about how popular the quilt had been when entered in shows nearby. The Rose of Sharon barn quilt represents not only the cloth quilt but also Wava’s daughter, Sharon, and her great-aunt, Rosiena. I found it interesting that Rosiena was Wava’s great-aunt on both sides of the family, as aunt to each of her parents. In addition, Wava’s granddaughter has the middle name Rose, so the names associated with the quilt are found in the first, third, and fourth generations of the family.
The barn itself is significant to Wava as the only barn raising in which she took part. “With one loud call and a lot of lifting in all corners, in a few minutes the skeleton structure was standing upright.” Wava did more than observe; she helped the women who prepared food and set it on boards laid across sawhorses so that the workers could come by and pick up food and sit on the grass nearby. Young Wava also carried water from the kitchen stove to granite washbasins that were set on potato crates for the men to clean up before eating.
Wava’s favorite barn quilt is the twelve-pointed star called Moon Lit Woods, which sits on a small barn visible down the hill from her home. Wava explained that the name of the quilt block was also the name of the property. Right after Wava and her husband, Dale, were married, Wava’s father became ill, so the farm would have to be sold if the new generation could not take over. Dale worked in a factory and had cows of his own, and Wava worked at the hospital, but there was no other choice. Wava said, “We came home with our cows, tractor, and house trailer just like gypsies traveling down the road.” At that point anything that got done on the farm was done by moonlight, so paired with their last name, Moon Lit Woods became the new name of the farm.
The Moon Lit Woods quilt block has twelve points: for Wava and Dale, their two children and their spouses, and Wava and Dale’s six grandchildren. A dark blue background represents the night sky, yellow the moon, and, at the bottom of the block, five evergreen trees were painted to represent the couple’s five living grandchildren. The trees are all of different heights, as the children were as well. At the suggestion of their son, John, a sixth tiny tree was added to honor his daughter Elice, the grandchild who had lived only two days, so that she could stand next to her surviving twin, Katlin.
Rose of Sharon
Wava Woods’s Rose of Sharon quilt
Snail’s Trail
Wava had so much to share that I could have stayed all day, but Elsie had mentioned a very special quilt block that I wanted to see. In late afternoon, we headed to nearby Cadillac, where Elsie was working to get a new quilt trail started, for the last visit of the day. I had admired the Octagonal Building and was especially drawn to it because the quilt block was an exact replica of the Snail’s Trail that Donna Sue and Maxine Groves had on their barn. Elsie could not have chosen a better tribute, and Donna Sue had already told me how much she appreciated the gesture. The thoughtful mood was broken as we entered the building and I realized that I would be discussing such an important quilt block with a clown.
Rudy Grahek is known to many as Dynamite the Clown. He had not dressed the part, but Rudy’s exuberant smile and energetic storytelling gave the impression that he was good at his job. Rudy shared memories of growing up near the fairgrounds. “I could see the Octagonal Building from my bedroom window, and I thought there must be a carousel inside. It seemed monstrously large as a kid.” It was built in 1907 for the fair that would take place on the new grounds the following year. Over the years, the building fell into disrepair, but in 2008, for the one hundredth anniversary of that first fair, a restoration was begun. The local home builders association and the fair board, of which Rudy was a member, were instrumental in the project.
According to Rudy, the building was used as a marker for pilots, as the fairgrounds also functioned as an airport. The field had been cleared of stones and stumps for the fair, creating a large area that was safe for landings. The flag at the top of the building would act as a windsock. Rudy shared a bit of lore, stating that if there was no flag present another way to determine the wind’s direction was to look at horses nearby, as they will stand facing into the