met a clown, so I had to ask Rudy just a bit about his life. He bubbled over with excitement. “When we were kids, everyone else drew pictures of town, but I drew circus tents and elephants.” He left the fairground in 1952 with one of the largest circuses, but was soon drafted to go to Korea and returned to travel with another circus, then later with carnivals. “I patterned my life after Red Skelton,” he said. “You know, Freddie the Freeloader?” I left Cadillac smiling, having ended the day on just the right note.
canada
I HAVE TRAVELED enough to know that political boundaries are seldom accompanied by geographical change, but still I was surprised that Canada looked much like the American Midwest. Highways cut through farmland set into gentle hills, and small towns were surrounded by familiar chain restaurants and stores. Glen and I found the crowns on the highway signs amusing and the place names difficult to sort out; I am still not certain that I understand the difference between a county and a municipality. But with the help of electronic navigation, we managed to find our way to the motel in Chatham, Kent, that would be our home for the next few days.
Glen and I spent a full day driving the western fringes of Ontario, passing dozens of farms whose weathered barns were clearly of earlier vintage but were accompanied by massive solar panels. “Pretty impressive,” Glen said. “Those farmers in the Midwest are behind the times.” A side trip took us to Erieau, on the shores of Lake Erie, where we meandered through the boats in the marina and rode our bicycles along the chilly shore. It was only September, but I yearned for a hat and gloves, not having thought to grab them from the bus. After a day of playing tourist, I was ready to explore Ontario’s quilt trail.
When I had first heard from Denise Corneil and Mary Simpson, they were in the early stages of an unusual barn quilt project. The women were designing a thirty-block barn quilt trail that would tell the story of Wardsville founder George Ward, who emigrated from Ireland in 1810 to establish a stopping point for travelers in the region. I loved the idea. Many barn quilts or even sections of a quilt trail have ties to history, but a man’s life story told through quilt blocks was unique.
Bounty from the Thames
Another unusual twist was having a cloth sampler quilt created prior to the quilt trail’s inception. Denise and a group of local quilters chose thirty blocks to create the George Ward Commemorative Quilt, a brilliantly colored design. The quilting was completed by many in the community, as the quilt was pieced and then kept in a central location so that anyone who wished to do so—whether an experienced quilter or not—could add a few stitches. The quilt travels to area events and is an effective way to draw attention to the barn quilt project.
The first block, chosen to represent Ward’s origins, was Double Irish Chain, a very popular pattern in the early nineteenth century. Cross, Country Church, and Stained Glass Windows stand for Ward’s faith, while some quilt blocks tell the story of Ward’s military service and loyalty to Britain. Ward’s travels by river to Ward’s Landing are first represented by Compass and Crossed Canoes, then, as he approached his new destination, by Wagon Tracks and Woodland Path.
Denise and I visited one of the Wardsville barns, home to a Fish quilt block. I had seen the pattern a number of times along the quilt trail, and I love its many variations. The block has an additional name here, Bounty from the Thames. Native communities had settled along the river and used it as a source of food. When the earliest settlers arrived, learning the most effective fishing methods gave them access to this abundance, making the river and its fish key to the development of Wardsville.
Barn owner John Johnston is glad to be part of the quilt trail. “It was just my luck that Denise was looking for barns,” he said. He grew up on a nearby farm but knew little about the founding of Wardsville. John enjoys informing visitors about the quilt trail and dispelling their fears that the barn quilts might indicate membership in some sort of secret society. “Now I try to talk it up and tell people about George Ward,” he said. I smiled when he said that he always mentions that the quilt trail started in Ohio.
Denise shared an amusing story about work on the Wardsville project. The group was desperate for a place to paint, and a local nursing home offered their basement. Sixty sheets of MDO board were carried into the basement just after the funding for the project was granted in March. Two weeks later, a flu epidemic swept through the center, and the building was under quarantine for six weeks. When work commenced, the smell of the primer turned out to be too strong for residents, so an empty tobacco barn became the painting location, as the June bicentennial event was fast approaching. “Carrying those boards up and down, oh gosh, I thought my arms were going to stretch,” Denise said.
The Wardsville Quilt Trail was received with great enthusiasm, and its creators had another endeavor already in mind. The Longwoods Road Quilt Trail has as its theme the women of the area and their lives as pioneers, as mothers and grandmothers, as well as the women’s experiences during the War of 1812. The first block is Memory, which stands for the women who came from England and the things they left behind. A block named Broken Hearts represents the constant fear and worry of women whose husbands were gone to war and the sadness of widowhood for many.
Some of the quilt blocks represent more positive aspects of early pioneers’ lives as they settled along what was once an Indian trail through the wilderness. Dogwood is a favorite, as it represents the first tree to appear in the spring. The center of the flower with its cross-like shape was further symbolic of religious faith. Common patterns such as Spools and Grandmother’s Flowers Garden are emblems of women’s domestic activities, and Baby Blocks stands for the new generation being born.
Old Indian Trail
The project opened up opportunities for community groups to earn funds for their organizations. We visited with a group of Boy Scouts who painted five of the barn quilts on the Longwoods trail. The scouts primed and drew out their quilt blocks after school and then taped on Friday before heading out for a camping trip. By the end of the weekend, the painting was complete. We joked that there should be a barn quilt badge, or at least a community-service badge, but the young men were just pleased to be able to say, “I painted that.”
Two local Lions Clubs each contributed five quilt blocks to the quilt trail. The men of the Delaware Lions Club turned out wearing purple vests with brilliant gold fringe and pins designating their accomplishments, every bit as proud as the scouts had been. The men welcomed the chance to add barn quilt painting to their fundraising, which supports building of community centers and parks, and youth and sports programs. One of the members said, “We live the Lions’ motto: ‘We Serve.’” The Delaware Lions Club had painted a block in Lions’ colors of purple and gold, as well as four others. My favorite was the intricately designed Thames River block at Roks Farms.
Mary Simpson explained that a wave of Dutch families immigrated to the area after World War II to seek better opportunities. John Roks came to Canada in 1950, having received a letter from his brother stating that he was immigrating. John said, “I was in the army in Indonesia for two and a half years, then came home for six weeks; that same boat brought me to Canada. Then we burned the boat on the shore.” My confusion must have been evident, because John added, “You know—like burning the bridge.”
John’s wife, Lenie, had immigrated with her family as well. The two moved to the farm with their three children in 1958. Lenie said, “It was a big change for me. From a neat little house in the village to this big farmhouse. There was so much to keep clean—that’s the Dutch in me. It needed a lot of elbow grease.” The couple had three more children, and John farmed with his brothers, both on their property and on land owned by the seminary next door. The Thames River quilt block is on the oldest barn on the property, which, Lenie said, had been a house in the late 1800s. The blue