By Emma Rausch
emma@thepaperofwabash.com
WABASH COUNTY, Ind. – The Quilt of Honor quilters are searching for more veterans to commemorate and thank on Friday, Nov. 10, the day before Veterans Day.
Since 2012, the group, which consists of 12 Wabash County women, crafts personalized quilts to honor local veterans for their service each year in time for Veterans Day.
This year, more than 120 veterans have signed up to receive a quilt at the Quilts of Honor presentation ceremony on Nov. 10, but the group is still asking for more, Chairman Lois VanMeter told The Paper of Wabash County.
“We, unfortunately, see in the obituaries that we have missed veterans and that hurts us,” she said. “That’s painful. So we are striving every year to find more and more veterans to honor for their service. That’s the whole point.”
Depending on the pattern’s difficulty, quilts can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks to complete, according to VanMeter.
The idea for the group began at the Woman’s Clubhouse in 2012 when the facility hosted a servicemen’s luncheon for Veterans Day.
“I thought, ‘Well this is so close to Veterans Day, we need to honor them,’” VanMeter said. “So being a quilter, I went to my quilters guild and asked them if they would like to honor (the veterans) and we chose one specific pattern that year and made that pattern for them and it just grew from there.
“We thought that this was worth doing every year, so that’s what we’ve done. It helps us use our talent. We’re quilters who love to quilt.”
All of the fabric and all of the group’s quilters’ time are voluntary supplied, she added.
Since then, the group has honored 120 veterans and continued to “work its way through each war” to commemorate the servicemen that put their lives on the line during those times of turmoil, she continued.
“This year we’re on Vietnam and those guys were not treated nicely,” she said, “and we want them to know that we appreciate their service.”
Although the group shows appreciation to veterans that served in different wars each year, VanMeter said that several quilts are held aside in case a serviceman from a prior war had not received one yet.
“Any one that we have missed, they will definitely get a quilt,” she said. “There were some last year from World War II still and we still honored them. We know the Gulf War is coming next and so we want to make sure that they know their service is appreciated and that they are honored for their service.
“We also will honor those that have received quilts before with something,” she later added. “No one is left out. Their name will be called. They will honored and be specifically asked to come up front and given whatever we choose to that year. So (the presentation luncheon) is for all veterans to be honored.”
The Quilts of Honor presentation ceremony and luncheon will take place on Nov. 10 at noon at Bachelor Creek Church of Christ, located at 2147 State Road 15 in Wabash.
Those wishing to submit a veteran’s name to receive a quilt can mail submissions to VanMeter at 107 Bonbrook Drive, Wabash, IN 46992.
“We’ll need the veteran’s names and their addresses so that we can send them an invitation to get to the luncheon this year,” VanMeter said.
To support the Quilt of Honor Quilters cause, donations can be sent to VanMeter. The donations are tax-deductible and the group will provide receipts. The group is also featured as one of the Beacon Credit Union’s Project Spotlight contestants, which accepts votes each day. The project with the most votes at the end of the contest will receive funds from the local credit union.