"LINCOLN CITY - Nearly 40 years ago, an 83-year-old retiree offered an old, handstitched quilt to a local museum accompanied by a couple of notes explaining its history. Today, the quilt tells the story of a woman born into slavery, a beloved and skilled quiltmaker whose time on this Earth might have vanished if not for the woman who treasured her memory."
"On Sept. 18, the North Lincoln County Historical Museum will unveil its latest exhibit, Uncovering the History Behind Ziller's Quilt, the story behind a crazy quilt donated to the museum in 1989 and kept in storage since. Museum Executive Director Chris Melton will speak at 5:30 p.m. Thursday about his efforts to trace the quilt's history and what the quiltmaker's life might have been like in early 20 th-century Oregon."
"Melton happened upon notes about the quilt about 2 years ago while hosting the Oregon Coastal Quilters Guild. Guild members come to the museum every year and document details about old quilts people bring to the museum. As the guild always documents a few of the museum's quilts, Melton went looking to see if there were any that hadn't been done yet. That's when he found the notes about the crazy quilt "made by a Black woman in the 1800s," and pulled it from storage."
An 83-year-old retiree donated a handstitched crazy quilt to the North Lincoln County Historical Museum with accompanying notes. The quilt top was made by Ziller, a Black woman described as born into slavery, and the lining was added by Emma Lilly Poe. Donor Anna Harrington, born in 1905 and raised in Lostine, donated the quilt after retiring in Lincoln Beach. Notes state Anna's father, Andrew Jackson Poe, called the maker "Zillah" and that Ziller wrote to the family after they moved to Lostine. Years later, Poe developed rheumatism and "sent for her because she was lonely and wanted to be with him." Museum staff traced the quilt's history and will display it in an exhibit.
Read at Oregon ArtsWatch * Arts & Culture News
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