The

MEGAPHONE

Elwood, Indiana                      Elwood High School(s)

Volume 2, No. 6                                                                                            June 15, 2001

Contents

-- Page numbers on the left can be used as links --

Page 1 . . . Your Old Home Town & Bits and Pieces -- Sharon (Benedict) Hurst

Page 2 . . . Father's Day -- Dewey W. Smith

                                A Stroke Of Luck -- Vicki Jane (Hull) Wardwell

Page 3 . . . Meet The Moderators -- Genie (Forst) Boyer

Page 4 . . . How I Got My Name -- Bob "Doggie" Henderson

                                The Game of Golf -- Jerry Kaser

Page 5 . . . Journey To Guam -- Parts VII & VIII -- Julie (Stout) Duffitt

Page 6 . . . Thinking Person's "Food For Thought" & The Invitation -- Vicki (Hull) Wardwell

Page 7 . . . My Mother -- Dick Cleaver

Page 8 . . . Some Footprints In Time -- Toots (Davies) Pethoud

We put Petunias and Purple Wintercreeper in all of them. The Wintercreeper is an evergreen vine that should keep the planters looking good all year through. The side walks are finished all of the way to P Street and hopefully the rest of the paving on the roadway will be finished as well. There are benches along the sidewalk uptown that are teak wood and iron, as well as the iron trash containers and the flower containers.  The entire renovation of the uptown area is very coordinated in a Victorian theme. Even the stop lights have been coordinated in this Victorian theme. Since Main Street has been sponsoring the plants, several others have begun placing pots of flowers out also. This does make the entire area look very festive.

Last Thursday evening while driving up South Anderson Street, I noticed the old street lights that were still in place on South A and B Streets and the comparison between those and the new ones that are now in place on Anderson Street is so remarkable that it has to be seen to be believed. I can't believe how ugly the lighting was in Elwood. No wonder there were so many people who did not think anything could be done to make the Ol' Home Town look better. Now there is a cheering section out there for Elwood.

The whole town has an aura that had been missing for a lot of years.  It is PRIDE returning to the citizens of Elwood.

Your Roving Home Town Reporter
Nan aka Angel #2
Sharon (Benedict) Hurst '53 
Now in Elwood, Indiana

Friday, June 8th, several from the Panther Den Family met for a quilting session at the Elwood Public Library. Our Quilting Mentor, Lois Norris, stopped in to make sure we got off to a good start. For those who still do not know, she is Ol' Dewey's sister.

How many of you know what is done before you can even start on the quilting itself? First someone has to decide on a pattern and then cut the pieces from the material that has been selected. Then all of those pieces have to be sewn together to make the selected pattern. This makes a block.  It must be determined how many of these blocks will be needed to make a quilt of the desired size.  The blocks are then sewn together and the quilt top has been "pieced together." In our grandmothers time, everyone did sewing for themselves and their families. Naturally they would have a lot of scraps leftover from the sewing they did.

Being practical, as we see from so many stories that have been sent to the Den from various members, they would use these "bits and pieces" of material to design patterns and "piece together" a quilt top. After this work is finished, a back for the quilt is put together. This also depends on the design of the quilt top and the colors that have been used.

No, we are still not ready to quilt. The back of this quilt to be is secured very tight to a table or quilting stand and pulled as taut as possible. Next a layer of batting is laid over. Batting is material that is soft and puffy feeling and will help to give the finished quilt the special look that is a quilt. This batting is secured over the quilt back and then the top which has been pieced together is laid over the back and batting. This is again stretched taut and there is much pinning and tacking to make sure that all is held secure and none of the layers will be slipping.

Now, we are ready to start quilting. For a definitive pattern such as the Panther Paws quilt it is necessary to hand stitch around each of the paws and this will give a slight puffy look to the finished product. Sometimes the quilter will stitch in a specific pattern over a plain top to make a pattern. However it is done, there is a lot of special work that goes into this art form.

When a group of people get together for a quilting bee it is like nothing else.  The togetherness is awesome. It doesn't matter how good or bad the quilter is, it is the fact that the work is done by hand and that each of the blocks will be as unique as the person who is doing the stitching. No wonder these quilts become items that are so wanted.  The time involved in putting one together, the people involved in putting one together and the love involved in putting one together can never be duplicated in a second work of the Quilting Art.

It is an experience that everyone should be able to participate in at least once in their lifetime, and if they are lucky, they will be involved in quilting more than one time.

Sharon (Benedict) Hurst '53