Center Point resident Mildred Parrish, 93, poses with the 50-state quilt she made. She doesn’t know how long it took to complete the entire quilt by hand since she worked on it whenever she had time — at night, and during breaks while helping her sons with their business. (Photo by Cliff Williams/Times-Georgian)
The 93-year-old Center Point resident is donating her 50-state quilt to American Legion Post 143, which will auction it next week to raise money for community events.
Of all the items up for auction, post Commander Don Levans is proudest of Parrish’s 84-by-93-inch quilt.
“This quilt is like a history lesson,” Levans said, noting that all the state squares were placed on the quilt in the order they entered the union, from the first 13 colonies to the 50th state of Hawaii.
“I took the quilt to one of the founders of the quilt museum and she said it could bring a price around $500 in Atlanta,” Levans said. “We’re suggesting a starting bid price of $250 for our silent auction.”
Parrish was taught quilting as a little girl by her mother and has been practicing the craft as long as she can remember. The idea for the quilt of the states came from a pattern in a catalog, she said. It has been a project spanning several years and Parrish said she worked on it when she had the time.
“I didn’t have any deadline,” she said. “I had no schedule.”
She kept her quilting frame set up in the family’s Parrish Furniture and Appliance shop on Center Point Road and would work a little each day on it. The information about the states for the quilt squares had to be embroidered separately and placed onto the quilt.
“There’s no telling how many people have watched her working on quilts in the shop,” Levans said. “A lot of them will remember this quilt.”
He said Parrish’s quilting dates back to at least the 1930s and she also made all her children’s and many of her grandchildren’s clothes.
“I had a lot of years to work on them and was blessed with good health,” Parrish said.
The silent auction at the post’s annual barbecue fundraiser will also feature a Chinese army rifle.
The barbecue will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sept. 14, at the Carroll County Ag Center, at the intersection of Georgia Highway 166 bypass and Newnan Road.
“All proceeds will be used for the support of veterans, veterans’ families and youth in our community,” said Don Levans, post commander. “We also have an honor guard which does the flag folding services at veterans’ funerals. This is one of our major fundraisers.”
American Legion Post 143 celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2010. It was founded in 1935 with 30 original members, all veterans of World War I. A March 20, 2010, anniversary celebration was held at the Carroll County Veterans Memorial Park and included patriotic music by the Carroll Symphony Orchestra. Georgia Department of Veterans Services Assistant Commissioner Tom Cook attended. A memorial bench was placed in the park to honor the 30 original members.
The post meets the first Thursday of each month at the old Oak Mountain Academy gymnasium on Stripling Chapel Road, Carrollton. The meeting begins with a 6 p.m. dinner, followed by the 7 p.m. meeting.
Additional information about Post 143 or the fundraiser is available by calling Levans at 678-246-8446.
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