[I BIOGRAPHY I CD'S I CASSETTES I SONGWRITER'S JOURNALICONTACTI LINKS INDEX ]


THE STORY OF THE QUILT

IT ALL STARTED IN FEBRUARY. I WANTED TO LEAVE SOMETHING BEHIND TO BROOKSIDE SCHOOL. IT WOULD BE NEAT IF IT COULD BE MUSICAL, HISTORICAL, LEARNING FOR THE STUDENTS, AND A VISIBLE ARTFORM. THE FOLK-ART "SINGING" HISTORY QUILT BECAME "IT"!
LINDA MCKEE STARTED US OFF WITH A GENEROUS DONATION OF MATERIALS, HOW TO GET STARTED INFORMATION, A NEAT BOOK OF QUILTS, AND DOZENS OF PIECES OF ALL KINDS OF FABRICS, INCLUDING FELT!
NEXT CAME SUSAN BRADSHAW, "THE QUILT LADY" AND SHE MADE AN EXQUISITE PRESENTATION TO OUR CLASS. SHE BROUGHT WITH HER MANY QUILTS AND EXPLAINED THE VARIETY OF WAYS WE COULD MAKE A CLASS QUILT. SHE GAVE US A GREAT INSPIRATION. I HAD TAKEN COPIOUS NOTES AND THOUGHT WE HAD IT MADE!
NEXT COMING INTO THE PICTURE, (THANKS TO PETER WEINSTEIN, WHO SOMEHOW DIDN'T NEED EXTRA HELP AT THAT TIME IN THE CLASSROOM) WAS A GODSEND - GINA MUSSER. SHE WAS A STUDENT TEACHER AT THE TIME AND NEEDED SOME HOURS IN THE CLASSROOM WORKING WITH CHILDREN. SHE HAD A BACKGROUND IN COSTUMING AND SEWING. GREAT! SO SHE CAME INTO OUR CLASS AND WORKED WITH EACH STUDENT INDIVIDUALLY AND HELPED THEM TRANSFORM THEIR DRAWINGS OF VARIOUS HISTORICAL CHARACTERS OR HISTORICAL EVENTS AND MAGICALLY THEY BECAME ONE OF THE 24 PANELS IN THE "CLASS QUILT". SHE HAS A WONDERFUL WAY OF WORKING WITH THE KIDS. EACH ONE HAD HER FULL ATTENTION AS THEY TOOK THEIR SECOND OR THIRD DRAFT DRAWINGS ON AN 8 BY 8 INCH SQUARE AND SHE SHOWED THEM HOW TO FASHION THEM TO THE QUILT. THERE WERE CONSIDERATIONS OF SIZE, SHAPE, COLOR, POSITION ON THE QUILT, AND THE LETTERINGS. IN THE MEANTIME, WE WERE SINGING THE SONGS THAT WENT WITH EACH PANEL ON THE QUILT. THIS BOOKLET HAS ALL THE SONGS AND SOME OF THEIR ORIGINAL DRAWINGS AS WELL AS SOME ADDITIONAL DRAWINGS.
GOING BACK IN TIME A BIT TO MARCH, I WAS SICK WITH BRONCHITIS AND GINA CALLED ONE DAY WHEN I WASN'T IN TOO GOOD OF A CONDITION TO MAKE A MAJOR DECISION BUT MAKE ONE WE HAD TO DO. GINA WAS CONCERNED THAT WE WOULDN'T MAKE IT IN TIME (JUNE) WITH THE QUILT AND COULD WE MAKE A WALL HANGING INSTEAD? I SAID LET'S GO AHEAD WITH THAT IDEA. SO WE DID!
WELL IT TURNED OUT JUST FINE. THE KIDS ARE REAL PROUD OF THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND THOUGH IT ISN'T A TRUE QUILT, LINDA MCKEE SEWED TOGETHER A "QUILT-LIKE" FINISH SO WE CAME PRETTY CLOSE. I SAY THANKS TO ALL WHO MAKE THIS POSSIBLE.
WE'RE GOING TO BE QUITE PLEASED TO DEDICATE THIS FOLK-ART "SINGING" - "QUILT-LIKE HISTORY WALL HANGING, BOOKLET OF REPORTS THAT GO WITH EACH PANEL (EXCEPT "SYMBOLS OF THE WEST" PANEL) AND THIS CASSETTE WITH SONGS I HAVE WRITTEN (EXCEPT FOR "THE EMPIRE MINE" BY DON ARMSTRONG AND " THE OREGON TRAIL HORNPIPE BY MARK MASAREK AND MYSELF.) THAT GO WITH EACH OF 16 PANELS, AND A POEM THAT GOES WITH THE MIDDLE 4 PANELS.
WE LEAVE BEHIND A LEGACY OF STUDENTS WHO WORKED ON THIS ART-HISTORY PROJECT FROM ROOM 2 AT BROOKSIDE SCHOOL AT UPPER CAMPUS IN JUNE OF 1995. SO STUDENTS, TEACHERS, PARENTS AND VISITORS WHO COME TO BROOKSIDE - A DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL OF CALIFORNIA, IT GIVES US GREAT PLEASURE TO PRESENT THIS PARTING GIFT FROM THE STUDENTS AND I.
AND THOUGH I'M RETIRING FROM TEACHING, AFTER 31 YEARS OF WORKING WITH STUDENTS, I LEAVE WITH HOPES THAT IT WILL BE AN ENJOYABLE PIECE OF ART AND MUSIC TO INSPIRE OTHERS AND TO GIVE A SENSE OF HISTORY OF OUR GREAT AMERICAN WESTERN MIGRATION THAT GAVE US WESTERNERS AN IDENTITY WITH THE REST OF THE UNITED STATES THAT IS TRULY UNIQUE.
SO HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU!

BERNIE GRIFF - 4TH GRADE TEACHER - JUNE 14, 1995
(I KNOW THAT THIS IS SOMEWHAT DATED BUT IT HAS A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY TEACHING CAREER AT BROOKSIDE SCHOOL SO I LEAVE IT AS IS!)


This is Jesse Crocker 4th grade at Brookside School (Upper Campus) Library at the dedication of our classes History Folk-Art "Singing" Quilt on June22, 1995. Jesse is a direct descendant of Charles Crocker, one of the "Big 4" of California. (Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, Collis Huntington and Charles Crocker). They helped build the Transcontinental Railroad. Jesse is pointing to the panel he created on the quilt. The panel represents one of the 16 songs on the quilt - "The Big 4" of course!


Go to Top