BY ANNA GUIDO
Enquirer Contributor
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP -- Road signs, most of them along two-lane country roads, say "Welcome to Historic Liberty Township."
Children from the Little Children's house in Hamilton lent a hand in making the quilt in the background.
(Dick Swaim photo)
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Soon, a hand-stitched quilt will explain that history.
"We've never done anything that says, "Here's our community. This is what we're all about.' This quilt will do that," said Chris Matacic, township parks committee president.
The full-size quilt will be made of 56 red, white and blue fabric squares. Twenty-eight of the squares -- representing the Butler County township's 28 square miles -- are being embroidered with scenes, logos and signs of Liberty's past and present.
Mrs. Matacic is the moving force behind creation of the quilt, which will be raffled at the township parks committee's 13th annual July 4 festival in Liberty Park.
"For me, it's so thrilling, because it gives somebody in the community a chance to win something nice," she said. "It's also a way for the parks to earn money."
Mrs. Matacic has made two other holiday quilts, each of which generated nearly $1,000 in raffle ticket sales at the annual festival.
This year, for the first time, about a dozen other quilters and seamstresses in the community are joining Mrs. Matacic in the effort. She hopes it will become tradition.
"The No. 1 reason I wanted to do this is to meet other quilters in the area," Jole Reinhardt said. "My hope is that a quilting group will grow out of this."
Mrs. Reinhardt of Liberty Township said she makes several quilts a year for a Butler County area women's shelter. She's taking part in this quilting circle because she wanted to do something for her community.
"I grew up in a small town, and this seemed like a small-town kind of thing to do," Mrs. Reinhardt said.
The age range of the women making the quilt is wide. The oldest, Doe Bicknell, is 76. Mrs. Bicknell was born and raised in Liberty Township and is one of the township's leading historians.
One of the youngest quilters is 12-year-old Tera Huppi. At a recent quilting session, she helped her mother, Caroline, size and iron the quilt squares.
Mrs. Reinhardt said quilting circles were very common years ago but have fallen by the wayside.
"They bring together different generations of people," she said. "A lot of history is passed on this way."
This year's raffle quilt is on display at The Cinnamon Cupboard, 7100 Hamilton-Mason Road.
The quilt is not finished yet, and others in the community are invited to add a few stitches.
Just stop in at The Cinnamon Cupboard from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For quilt or festival information: call Mrs. Matacic, 779-2659. To donate, call Paulette Hughes, 896-9219.
