CHRIS KELLY staff Residents created centennial quilts to mark the 100th anniversary of United Methodist Homes communities. RED BANK- “ACommunity Sewn Together,” an exhibition of 11 United Methodist Homes’Centennial quilts will be on view at Wesleyan Arms, 9 Wall St., beginning Thursday and running through Feb. 1.
While people often long to sit by the fireside under a warm quilt during the gray mid-winters, these quiltsweremade to commemorate and celebrate a very specialmilestone – 100 years have passed since six seniors moved into the first clapboard house of what was to become the United Methodist Homes of New Jersey.
The 11 quilts also serve as remembrances, depict history, tell stories, instruct, educate, provide a creative outlet and leave a legacy for future generations. Each offers unique imagery, material and stories about their making.
Ambitious and enthusiastic residents at 10 United Methodist Homes’ communities created quilts of colors and designs reflecting their unique artistry.
The 11th quilt, “ACentury of Excellence in Senior Living,” produced by Dee Burrowes of Lanoka Harbor, permitted the corporate office to be represented.
The other quilts are titled: “A World of Cultures,” “From the Manor to the Glen,” “UMH-Collingswood Manor Centennial Quilt,” “The Pride of New Jersey,” “Greetings from Ocean Grove;” the “Dresden Plate,” “PineRidge of Montclair: A Community of Caring and Sharing,” “Ocean City, NewJersey: The Family Resort,” “CelebratingDiversity” and “Lighthouses by the Bay.”
At Wesleyan Arms, cultural diversity has become an important point of pride. On the quilting team, five women of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds came together to celebrate their home.
The quilt portrays diverse peoples joining hands around theworld.While there are other scenes on the quilt, such as three sailboats on theNavesink River visible fromthe upper floors of Wesleyan Arms, its primary theme is multiculturalism.
GertrudeKehleay,WesleyanArms housing administrator, said, “We are amulticultural, multiethnic community, which lives in harmony to better ourselves and impact, not only each other, but also the world.”
At Covenant Manor in Plainfield, the three quilters chose images official to New Jersey: the Red Oak, violet, Eastern Goldfinch, horse, honeybee, blueberry and square dancers.Appropriately named, “The Pride of New Jersey,” it was presented to Gov. Corzine’s staff at the New Jersey Statehouse last year.
“Ocean City, New Jersey, the Family Resort” depicts the resort’s major attractions. The city was established as a Christian family resort by fourMethodist ministers in 1879.
Margarine Naglee, the sole maker of the “Dresden Plate,” has made 22 quilts during her lifetime. Not only did Naglee grow up surrounded by quilts and quilt makers, but remarkably, she never slept under a blanket.
In the true spirit of American frugality, the centennial quilts are made from scraps of fabric. The names of the quilt makers are inscribed on each quilt. A brochure accompanies the exhibit highlighting the quilting techniques, quilt makers, themes and other information.
When the exhibit has traveled to all 10 communities, each quilt will return to its home of origin for permanent display; the corporate quilt will return to the headquarters in Neptune.
United Methodist Homes is a not-forprofit organization guided by a volunteer board of directors affiliated inministrywith the GreaterNewJerseyAnnual Conference of the United Methodist Church. The mission of United Methodist Homes is to provide quality and caring services to senior men and women in a Christian community. For additional information, call Wesleyan Arms at (732) 936-0760.