SPIRIT OF AMERICA: LIVE FREE OR DIE by Cocheco Quilters Guild, 2002
April 19, 2013
“Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.”
~ PAUL REVERE'S RIDE
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere made his now famous “midnight ride” which marked the beginning of the American Revolutionary War and our national independence from Great Britain. We celebrate this day every year with a state holiday, Patriot’s Day.
This past Monday, on Patriot’s Day, I went to watch the Boston Marathon as I do every year. My daughter was running, so I went to cheer her on and to cheer on all of the runners at this great event. It was a beautiful day for a marathon and a beautiful day to be outside. Unfortunately it ended tragically with death and violence. Although everyone I know personally is safe, this act of terrorism touched me personally, just as the events of September 11, 2001 touched me and all of us..
Quilters have a long history of expressing their political views and emotions through quilting. Perhaps the quilting brings some healing. After the tragic events of September 11, 2001, hundreds of quilts were made as a response. Last summer, during the Backstitch exhibit we had on display such a quilt made by Rosemary Bawn. Recently, the Cocheco Quilters Guild [based in Dover, NH] donated to the museum the quilt they made in response to 9/11. The quilt is titled, Spirit of America, Live Free or Die This morning, I hung this quilt in our classroom gallery.
~ Laura Lane, Collections Manager
“Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.”
~ PAUL REVERE'S RIDE
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere made his now famous “midnight ride” which marked the beginning of the American Revolutionary War and our national independence from Great Britain. We celebrate this day every year with a state holiday, Patriot’s Day.
This past Monday, on Patriot’s Day, I went to watch the Boston Marathon as I do every year. My daughter was running, so I went to cheer her on and to cheer on all of the runners at this great event. It was a beautiful day for a marathon and a beautiful day to be outside. Unfortunately it ended tragically with death and violence. Although everyone I know personally is safe, this act of terrorism touched me personally, just as the events of September 11, 2001 touched me and all of us..
Quilters have a long history of expressing their political views and emotions through quilting. Perhaps the quilting brings some healing. After the tragic events of September 11, 2001, hundreds of quilts were made as a response. Last summer, during the Backstitch exhibit we had on display such a quilt made by Rosemary Bawn. Recently, the Cocheco Quilters Guild [based in Dover, NH] donated to the museum the quilt they made in response to 9/11. The quilt is titled, Spirit of America, Live Free or Die This morning, I hung this quilt in our classroom gallery.
~ Laura Lane, Collections Manager
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