“Please do not touch” does not apply to the Allen County Historical Society’s quilt and army clothes exhibit. In fact, museum director Elyssa Jackson is encouraging visitors to manhandle the quilts and old army clothes to get a better idea of how they were made.
Handmade quilts can represent a community, Jackson said. The two large quilts on display were found by Donna Houser in the museum’s mezzanine.
Who made the quilts is unknown and Jackson is hoping, like in show and tell, community members will be able to shed light on their origins.
Jackson took the quilt idea and formed a veteran’s paper quilt which hangs between the two fabric quilts.
“The veteran’s tree was so popular we decided to make a paper quilt,” Jackson said.
At the front of the museum visitors, like the 60 fourth-graders that visited Friday, can try on old army clothes and see what they would have looked like in the early 20th century.
To add to the atmosphere, Jackson is playing old records hailing from 1865 to 1965.
For more information contact the historical society at (620) 365-3051 or visit their websites www.allencountyhistory.com and www.facebook.com/allencountyhistory.
Museum encourages touching
