[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 30, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E475]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E475]]


                       UNCLE ELI'S QUILTING PARTY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HOWARD COBLE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 29, 2004

  Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, April 1, 2004, several hundred 
people will gather at a location in my congressional district for the 
73rd year in a row to commemorate what some fear is becoming a lost 
art--quilting. No one knows what the future holds for this wonderful 
tradition, but thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers, there will be 
a permanent reminder to all who travel to our area.
   On April 1, an historic highway marker will be unveiled 
commemorating ``Uncle Eli's Quilting Party.'' Named after Eli Whitney--
the father of the cotton gin--``Uncle Eli's Quilting Party'' has been a 
tradition in Alamance County, North Carolina, since 1931. The unveiling 
will take place in front of the community center that bears Eli 
Whitney's name on the ``Football Road'' (SR 1005) in southern Alamance 
County. Community volunteers wanted to mark the historic and cultural 
significance of ``Uncle Eli's Quilting Party'' with a roadside 
historical marker. The state of North Carolina agreed that it met the 
standards needed for the sign's erection, but it did not have any 
available funding. So, like the determined quilters the sign 
commemorates, the group pitched in, raised the needed funds themselves, 
and convinced the state to manufacture the sign. On April 1, all will 
gather with pride when the sign is unveiled.
   To fully appreciate the wonderful traditions kept alive by the 
quilters, allow me to quote Erma Kirkpatrick from Quiltmaking in 
America, Beyond the Myths: Selected Writings from the American Quilt 
Study Group (edited by Laurel Horton):
  ``The day begins early. By 8:00 a.m., the first cars have parked 
outside the big old brick gymnasium, which is the Eli Whitney Community 
Center. Nannie McBane, quilter, quilting instructor, and coordinator of 
the quilting party unlocks the door. Inside, the gym seems huge, 
cavernous and bare. One or two quilts have been `put in' the previous 
day so the quilters can get an early start. Otherwise the gym is empty, 
with bleachers folded against the wall and tables stretched out along 
one end ready to receive food. Gradually the room comes to life. A 
table is placed by the door so that everyone can sign the register and 
make a name tag to wear. Early arrivals unfold chairs brought from the 
storage room and begin to wipe off the bleachers. As women bring in 
quilted items for display, willing hands help drape the quilts over the 
now-dusted bleachers or hang them on clothes lines which are stretched 
around the walls. Suddenly there is a quilt show! . . . The day and the 
quilting progress. Around noon the covered dishes are uncovered, the 
line forms, a blessing is asked, and a serious attack is made on the 
heavily loaded tables . . . The quilters take pride in their cooking as 
well as their quilting.''
   Erma Kirkpatrick also writes that in the last few years, the focus 
of ``Uncle Eli's Quilting Party'' has changed: ``Today the quilting 
party is a social gathering for which the Eli Whitney community is well 
known. People attend from as far away as 50 miles. There is less 
dedication to putting in and completing a quilt. In fact, seldom is a 
single quilt completed by the end of the day. The number of quilts in 
frames has gone down and the number of visitors has increased. It has 
become a spectator sport.''
   No matter what the future holds, ``Uncle Eli's Quilting Party'' will 
continue to mark the start of spring in southern Alamance County. And 
thanks to a group of dedicated, civic-minded quilters and their fans, a 
highway marker will let the world know that there is a quilting party 
every year in North Carolina that would make Uncle Eli proud.

                          ____________________