The Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum in conjunction with the Jackson Hole Quilt Festival is pleased to announce the installation of a special quilt show, “Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do or Do Without.” People can view quilts from the museum collection in the classroom at 225 N. Cache from October 3 to October 15. Many of these quilts have not been publically displayed before this show.
Making quilts is the epitome of the well-known saying of the Great Depression era—an appropriate title for the museum’s quilt show. Women pieced together scraps of fabric and often cut up old clothes to make warm and beautiful functional art for their families. Many of the quilts are well-used, heavy-duty quilts from Moose Head Ranch and were probably used in various cabins. Standout quilts include the Barbara VanDeburg quilt of the Town Square in the 1930s and the Friendship quilt from 1933 where each block represented a business or family. The only baby quilt on display was given to Louise Murie MacLeod for the birth of her daughter in 1935.
Shannon Sullivan, curator of collections for the history museum stated “The quilts are practical and most of them were made for cold winter nights. They were something they needed to survive the winter but also for mental survival, staving off cabin fever.”
The special quilt exhibit in the museum classroom is free. To view the museum exhibit which includes a fancy log cabin quilt with hand-tatted lace, regular museum admission is required. The museum is currently open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The museum is also participating in “Quilts in the Square and Beyond,” a part of the Jackson Hole Quilt Festival. The quilts in the museum windows and other businesses around the square and beyond will be displayed from October 5th until October 13th.
Please contact Shannon Sullivan at 307-733-2414 or [email protected] for more information. Visit www.jacksonholehistory.org for more information all event and program offerings.