| In an attempt to
document local history in a homey and personal way, a group of
women gathered last fall to plan the making of a
Centennial-Sesquicentennial quilt. Members of the committee were chairwoman Cissy Lieblong, Clara Garrett, Virginia Hunt, Harriett Rog- ers, Naomi Toler, Helen Welch and Mary Lou Williams. Their original idea was to accept 20 12-inch quilting squares, but they later increased that number to 25 so that all those who submitted blocks could have them included in the quilt. Toler, Rogers and Hunt put the blocks together and Wayne Breeds, owner of B & W Woodcraft in Para- gould, built the shadow box for its permanent display in the Greene County courthouse. The following information, describ-ing each block (from left to right and top to bottom), was compiled by Lieblong: * The moving of the county seat from Gainesville to Paragould by Bonnie Smith of Paragould. This appliqued block shows a wagon drawn by horses, moving the safe from Greene County's first county seat, Gainesville, to its present loca-tion in Paragould. * The Conwell home by Zula Clifford Lofton of Paragould. This block shows Lofton's home at 301 W. Poplat St. It was built by Henry Hammons for his sister, Cherokee Conwell, in the late 1800s. In 1918 Lofton's mother, Bertha Clifford, bought the house. Included on the block is information supplied in the deed to the home. * A train by Naomi Lewis Toler of Paragould. This block, done in appli- que, represents the dependence of this area on the railroad industry. Her late husband, Carl Toler, worked for Missouri Pacific Railroad. * Electticity coming to O'Kean by Hazel Martin Rickey of O'Kean. Rickey said she had a strong memory of the excitement generated by lights coming on in her community for the first time. * Reynolds Park by Cissy Mahan Lieblong of Paragould. This block, done in raised applique, depicts a nice afternoon at the park. |
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great-great grandson of original
Ben Crowley. * The Centennial logo by Gerta Stimson Jernigan of Paragould. Jerni- gan operates the Stitching Post in Paragould and did this block in counted cross-stitch. * The sawmill west of Light by Evangeline Cupp Cothren. This cross-stitch block signifies the impor-tance of the timber industry to early Greene County. Cothren's grand-father, J. E. Newberry, did business at the sawmill, located about one mile west of Light. * A farm house by Virginia Tyner Hunt of Center HIll. Hunt submitted this block of her grandfather's home in the Spring Grove Community, sowing a cotton patch in the front yard, tire swing, clothes line and out- house. * Wildlife of Greene County by Jackie Ralph Sample of Paragould. Many of Sample's family have enjoyed hunting, and the counted cross-stitch block shows a duck, deer, racoon, squirrel, quail and rabbit. * Grandmother's flower garden by Lena Canamore Johnston Box of Paragould. This is a block of a popular old quilting pattern used in early Greene County. Box is a voracious quilter herself. * The Futrell for Governor railroad box car by John Hitchcock of Para- gould. Hitchcock said he had never done any needlework before but did this embroidered block to represent his vocation. He worked for the Mis- souri Pacific Railroad from 1925 until 1934. He was a ticket agent on the day that a special, 20-car train made the trip from Paragould to Hot Springs for Futrell's pre-primary election day rally. Hitchcock said that 2,000 persons rode the train, which took 14 hours to make the trip. * A map of Greene County by Marge Payne Ford. This cross-stitch block shows many of the communities in the county, along with cropland, Crowley's Ridge and the railway, centered around a church. * The Centennial logo by Helen Sparks Mickey. The block is done in cross-stitch with piecework. |