In October 2003 long-time member Winnie Lemmon invited her friend Rita Fishel to come to Tellico Village to present a program to the membership. Rita is a shop owner, quilter and self taught historian of the Underground Railroad. The railroad runs right through the town of Chillicothe, Ohio where Rita’s business is located. Rita was very interested in the history of the Underground Railroad and began researching the subject. She is now quite an expert and travels throughout the US giving program lectures on the subject.

In addition to the wonderful oral program, Rita presented a workshop to 21 of our members. Rita designed a special quilt utilizing the Underground Railroad blocks—all of which have a special meaning. She packaged this all into a kit which included the period fabrics, pictures and instructions as well as the history and meaning of each block pattern. The Guild purchased the kit and each of the 20 blocks was sewn by the workshop participants. Members thought it would be a great idea to create this tribute quilt as the Signature Quilt for the Quilt Show in October 2004.

After the blocks were completed, Rita and Winnie worked to square them up and lay out the quilt. Winnie continued to work on the quilt after Rita’s departure, adding the sashing and borders. When the quilt top was completed she returned it to Chillicothe where Rita had one of her long-arm quilters add the final touches of specialty quilting. A fantastic history quilt resulted from this informative program and workshop; it was a touching centerpiece of the Quilt Show.

Rita wrote a short summary history as an introduction to the to the kit materials and in part she wrote:

“We actually know very little about the methods used by the escaping slaves to avoid detection, but we know codes were used. These codes were incorporated into spirituals, dance, memorized symbols, as well as into the quilts. Codes were designed by abolitionists to aid the slaves. Codes were designed and used by the slaves themselves. Whether lost to time or secrecy, or deliberately by those who feared detection, history has managed to only document a few.

In the end, the meanings behind the signal quilts are left to your interpretation. It is my hope that this quilt will initiate conversations about the topic of the Underground Railroad and keep the legacy alive and respected for generations to come.”

Rita generously extended permission to The Village Quilters Guild to reproduce the patterns for this quilt. Please observe the usual rules—no use for commercial purposes and no quilt show entries—without Rita’s written permission. If you are interested, look for the Underground Railroad binder in the quilt library in the Chota Rec Center room. You are welcome to copy the contents at your own expense. Even if you don’t plan to make the quilt, the contents are rich with historical information—it’s very interesting to read.

If you are ever in the area, check out Rita’s shop Creations Sew Clever Quilt Shop, 192 South Paint Street, Chillicothe, Ohio 45601, 1-740-775-1957, email sewclever@bright.net . There is a link on the Industry Links button on the website www.villagequilters.com .

Thanks, Winnie, for having such an interesting friend so willing to share!