Not all local history is written on yellowed pages or preserved in black-and-white photographs.
Some of it is stitched together by hand in colorful and imaginative patterns.
From now through the end of August, the Northeast Oakland Historical Museum has about 16 quilts on display, including ones from the late 1800s.
‘It’s really beautiful stuff,? said Carla Lambertson, of Oxford, a volunteer at the museum. ‘It was really fun finding all these in boxes upstairs.?
Some of the quilts are owned by the museum, while others are on loan from individuals and families.
Quilts on display include one stitched in 1898 by the Leonard Church’s Ladies Auxiliary and a 120-year-old piece made by Elva Nichols, mother of L.B. Nichols, who served as Oxford Village Clerk from 1951-58.
Also exhibited is a quilt created by longtime resident Dru Redmond to celebrate the United States Bicentennial and Oxford Village’s Centennial, both of which occurred in 1976. This quilt features a lengthy list of Oxford businesses along with the names of local professionals and tradespeople.
Cooperation across generations is exemplified in a quilt that was started by Henrietta Maria Fox in the late 1800s and completed by Beulah Moore in the 1980s.
Each quilt is a piece of genuine American folk art that represents a time when life moved at a slower, simpler pace.
To Lambertson, they reflect ‘long hours? and ‘no TV.?
‘They had lots of time on their hands,? she said.
The display also features little tidbits about quilting folklore and superstitions.
For instance, unmarried gals and guys used to put a cat in the middle of a new quilt.
They would then hold the edges of the quilt and toss the kitty into the air.
Whoever was closest to the disgruntled and disoriented feline when it landed would be the first to marry.
This custom was obviously developed before the advent of dating services or the ASPCA.
Located at northwest corner of Washington (M-24) and Burdick streets in downtown Oxford, the museum is open from 1 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Private or group tours are available upon request. For more info call (248) 628-8413.