Scope and Content Note
This collection contains both oral and photographic material collected from quilters located on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It was created by Laura Tuenerman-Kaplan and Jeanne Whitney and cataloged on June 28th, 1995. Within the collection are oral histories found on seven cassette tapes and one VHS tape of women discussing the quilts that they have made during their lifetime and what they mean to them. The creators of this collection used it to create an exhibit at some point and within their collection is a finished booklet that compiled some of the collection’s contents. Many of the oral interview questions focused on the quilting techniques that many of these women used. Most of the women preferred to use their hands rather than machines when creating their quilts and explained that in their interviews. Another topic discussed in each interview was store-bought quilts which most women felt were not the same as hand-made quilts. Some women chose to work alone, but others worked together in groups that created a quilting community and helped the rest of the community by providing their quilts to the public. One group, the Sore Fingers Quilting Group, was a non-profit organization that created quilts for the church community. Most of the women created quilts because it was relaxing to them and they achieved a great level of joy by producing their quilts. The techniques used by each woman showed their ethnic, regional, and individual identities because each quilt was different and had certain imperfections that made the quilts unique to their creator. For example, African American women often had a distinctive type called the strip quilt. By using these interviews, the creators of this collection were able to merge two different sources, oral interviews, and images to tell the story of quilters on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
The Oral Interviews are listed below in the order they are found in Folder 96.09.12.01- 59. Some transcriptions of each interview can be found in this folder.
96.09.01.04 Ann Wilmer- Interviewed on April 25th, 1995. She gave information on how she creates her quilts and what she does with them. She uses quilts to express herself through the graphic design that she believes there is no set pattern to so she has total control to create what she wants which gives her personal satisfaction.
96.09.01.01 Jo Anne Field (Shared Tape with Dr. Albert W. Morris) Interviewed on March 28th, 1995. Field is from Salisbury, Maryland and lived her entire life on the Eastern Shore.
96.09.01.02 Dr. Albert W. Morris (Shared Tape with Jo Anne Field) Interviewed on March 29th, 1995. Morris was born and raised on the Eastern Shore. His interview deals mostly with his paternal grandmother, Rosa Lee Tilghman Morris, who was a prolific quilter in the area.
96.09.01.07 Victoria Greene- Interviewed on April 19th, 1995. Greene was a librarian at the Wicomico County Free Library. The topic of the interview is how she began to quit, why she quilts, and what it means to her. She discusses how she learned to quilt at a community college and how she is able to create her quilts, mostly just by hand without the help of a machine. She used quilting to make friends outside of work when she met at workshops and working together on Saturday mornings with other quilters.
96.09.01.08 Jennifer Jones- Interviewed on April 24th, 1995. At the time of the interview Jones was a student at Salisbury State University who had been quilting on the Eastern Shore of Maryland since she was ten years old. In the interview Jones explains her quilting technique, her personal reasons for quilting, and what she does with her finished quilt. She talked about the differences between her quilts and the ones being sold in stores at the time. By placing imperfections in her quilts, she created something that was uniquely hers and that is what she liked about quilts, the fact that they were all different.
06.09.01.06 Lucille Massey- Interviewed on April 1st, 1995. This interview covers the general history of Mrs. Massey, how she learned to quilt, her quilting techniques, influences on her quilts, and she also explains what the Sore Fingers Quilting Group was. She found quilting relaxing and enjoys the fellowship that she has joined since starting to quilt.
96.09.01.05 Lottie Hearn- Interviewed on April 21st, 1995. Hearn was originally from Parsonsburg, Md but moved to Salisbury, Md. At the time of interview, she had been self-employed for twenty-five years working on quilting full time. As with many of the ladies interviewed, Hearn makes quilts because of the joy she has from it. She gave away just as many quilts as she had sold according to the interview. The interview discusses her techniques in creating the quilts including patterns and colors.
