For Johnson County Museum, quilting is more than a craft. It helps reveal history

At the Johnson County Museum, quilting is more than just a craft or a way to bundle up in your bed. It’s a way to see history in the lives of ordinary people. The museum is hosting a temporary quilting exhibit, “Common Threads,” through Jan. 23.

It’s been about 15 years since the museum last had a quilting exhibit on display. Andrew Gustafson, curator of interpretation for the museum, said it’s an especially appropriate exhibit to have on the centennial of the 19th Amendment, because “these quilts were all made by Johnson County women.”

Gustafson notes many their stories that sometimes get overlooked or overshadowed are spotlighted.

“Quilting was and still largely is a pretty gendered skill; women across classes and races and time and geography knew how to quilt,” Gustafson said.

It was a utilitarian way to use up scraps of fabric to stay warm, he said. “For others, it was something that was a hobby or a decorative thing.”

One Depression-era quilt came from a woman whose husband was a tie salesman. She turned his wide array of tie samples into a quilt.

Gustafson’s favorite quilt in the exhibit is one from Dr. Jessie Thomas Orr.

“It was started by her grandmother, who was born in 1788 in New England, the first generation after the American Revolution, and handed down to that person’s son, who brought it to Kansas with him when he moved here. Then his daughter, Jessie, received it, and she added onto it in the early 1900s,” he said.

One of approximately 100 female doctors in Kansas at the time, Orr “was one of the first horse and buggy doctors in Johnson County,” Gustafson said.

Another quilt follows the 1932 election, with images copied from The Kansas City Star editorial cartoons of the times.

Sometimes, like with the tie quilt, the women’s circumstances and stories make an appearance in the quilt itself. Other times, although you can’t see specific hints to their personal stories in the quilts, showing the quilts is a way to introduce their tales to the historical conversation.

Not every quilt in the exhibit is historical in the same way. One piece, made by the Olathe Quilters Guild in the 1990s, has patches specifically intended to represent events or people from the county’s history.

The museum has never specifically tried to collect quilts, but over the years, people have brought in more than 45 quilts. Twenty-four of them are on display with this exhibit. Patterns for the quilts include log cabin, weather vane, double wedding ring, bow tie, goose in the pond and feathered star.

As with any artifacts, the museum has some limitations, simply by virtue of what people have donated.

“All of the quilts were given to us by white, European-American families. We’re telling only a partial story,” Gustafson said. “We don’t have quilts from communities of color.”

One way they’re reaching out to the entire community is with a virtual program called “Quilts: A Sign of the Times” set for Jan. 14, taught by local activist, quilter and artist Nedra Bonds.

“I want to talk about Kansas City and how we can say who we are and document who we are in ways that are relevant to us, and a quilt is a good way to do that, because it means that is what’s happening here and now,” Bonds said.

One advantage to sharing history with a quilt, she said, is that “a quilt is portable. It’s not like a mural. They can go anywhere.”

Museum admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and $4 for children ages 1 to 18.

Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. There is a 25-person limit for the quilt exhibit at any one time, and masks are required.

“Quilts: A Sign of the Times” is free and will be at 6 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 14. Participants must register ahead of time by calling 913-831-3359.

This story was originally published December 29, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "For Johnson County Museum, quilting is more than a craft. It helps reveal history."