Memory quilt to preserve New Lenox

NEW LENOX - Jill Bojan and her family will join New Lenox history when quilters put together a new fabric bearing the names of village residents.

The names on the "memory quilt" will represent the next generation of New Lenox residents and will become the second such quilt since the first one was created 128 years ago. At that time, the quilt was created by New Lenox residents as a community project with names, such as Gougar and Haven, now familiar to many residents.

The New Lenox Area Historical Society is working on making the new quilt with the help of local residents who specialize in knitting fabrics. They will sell squares for interested residents by the end of the year and stitch the pieces together next year.

On Oct. 9, Bojan went to VFW Post 9545, where quilters were selling signature squares for the fabric to residents interested in becoming permanent fixtures of New Lenox history.

Bojan wanted to attach her name, since she is a born-and-raised resident of the village. She still can remember a quieter and more rural New Lenox.

"I've been here all my life, and my children have been here all their life," she said.

Jeanne Meeks, lead quilter for the project, said quilts are made with meaning behind them, and this one will represent the New Lenox of today to residents years from now.

"What we are putting into this quilt is our work and our thoughts, so maybe future generations will look back and remember New Lenox as it is now and the people whose names that they may remember. It will be a historical treasure," she said.

Quilters will use archival fabric ink and each square will be red, white and blue. The colors are fitting for a village that has the motto "Home of Proud Americans." The motto may be embroidered at the center of the quilt.

"We think it will be rather pretty and quite patriotic," said Phyllis Tolen, a quilter for the project.

Tolen and some others belong to a New Lenox Community Park District quilting group that will put the quilt together.

Businesses and organizations can sign up for squares, too.

Tolen, a retired teacher, was at VFW Post 9545 on Thursday to help residents like Bojan sign up. The quilters have collected dozens of family names thus far, she said.

"Most of them are people who were around within 50 years and will be part of the next generation we have here," she said.

Meeks said the original quilt fits a double-sized bed and the new one will be smaller. She said she hopes more businesses and their employees sign up.

Tolen said her quilting group has donated countless blankets to charities.

Lori Lindberg, New Lenox Area Historical Society chairwoman, said the new and old quilt will be put on display in the Francis house on Haven Avenue.

She said the original quilt, which is so fragile it must be handled with gloves, inspires conversations from people who see it. She hopes 100 years from now people will look back on the quilt being created and do the same.

Lindberg said the quilt will get people to talk about the village's history, which is a good thing.

"People have great pleasures looking at the quilt and seeing the old names that are either related to them or prominent citizens in the community," she said.