Here is a small sample of what people have had to say about the Heart of America Quilt. All this and
still you will hear the founders say, "It was just suppose to be a little quilt!"
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View the September 10, 2006 news clips about our showing from FOX 5 DC
Showing Story
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Heart Of America Quilt Display Marks 5-Year 9/11 Anniversary
Half-Acre Commemorative Quilt Displayed At Grounds Of Capitol
View the NBC4.com Slideshow
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Heart of America Quilt - A September 11 Memorial
View Rachel Cooper's Article and Slideshow
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View the July 30, 2005 Navy Marine Corps News Video about the Quilt.
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View the very first news clip about the Heart of America Quilt
First HoAQ Story
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From ...
Vigil draws hundreds
by Karelia Pallan
Hatchet Reporter
Issue date: 9/14/06 Section: News
The five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was commemorated Monday night at GW and across the District.
On campus, a few hundred students gathered in University Yard Monday night at a candlelight vigil where University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg and Student Association President Lamar Thorpe, a senior, spoke.
The vigil opened with the GW Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps Color Guard carrying the American flag as the national anthem played. Thorpe welcomed the crowd while students lit nine candles, each representing one of the GW alumni who died in the attacks.
"To see the congregation here tonight is a source of pride and satisfaction," Trachtenberg said. "You are here to memorialize the GW graduates, but it's a grander thing we mark tonight."
Sophomore Ashley Mergen was one of many students who attended the vigil.
"My parents are worried about me living in Washington, but we need to continue our normal lives; we can't live in fear," she said.
The GW community also observed a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., marked by bells tolling in Kogan Plaza in remembrance of the nine GW alumni and others who lost their lives that day.
Across the District many events marked the anniversary of the attacks. A walk took place Sunday from the Northwest Ghandhi Memorial Statue to the Washington Hebrew congregation.
Also on Sunday, the Heart of America Quilt was displayed on the National Mall. A tribute to the lives lost in the terrorist attacks, the one-half acre quilt is in the shape and colors of an American flag.
On Sunday night 184 beams of light were shot into the air at the Pentagon to commemorate the lives lost at the site where a plane flew into the Defense Department's building in Virginia.
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From ...
...and
U.S. Remembers September 11 Through Memorial Lights, Freedom Walks
Nation commemorates fifth anniversary of September 11 terrorist attacks
10 September 2006 -- By Howard Cincotta, Washington File Special Correspondent
Washington -- In communities across the United States, Americans are joining together to mark the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in which more than 3,000 Americans and citizens of other countries lost their lives.
The September 11 ceremonies are large and small, official and informal, and range from a televised presidential address scheduled for the evening of September 11 to concerts, interfaith religious services and a variety of local observances taking place in all 50 states as well as around the world.
In a proclamation declaring "National Days of Prayer and Remembrance," President Bush said, "As we pray for the families of the victims and reflect upon that defining moment in our history, we are inspired by the knowledge that from the pain and sorrow of that September morning rose a Nation united by our love freedom. We remember that we are a people determined to defend our way of life and to care for our neighbors in need."
For many Americans, remembrance of September 11 may involve a simple walk. In cities and communities throughout the country, thousands of Americans are participating in Freedom Walks to mark the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Many of the walks are sponsored by "America Supports You," a nationwide program sponsored by the Department of Defense, which seeks to engage thousands of communities, organizations, companies and individuals in support the armed forces and war against terrorism.
Estimates say more than 120 Freedom Walks are taking place, which began with a group of 30 who gathered on September 7 in White Sands, New Mexico. One of the largest took place in Washington on September 10, when several thousand participants walked two miles from the Washington Monument across the Potomac River to the Pentagon.
But other walks are much smaller and low key, and often involve a quiet, meditative walk around a local school or landmark -- whether the Wetumpka Intermediate School in Alabama; Veteran's Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma; or Sand Fork Elementary School in West Virginia. Some of the Freedom Walks feature music performances, releases of balloons or doves of peace and candle-lighting ceremonies.
But other scheduled September 11 community ceremonies are even more varied, as in this sampling of events taken from a listing compiled by the organization, Families of September 11:
-- More than 100 bicyclists will ride 272 miles from Ground Zero in New York City, site of the Twin Towers, to the Pentagon outside Washington.
-- In California, the Los Angeles Museum of Tolerance will conduct a memorial service and candle-lighting, following by screening of the film "World Trade Center."
-- A senior center in Baltimore, Maryland, will hold a special commemorative blood drive.
-- Minneapolis, Minnesota, will hold special September 11 memorial concerts along with dozens of other cities and communities.
-- Reno, Nevada, will be the site of Joe McNally's photo display "Faces of Ground Zero," using the world's largest Polaroid camera. His images toured major cities of the world in 2002 and were viewed by more than 2 million people.
-- New September 11 memorials will be unveiled in both Bayonne and Bergen County, New Jersey, a state hard hit by the terrorist attacks.
-- A "United in Memory 9/11 Victim's Memorial Quilt" will be on display in Radnor, Pennsylvania, as well as a "Heart of America Quilt" on the National Mall in Washington.
-- The volunteer organization, One Day's Pay, is campaigning to establish 9/11 as a voluntary day of service, charity and compassion. They are calling on Americans to perform at least one good deed of their own choosing in observance of the fifth anniversary of September 11.
Pillars of light also will pierce the night skies to commemorate September 11. In Washington, the Defense Department will beam a white memorial light skyward from dusk to dawn on September 10 and 11. New York City is beaming its "Tribute in Light" from lower Manhattan, site of the World Trade Center, "in memory of those lost and as a symbol of the spirit of our community."
Among the other ceremonies scheduled for New York City will be a ceremony featured the reading of the names of the victims by friends and family members, along with four moments of silence: one each for the moment the two planes struck the Twin Towers, and one each for the moment that the South Tower fell, followed by the North Tower.
President Bush will address the nation in a televised address on the evening of September 11.
Remembrances are not limited to the annual September 11 observances, of course. In an article, "The Architecture of Loss," Washington Post writer Glenn Frankel describes the many and varied memorials that have appeared or are planned across the nation. They range from the memorial entitled "Reflecting Absence" that will occupy the footprint of the downed World Trade Center, to a grove of trees in Massachusetts -- one for each victim aboard the two flights that took off from Boston. There is also a kidney-dialysis wing in a hospital in Ethiopia named for Yeneneh Betru, a medical specialist aboard the flight the struck the Pentagon, and an album from New Jersey-born rocker Bruce Springsteen called "The Rising."
On the Internet, according to one count by the Library of Congress, there are more than 2,700 memorial sites.
"There's a certain sense in which no memorial can ever capture the depth of pain the people experience," psychiatrist and writer Robert Jay Lifton said in Frankel's article. Governments and public institutions struggle to deal with divisive issues, Lifton said, and it's left to individuals to pay homage to their loved ones.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov)
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From ...
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Flag quilt to visit National Mall for 9/11 anniversary
Heart of America Quilt will show one-half acre of quilt in the form of a United States Flag on September 10th 2006 in front of the Capitol Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., to commence the five-year anniversary of 9/11. This show of unity is for the victims of 9/11 and those lost during the War on Terror. Displayed will be emblematic panels that contribute to make up the white stripes of the Heart of America Quilt. Those panels have been contributed from all over the world as a show of support for the victims and their families.
The showing will be free to the general public. Showing will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 4 p.m. A small service for the families will be held at the Tysons Corner Marriott.
For more information please visit www.heartofamericaquilt.com The service will include speaker Tamera Selhaver, a survivor of the Pentagon attack. United States Coast Guard Master Chief Petty Officer Vince Patton (Ret.), Heart of America Quilt President Susan Morissette and others will be present. Performers include Molly Fitzpatrick and Shari Colleen.
About the Heartof America Quilt
The Heart of America Quilt began in the aftermath of 9/11 as a small quilt from Maine. It was started by the Morissette family on Sept.13, 2001, to help the children of Maine heal and feel a sense of helpfulness to those that lost so much on 9/11. Within weeks of its conception, the Heart of America Quilt grew to nation level with panels being contributed from many other states. At present, the Heart of America Quilt has 50 of the United States involved, and over 10 countries, and this flag-shaped quilt over one half acre in size when displayed in full form. The small project has grown to hold names of tens of thousands of people from across the world. For more information please visit www.heartofamericaquilt.com.
Each panel is a representation of resolve to remember those lost in the attacks of September 11, 2001, and in the war on terrorism. Together, the panels form the white stripes of the American flag. These stripes unite the individual panels and demonstrate the unity of all. The quilt boasts of tens of thousands of signatures from all over the world, filling the simple white fabric squares with signatures, artwork and pure compassion for others.
The Heart of America Quilt has been shown in Waterville, Maine, at the Hathaway Shirt Company; Winslow, Maine, at the 4th of July event; Danbury, Conn.; Tampa, Florida at the Museum of Science and Industry; Reston, Va., at the Reston YMCA; The Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum in New York City; and the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico. Portions of the quilt have been shown in Memphis, Tenn. and San Diego, Calif.
Heart of America Quilt is the largest quilt in the form of the U.S. flag known of in the world. Heart of America Quilt is a proud supporter of our troops.
For bio information, press photos or interview scheduling please email- PR@HeartofAmericaQuilt.org. Information can be found on our official Web site www.heartofamericaquilt.org.
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From the...
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
'Heart of America Quilt' keeps on growing
By COLIN HICKEY
Staff Writer
Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
WINSLOW -- Two days after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Susan Morissette, a mother of four, decided she had to do something to help Maine children heal from the horror so many had witnessed on TV.
Thus began the project now known as the Heart of America Quilt, a half-acre collection of about 400 panels -- each a symbol of caring through words, pictures or both -- from every state in the country and 15 foreign nations that sits atop red, white and blue fabric that forms the American flag.
Morissette never imagined that her quilt would grow to be that large, or that a community service curriculum would become a part of the program, and that people across the country would volunteer to be members of her board of directors.
She never envisioned that nearly five years after the first panel took form that she would be devoting 40 to 60 hours a week to the quilt, coordinating showings across the country, including one on Sept. 10 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
"When this all started I never thought it would turn into an organization," Morissette said. "We started thinking this would be something nice for the state of Maine. As we worked on it, it became a national organization."
With four children under 10 and a full time job as an educational technician at her children's school, Morissette could hardly be faulted if she stepped down from her duties as president and executive director of the Heart of America Quilt.
But Morissette knows she could never do that. She cannot abandon something that provides so much comfort to so many.
"I showed the quilt in New York City," she said, "and a gentleman in his mid-70s approached me, and he hugged me, and he cried and said 'Thank you for keeping my daughter's spirit alive in a positive way.'"
Morissette said the man's daughter was one of the people killed in the World Trade Center. The man told Morissette that he was talking to his daughter via cell phone when the plane hit. The last sounds he heard were screams, she said.
Chief Petty Officer Mike Doyle of the U.S. Navy discovered the quilt when he stumbled across Morissette while attending a conference in Washington, D.C.
Doyle quickly gained an appreciation for the quilt's healing power.
"I have seen a lot of people pretty amazed by it and interested in how they could contribute," he said in an interview from his Navy base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. "Everybody wants to help in some small way."
Doyle opted to help in a big way: He donated his advanced computer skills and has become the Webmaster behind the Heart of America Quilt Web site, www.heartofamericaquilt.org
He also developed the community service curriculum aimed at schoolchildren.
Doyle plans to be at the National Mall on Sept. 10 for the latest quilt showing. Morissette will drive down in a van donated by a Brewer businessman, carting a portion of the quilt -- the rest of it will be brought from other volunteers from various locations.
Morissette could write a dissertation on the logistics of putting together the Heart of America Quilt for a showing. It is that complicated.
Still, she endures and in the end the reward is well worth the effort, she said.
"I will do a showing," she said, "and afterward I'll be standing side by side with people who have very different beliefs on many issues, but they all are united about the worth of the quilt project."
Colin Hickey -- 861-9205
chickey@centralmaine.com
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Eyewitness News Memphis - "Heart Of America Quilt" Coming To Memphis
"Heart Of America Quilt" Coming To Memphis Posted: 6/19/2006 3:55:01 PM
Several panels from the "Heart of America Quilt" will be on display July 10th through the 14th at the Memphis Convention Center. They will be displayed during the Navy Counselors Association Annual Symposium.
The entire quilt stretches for half an acre. It was created after September 11th by the Morissette family of Maine to help the children of Maine deal with the terror attack.
A short time later, panels were created in other states.
It now contains panels from all 50 states and more than 10 countries.
Each panel remembers September 11th victims and those involved in the war on terror.
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From the...
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Heart of America Quilt has new activity book
By JOSH SEARS
Copyright 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
WINSLOW -- Heart of America Quilt founder and president Susan Morissette said she will honor Veterans
Day with a free download of the quilt's new Community Service Activity Book. Created in 2005, the
Community Service Activity book was made for the Heart of America Quilt in a way designed to generate
interest for children in kindergarten through grade three.
The goal is to teach children how this memorial was created by working together to find a solution to
a needed outlet for Americans to express their unity after the devastation of Sept. 11, 2001, and
those lost in the war on terror.
"The activity book has activities for the family to do together and chance for the children to do
something for their community," Morissette said in a release.
"In his 2002 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush called on every American to make
a lifelong commitment to volunteer service," she said. "That is a job Heart of America Quilt does
not take lightly. Part of our volunteer service is to say thank you to those who serve to protect
our freedoms to do our services.
"America's assets are the American people. Some of those people are willing to offer all for their
country and our Activity Book is but a small offering of thank you to those who have worked without
tier for the safety and freedom of all. Heart of America Quilt is proud to be able to offer this to
our Military Personnel and their families."
The Community Service Activity Book is available by e-mailing admin@heartofamericaquilt.com.
Respondents are asked to use "CSAB" in the subject line.
For more information about volunteering for Heart of America Quilt, contact admin@heartofamericaquilt.com.
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Friday, December 31, 2004
Survivor makes plea for India Heart of America Quilt member contacts Winslow founder
By DOUG HARLOW
Staff Writer
Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
WINSLOW -- A member of the worldwide Heart of America Quilt is appealing to the quilt's founder and others for prayer and financial assistance in the wake of the tsunami disaster that struck on Sunday.
Michael R. Hubert, secretary general at the Indo American Unity Center in Madras, India, sent an e-mail this week to quilt founder Susan Morissette of Winslow, saying members of his own family perished in the tragedy.
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Staff photo by Jeff Pouland
Susan Morissette of Winslow, founder of The Heart of America Quilt, is raising money to send to tsunami victims in India. Morissette is sitting in front of a quilt panel from the Indo American Unity Center in Madras, India.
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"I (am) making this letter in a sad state," Hubert wrote. "The tsunami hit the coastal areas of my state, which is called Tamilnadu. I live in Chennai, or it's well known as Madras.
"It has hit the people, their belongings and everything inside the coast."
In his letter to Morissette, Hubert describes decaying bodies that had not been cleared away and a local government that is in shock and overwhelmed.
"Our state was not prepared to face this disaster and our rescue missions are so poor," he wrote. "The people who are saved have lost every belongings. There is no food, dress, shelter, utensils to cook."
Hubert also sent along photographs of bodies stacked in a mass grave and others strewn along a dirt street.
Hubert's Indo American Unity Center was founded to help India's poorest children, many of them suffering from cancer and AIDS, Morissette said
"He said to please pray for them and the many families that need donations of finances to help provide for them," Morissette said. "He's still looking for his own family, plus the families he's trying to help who have lost their homes."
The Heart of America Quilt began as the Heart of Maine Quilt in Morissette's home immediately after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The mother of four began with a few white cotton panels bearing the signatures of area children, but soon Morissette found her project spreading to schools and churches all over Maine.
Morissette and her husband Bill said in 2001 they wanted all children to have a means of expressing their sadness and concern about the terror attacks, as a means of healing. They wanted the quilt first to go statewide, then nationwide, as a universal show of support for the victims and survivors.
Today, the quilt, which is in storage for the winter, has 600 panels from all 50 states and 14 countries, including Iraq and India. Morissette said Hubert at the Unity Center in India found her Web site on the Internet and the two groups began exchanging e-mails, ideas, and gifts for peace and prosperity.
Now, the India connection needs help, according to Morissette.
"All I request is that I need your prayers for me to stand up and continue the work," Hubert wrote to Morissette. "Our people need help and support to start their lives again.
We need to help around 50 families, at least, and we may need around 300 U.S. dollars per family."
Hubert said he will send reports on the well being of the children and families who need help.
"Once again I need your prayers," Hubert said at the end of his letter. "Thanks."
Anyone wishing to help can contact Morissette at the quilt Web site: http://www.heartofamericaquilt.com
Doug Harlow -- 861-9244
dharlow@centralmaine.com
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Aug 4, 2003
West Point Graduate Makes A Heart-Felt Contribution
By DIANE LOEBEL
dloebel@tampatrib.com
DADE CITY - About 16 months ago, Steve Collier was
intrigued by an e-mail his company received. He contacted
the sender, Susan Morissette, to find out more.
Morissette started the Heart of America Quilt, a memorial
to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and was
looking for businesses, schools, churches, fire departments,
groups and individuals to contribute squares for the quilt.
The objective was to make a one-acre quilt resembling the
U.S. flag. The white stripes would be made up of the square
panels Morissette sought.
The idea of the quilt and what it symbolized grew on
Collier, who retired as a colonel after 28 years in the U.S.
Army, and he agreed to give a panel in his company's name.
He had a 25-year reunion of his West Point graduating class
coming up and decided to suggest the class contribute a
panel.
A class member had died in the World Trade Center attack,
and Collier's suggestion was received warmly.
Collier's wife, Elizabeth, helped design the West Point
panel and arranged for its fabrication through an
embroiderer in Dade City.
Steve Collier kept in touch with Morissette, who had been
able to get panels promised from all but three states. New
Mexico was one of the missing states.
Collier solved that problem by contacting his mother-in-
law who lives in Albuquerque. At an annual balloon festival
in Albuquerque, she collected more than 2,000 signatures for
the New Mexico quilt panel. She also made a panel containing
the names of those killed in the terrorist attack on the
Pentagon.
Collier, a 49-year-old Tampa native, graduated from
Chamberlain High School and attended West Point through an
appointment from then-U.S. Congressman Sam Gibbons. He was a
tank officer at Fort Carson, Colo., and retired as director
of the model simulation office at the Pentagon.
The Colliers have lived in Dade City since their
retirement from the Army in April 2001. Steve Collier is
president of Liquidmetal Defense in Tampa, a subsidiary of
Liquidmetal Technologies. Elizabeth Collier retired as a
lieutenant colonel after 27 years, and was a Congressional
liaison for the national missile defense system under the
U.S. Department of Defense at the Pentagon.
Morissette asked Steve Collier several times to serve on
the Heart of America Quilt board of directors. He took his
time deciding, saying he wanted to do justice to Morissette
and her project. He agreed to take the position and helps
any way he can, especially with advice.
``Steve gives me a constant level of support and
advice,'' Morissette said. ``It's a great honor to have
someone who served his country as long as Steve did, and is
doing it again by serving on the board and helping unite
America.''
Want to suggest an Everyday Hero? Call Diane Loebel,
(727) 815-1081, write her at The Tampa Tribune, 6214 U.S. 19
New Port Richey FL 34652, or e-mail at
dloebel@tampatrib.com
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Patchwork of healing;
By ERNEST HOOPER, Times Columnist
© St. Petersburg Times
published July 18, 2003
On Sept. 11, 2001, Susan Morissette found herself trying
to explain the unexplainable to her two young children: the
terrorist attacks that rocked the country and the world.
It was winter in her hometown of Winslow, Maine, and she
watched as her 4-year-old son Chris found comfort by curling
under a quilt tucked up to his chin.
"Mommy, I wish everyone could feel like this," he said.
The snapshot inspired Morissette to begin the Heart of
America Quilt, an international memorial designed to foster
healing and promote unity in the wake of the tragedy. The
quilt, which was on display Thursday at the Museum of
Science and Industry, is in the form of an American flag.
The white stripes of the flag are composed of 16-foot panels
of cloth that have come from every state as well as 14
countries.
One of the panels is from Hillsborough Community College.
Former student government president and Surinam native Anita
Yeung helped gather people to sign the panel last Sept. 11.
"Being a part of this is really touching," Yeung said.
Morissette has found herself bonding with people like
Yeung all over the nation. At a moving ceremony at MOSI
Thursday morning, Morissette received warm embraces from
several Bayshore Patriots, including Julie Adcock Whitney.
The flag display was originally slated for the Tampa
Convention Center, but those plans fell through when the
organization that was going to bring the flag to town had a
budget deficit. Morissette credited MOSI and the patriots,
among others, for helping save the event.
"I went to (the Bayshore Patriots) Web site and I sent
them an e-mail telling them "I need your help,"' Morissette
said. "Their spirit was there. They said, "God bless you and
come to Tampa."'
Maybe there is something special about quilts. A dozen
bay area kids joined Keep Me in Stitches Thursday at Tampa
General to craft hand-made quilts for children and infants
at the hospital.
The Punisher is closer than ever to an actual shoot date.
There's the casting call for extras Saturday at noon at the
Florida Aquarium. And the production crew has rented
Terminal 6 at the Port of Tampa and is using the facility to
build sets.
I also understand one of the square buildings at the
bottom of the beer can building (400 N Ashley St.) will be
modeled into a bar that will be owned by John Travolta's
character in the movie.
I hope they leave the bar standing.
casting call for The Punisher is not the only opportunity
for all you Tampa folks looking to be in the limelight. The
E! Entertainment channel is seeking out candidates for its
new show, The Look for Less. The idea is to take someone who
has a special event or date coming up and give them a
makeover on a limited budget.
The press release says the show wants "outgoing folks
with real stories, who feel comfortable being in front of a
camera." I'm also told the producers are not looking for the
gorgeous supermodel types. I guess that counts me out.
If you're interested, contact Carrie Weiner via e-mail
(cweiner@eentertainment.com) as soon as possible.
Tell your story and let her know the designer or
celebrity style you'd most like to emulate.
They hope to film at Tampa's International Plaza at the
end of the month.
Kudos to our own Mark Cochran. To us who work in the
Times Building on Ashley, he is the man who drives the
building's shuttle van. But on Sunday, Joseph B. Green,
pastor of Rainbow Ministries Church of God in Christ, will
ordain Cochran as a deacon.
Needless to say, Cochran is beaming with pride this week.
And he should be.
That's all I'm saying.
- Ernest Hooper can be reached at 226-3406 or
Hooper@sptimes.com
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Interview
Quilt Stitches Together Sept. 11 Memories
By STEVE NEWBORN
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TAMPA (2003-07-17) It's called the Heart of America Quilt.
The idea for the memorial came from Susan Morissette, a
homemaker from Maine. She was sitting with her family one
day discussing the September 11 tragedy, when they decided
to do something positive.
MORISSETTE: We sat on the couch, and my oldest son, who was
four at the time, pulled the comforter under his chin, and
said, "Mommy, I wish they could all feel like this right
now." And that's why we're doing this. Because we want our
country to feel helpful and united, instead of helpless. And
that's the gift that we're going to give the families.
So she sent out the word to others in Maine, and they
responded with a flurry of quilts. Then, the word spread
even farther. Morissette says the response surprised even
her.
MORISSETTE: We planned on just being a small quilt from the
state of Maine, and at this point, we actually have all 50
states and 14 other countries.
Morissette says the week before the Tampa appearance, she
received so many quilts that she couldn't bring them all to
Tampa. This is her last scheduled appearance, since she need
to raise more money to continue the tour.
She relied on donations to bring the quilt to Tampa. Money
came from both companies in the area and from the Museum of
Science and Industry, where it was displayed for one day.
Morissette hopes to raise enough money to do a nationwide
tour.
Until then, she says the quilts keep coming.
MORISSETTE: I do have a panel is from Army Headquarters at
the Pentagon, that survivors did in memory of their fallen
comrades. We have some from the military, from West Point,
in symbolism and the people who protect our country. There's
the first fire department on scene at the Pentagon and we're
waiting for our New York panel, from the fire department in
New York to arrive.
One of the panels is signed by Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, with
another bearing the signature of Jeb Bush. Nearby is a quilt
stitched together by students at Hillsborough Community
College. It was done on Sept. 11, 2002.
Anita Yeung signed the panel when she was the student
government president of HCC's Dale Mabry campus. The
exchange student from Suriname says so many students wanted
to sign that even when the panel was full after only two
hours, they managed to find places for others to sign.
YEUNG: It looks very simple, and everybody wants to be part
of it, to be part of unity. It just gives you this warm
feeling of, we're all one. We may be different people, but
inside we're all the same.
Jenny Harris of Tampa took her son, Quentin, to view the
quilt.
HARRIS: We wanted the see what local people could do to help
resolve their country, and a lot of people coming here for
freedom from other nations, and it doesn't take a lot of
technology, but just a lot of heart, and spirit and
willpower to do it.
Anyone wishing to donate a quilt can call up their Web site
at www.heartofamericaquilt.com.
© Copyright 2003,
WUSF
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Photo by: CANDACE C. MUNDY
Museum of Science & Industry
visitors view the Heart of America Quilt. A Maine
woman started the memorial to comfort her children.
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The Fabric Of Lost Lives
By LENORA LAKE
Tribune correspondent
Published:
Jul 18, 2003
TAMPA - Mary E. Elder and daughter Elizabeth
Collier placed a 45-by-45-inch white cotton square among
the others on the floor of the Museum of Science &
Industry's auditorium.
The cloth listed the names of those killed in the
Pentagon and on the plane that crashed into it Sept. 11.
It was one of the newest panels in the Heart of America
Quilt, a memorial to the victims of the attacks. It
forms an American flag with panels from 50 states and 14
countries.
Susan Morissette of Winslow, Maine, started it to
comfort her four children. Hundreds of squares have been
contributed from schools, businesses, churches, fire
departments, groups and individuals. Some are simple,
with only child- printed names from a preschool; others
are elaborate, with artwork of Bibles, American flags
and state seals.
``I am just an individual who got volunteered into
making a square,'' said Elder, of New Mexico, who flew
to Tampa for Thursday's display and ceremony that
included son-in-law Tom Collier of Dade City, a member
of the board of directors for the Heart of America Quilt
organization. ``My grandson suggested we do it.''
Five thousand square feet of quilt was displayed.
Visitors looked on in silence. Some wiped away tears.
Some prayed.
``I am amazed daily by what is added to the quilt,''
Morissette said during the ceremony featuring
representatives from the government, law enforcement and
MacDill Air Force Base, along with paramedics and the
flag-waving group The Bayshore Patriots Inc., which did
a panel. ``The pride in the quilt is not what I have
done. It is all a cross section of the country and those
who unite with us.''
Correspondent Lenora Lake can be reached at (813)
977-2854, Ext. 24.
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Pfc. Karima L. Mares
20th Public Affairs Detachment
U.S. ARMY ALASKA — Nearly two years after the
anniversary of the
9-11 terrorist attacks, the Heart of America Quilt nears
completion.
Started by Susan Morrisette of Winslow,
Maine, the quilt grew from a small town’s way of helping its
children express their feelings toward the attacks, to a
nation’s way of coping with the unthinkable.
Sgt. Miguel Rinconeno, Company D, 172nd
Support Battalion, is one Fort Richardson soldier who became
involved. “I was not only happy to do this for my country,
the state of Alaska and forts Richardson and Wainwright, but
I have felt truly honored and full of pride to have been
involved in this international memorial,” he said. Now, as
Alaska’s state representative for the quilt, Rinconeno has
spent about 40 hours creating the three panels representing
the state of Alaska, D Co., 172nd Spt. Bn., and Fort
Richardson.
“I love this great country of ours,” he
said. “It just wasn’t possible for me not to use my
God-gifted talent. It has been a great, once in a lifetime
experience to bring together those prideful Americans who
participated in the signings, at every signing. I thought to
myself, ‘What a great day to be in the Army.’”
These panels are only three of thousands
that will be collected from all 50 United States and ten
other countries. “It was important that he did this for
several reasons,” said Karen Gale, family advocate for the
Directorate of Community Activities.
“He’s a member of the elite core of Army
personnel whose commitment to service goes beyond the
everyday mission. It’s significant that his talents as an
artist are used to express his loyalty to his country, and
it shows true patriotism when a patriot takes his time and
talents and uses them in such a way that others can benefit
from the beauty.”
Once collected, the panels will be sewn
together to create the largest quilted American flag and
will honor those who lost their lives in the 9-11 attacks.
The flag is scheduled to be displayed Sept. 11, 2003 in the
Washington, D.C., area.
Efforts are also being made to have it
permanently displayed in the Smithsonian Institute.
Contact the writer at
karima.mares@richardson.army.mil.
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Saturday, July
5, 2003
'Liberty is
precious'
Sen. Susan Collins speaks of Iraq trip
at Winslow's 4th
By DOUG HARLOW, Staff Writer
Copyright © 2003 Blethen
Maine Newspapers Inc. |
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WINSLOW — From the heat of the
Iraqi desert one day to the relative heat of the Winslow
Family 4th of July Celebration the next, Maine Sen.
Susan Collins had a red, white and blue week.
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Staff photo / DAVID LEAMING
Sen. Susan Collins gives
Arthur Grenier a kiss during the Winslow Fourth of
July parade on Friday. Grenier, dressed as Uncle
Sam for the celebration, said he was one of the
original organizers of the annual event.
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Collins marched in Friday's
parade and later was the guest speaker in Fort Halifax
Park for a special Heart of America Quilt program.
"Having just visited our troops
in Iraq, it's wonderful to be here in Winslow," the
Republican senator said before she took the stage for
her address Friday.
Because of her tight schedule —
she had another parade to attend — Collins delivered her
remarks as the parade still roared behind her on nearby
Bay Street.
"Americans today know that
liberty is as precious as it ever was and that we must
always guard against those who hate the idea that all
men and women should be free to live their own lives
according to their own consciences," Collins said. "I
love to see the community come together in celebration
and salute to our troops."
Collins, who was the guest of
Heart of America Quilt founder Susan Morissette of
Winslow, remembered Maj. Jay Aubin, who was killed in
the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom and whose
family lives in Winslow.
The quilt was begun by Morissette
with a few pieces of fabric on Sept. 13, 2001, to honor
and remember the people who were killed in the terrorist
attacks two days earlier. The quilt now features panels
from all 50 states and from 14 other nations around the
world.
Collins also spoke of meeting
Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Levesque of Winslow while in
the war zone.
"I met him the day before
yesterday — or was it the day before the day before
yesterday — in the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq,"
Collins said. "He told me 'I am so proud in how I gave
the people of Iraq the greatest gift possible — I helped
give them their freedom.'"
Collins said the Heart of America
Quilt and the work of Morissette and her supporters are
wonderful symbols of America's determination to uphold
the values that define us as Americans.
"The spirit of America lives on
in this remarkable project," Collins said. "God bless
Winslow, and God bless the United States of America."
On board the Heart of America
Quilt float in the parade and on the stage later for the
formal program were Morissette, Pentagon survivor Tamera
Selhaver of Virginia, World Trade Center survivor Eric
Vallez and others.
Selhaver, who came to Winslow
with her husband and young daughter, said she met
Morissette about a year ago where she heard about
Morissette's "little" quilt project.
"When I found out how big it was
I was so proud to be a part of it," she said. "Every day
when I go to work at the Pentagon I remember my
colleagues that I lost.
"I know my colleagues will not be
forgotten."
Selhaver's remarks were followed
by words of unity and freedom from Vallez, who as a
security guard at the World Trade Center helped save
many lives in the minutes following the attack.
Singer and songwriter Jeremy
Greene, 21, of Winslow then sang a song he wrote titled
"That's When I'll Stop Missing You," a tribute to the
survivors and the victims of Sept. 11.
The 13th annual Winslow parade
began Friday just after a 10 a.m. flyover by two F-16
fighter jets, which impressed the assembled masses with
a loud roar and a sharp bank to the south.
Winslow Police Chief Michael
Heavener led the parade down Bay Street followed by a
color guard, Winslow fire and rescue units, veterans
groups and representatives from all branches of the
military. What followed was two hours of red, white and
blue, complete with music by such bands as the Maine
Army National Guard Band and the Dunlap Highland Band
playing "God Bless America" on the bagpipes and drums.
Grand marshals for the parade
were Brad and Pam Whitaker.
Marchers stopped along the way a
couple of times for ceremonies honoring the flag and the
nation.
Fourth of July Chairman Ron
LeClair said he estimated 30,000 people lined the parade
route this year.
"It was 12 deep all the way
along," LeClair said. "The crowd is unbelievable. As of
yesterday there were 150 units, but it has grown."
In Fort Halifax Park after the
parade were amusements, music and a petting zoo, free
all day. Music was provided by Denis Cote and company,
performing American and Canadian folk music. Cote was
followed on stage by a country music tribute to Shania
Twain, a show by the Glamour Girls and 1970s flashback
group All Star Dynomite Disco Review.
The day's events were scheduled
to end at 10 p.m. on the banks of the Kennebec River
with a $15,000 fireworks display Friday night.
Doug Harlow —
861-9244
dharlow@centralmaine.com
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Members of VFW Post 4549 and Ladies’ Auxiliary have prepared a panel for the “Heart of
America Quilt,” which is an international memorial for the victims of September 11th.
The quilt originated in Maine by the family of Susan Morissette. Panels are being
collected from schools, FDNY, United States Military Academy, a survivor’s panel from
the Pentagon, and businesses and other non-profit organizations. It is estimated that
the quilt (in the form of a U.S. flag), will cover more than one acre of ground when
complete. Its purpose is to create unity in observance of the tragedy of 9/11, and it
will be displayed on September 11th, 2003.
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The Robinson Wal-Mart has donated panels for all schools in Crawford County,
which will be delivered this month by members of the Auxiliary. The quilt is
one way to help children express their sadness and share their grief. All
squares from Crawford County will be placed in the same area of the quilt.
The VFW and Auxiliary are encouraging local clubs, churches, and business to
join in this effort. All that is needed is a square of white cotton fabric,
45” x 45”. Markings should be in red, black, and blue (no borders). A
picture, saying, flag, logo (or whatever is chosen) should be placed in the
center of the square, and signed by members of the group. The panels should
be sent to: Susan Morisette, Heart of America Quilt, 7 First Street, Winslow,
Maine 04901. Deadline is July 1, 2003 (although it is suggested that it be
sent as soon as possible to be certain that the panel is included). More
information can be found at www.HeartofAmericaQuilt.com,
or by calling (207) 873-3573.
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Friday, September 14, 2001
Quilt to bear healing message
By DOUG HARLOW, Staff Writer
Copyright © 2001
Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc
WINSLOW — A 31-year-old mother of four has begun work on
a quilt she hopes will be signed by every child in Maine and
presented to families of terrorist attack victims in New
York City and Washington.
Susan Morissette, of First Street, said she got the idea
Thursday for The Heart of Maine Quilt, after watching three
days of television coverage of the worst domestic attack
ever on the United States.
"I was having a hard time changing the channel — I was
glued to the TV," Morissette said Thursday, holding
six-month old twins, Jacqueline and Noah.
"Christopher, my four-year-old son, looked right at me
and asked if it was monsters that did that," she said. "I
was speechless.
"I explained to him that there were people with different
beliefs than us, and unfortunately there's some people in
the world that feel it's OK to take human life."
Morissette and her husband, Bill, said they want all
children to have a means of expressing their sadness and
concern over the recent events as a means of healing.
They want the Heart quilt first to go statewide, then
nationwide, as a universal show of support for the victims
and survivors.
The idea, they said is to have a Heart of America Quilt,
too.
"I felt the need to do something," she said. "So I made
ribbons for Christopher's (pre-kindergarten) class at Mount
Merici."
Morissette said she first made red, white and blue
ribbons for the class and soon found herself making 200 or
more ribbons for the entire school. In addition, Morissette
said, she said she made enough ribbons for all the workers
at the Gardiner Post Office, where her husband is employed.
"It didn't feel like it was enough," she said after
making the last of the ribbons Wednesday. "I still felt I
needed to do more."
Thursday morning, when her friend Tina Grant, of
Vassalboro, and her small child came over for a visit, the
idea of a big, statewide quilt began to come alive.
"We cried all morning," Morissette said. "Men want to
protect and fight, we want to grab and heal."
Throughout the day Thursday, Morissette said she
telephoned area school principals as ideas for The Heart of
Maine Quilt kept coming.
She said employees at Marden's Discount Store on College
Avenue in Waterville assisted her with personal donations
for needed fabric and batting material to get started on the
quilt.
Bill Morissette then purchased an Internet domain and
began construction of a Web site. The site
www.theheartofamericaquilt.com will be open by Sunday.
Morissette can be reached via e-mail at
admin@heartofamericaquilt.com.
The plan for the Web site is to have a different page for
each state, according to Morissette.
As for the actual quilt, the plan is to send each school
a block of fabric, on which each student will sign his or
her name with fabric markers. The material will be cut into
squares with the school logo or a school design to be sent
back to Morissette.
"Our plan is to gather at Capital Park in Augusta with
volunteers to sew the state of Maine (quilt) together to be
presented in New York and maybe Washington," she said.
To reach Doug Harlow
Phone: 861-9244
dharlow@centralmaine.com
Friday, October 26, 2001
Patriotic quilting effort spreads
By DOUG HARLOW, Staff Writer
Copyright © 2001
Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
WINSLOW — What began as a way for Maine children to
express their sadness over the events of Sept. 11 has spread
to eight states, with six more waiting in the wings.
The Heart of Maine Quilt, already signed by hundreds of
area school children, is now the Heart of America Quilt,
with sections totaling 640 square feet of fabric, said Susan
Morissette, a Winslow mother of four.
Word of mouth and Morissette's Web site on the Internet
is spreading the message, she said.
The Internet address is www.heartofamericaquilt.com and
the telephone number is 873-3573.
"Every time I talk to someone out of state I say, 'Please
forward this to others,'" she said Thursday. "We're growing
so fast we have directions on the Web site on how to make
your own panels for the quilt."
Morissette said she got the idea for the Heart of Maine
Quilt after watching days of television coverage of the
death and destruction in New York City and at the Pentagon.
She said her 4-year-old son, Christopher, looked at her
during one of the broadcasts and asked if it was "monsters
that did that," she said.
Morissette and her husband, Bill, an employee at the
Gardiner Post Office, said they want all children to have a
means of expressing their sadness and concern over the
recent events as a means of healing.
The Winslow couple said they want the quilt to go all
over the country as a universal show of support for the
victims and survivors. They have set Sept. 11, 2002, as the
deadline for submissions of quilt panels.
Once the panels are complete, the quilt will be assembled
for presentation to New York and Pentagon officials at a
date yet to be named, she said.
"When the quilt is complete it will be a giant flag. It
will be a quilt in the shape of a flag," Morissette said.
"It will be the most precious flag ever, because it will
hold the names of the nation's children."
Morissette said so far she has accumulated 40 individual
4-by-4-foot squares — 28 of them from Maine schools. Other
participants are schools in New York, New Hampshire,
Vermont, Maryland, Illinois, North Carolina, Pennsylvania
and two schools in Florida, she added.
Morissette said she is waiting to hear back from schools
in six other states from California to Massachusetts.
On Saturday, National Make A Difference Day sponsored by
USA Weekend magazine, Morissette will set up her fabric
panels in Castonguay Square in Waterville for a public
signing from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
She said she is inviting all area police officers and
firefighters to stop by and sign a quilt panel of their own.
"I have personally asked the police and fire departments
in Waterville and Winslow to sign the quilt, which will be
our honor," she said.
To reach Doug Harlow
Phone: 861-9244
dharlow@centralmaine.com
A global view
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By Lindsay Tice Staff Writer
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Scott Erb’s foreign policy classes don’t often fill up.
Erb, an associate political science professor at the University of Maine at Farmington, usually sees about 20 students in the high-level political science course each semester. Until last spring.
Suddenly, the class that analyzes American foreign policy and international politics swelled to 30 students and was closed to registration. Erb admitted another five. Others waited to get in.
“Americans tend not to think about what goes on in the rest of the world,” said Erb. “Sept. 11 indicated that we have to.”
A year after terrorists attacked the United States, many college professors, religious leaders and others in Maine are seeing a new and profound interest in world affairs, American foreign policy, religion and the Middle East.
In Erb’s classes, students now want to know about the history of Palestine, the history of Iraq and Iran, the colonization of the Middle East - subjects they’ve never encountered. And when they get information, Erb said, they thirst for more.
“People are riveted,” he said.
At UMF, a 2,000-student liberal arts university, officials have tried to satisfy this new interest in world affairs.
Last fall the school hosted a series of public discussions about terrorism, Islam and Afghanistan. Classes have touched on Middle Eastern history and other issues connected with Sept. 11.
“I think (Sept. 11) has brought that in sharper focus,” said James Melcher, an assistant political science professor whose students have shown interest in Palestine and foreign policy over the past year.
In history classes, Kenneth Orosz sees students who are more willing now to listen to complex explanations of world affairs and terrorism.
“There’s a larger realization that things are not quite so simple,” said Orosz, who will help coordinate a UMF conference on the Russian, American and Central Eurasian response to global terrorism in October.
Across the University of Maine system, officials are trying to encourage students’ newfound curiosity about the world. University Chancellor Joseph Westphal said he’d like to see departments expand their curriculums with global issues. He’d like to increase foreign exchanges with students and teachers.
“Our ability as citizens in Maine to deal with these issues is enhanced if we know more,” Westphal said.
What people want
Students aren’t the only Mainers more aware of the world and interested in America’s place in it since Sept. 11.
Thomas “Mac” Deford, president of the Midcoast Forum on Foreign Relations in Camden has seen increased interest in Middle Eastern issues.
The Midcoast Forum currently has 65 members. So many others have asked to join that the group had to close its waiting list at 50.
Over the past year, two-thirds of the group’s discussion sessions have focused on the Middle East.
“It’s what people want to hear,” said Deford.
Abraham Peck, co-organizer of Interfaith Maine and director of the Academic Council for Post-Holocaust Christian and Jewish Studies, has watched as Mainers become more aware of the world’s religions.
Interfaith Maine was started five months before the terrorist attacks to give Jews, Christians and Muslims an opportunity and a place to talk.
In the past year, as people sought information about Islam and religious tolerance, the Portland group has rapidly become popular.
“After Sept. 11, it was like the entire nation woke up and said, ‘Who are Muslims? What is Islam?’’’ he said. “It just accelerated all of these people wanting to know.”
Invitations began coming “left and right” from church groups, civic organizations and other associations interested in having Interfaith Maine members speak, Peck said. Members of Bahaism, Paganism and other faiths have asked to join Interfaith Maine. A March program on religious pluralism in America drew such a large crowd that 100 people had to be turned away for lack of room.
“It was extraordinary,” Peck said.
But more than simply searching for religious information, Peck said, Mainers have demonstrated a religious acceptance that would have been more unusual before the terrorist attacks.
In the days following Sept. 11, Mainers called Interfaith Maine to offer to shop for Muslims who were worried about going out in public. Students volunteered to help young Muslims with homework. On religious holidays, religious leaders called to wish each other well.
Said Peck, “One group not being safe means all of us not being safe.”
Small world
While Mainers continue to look more closely at the world and ask more questions every day -- about domestic security, civil liberties and other issues -- many say the answers are slowly coming.
“I really think our eyes have gotten a little bigger. It kind of makes us, after we’re done gasping for breath, look around and see what’s going on,” said Susan Morissette, a Winslow resident who created the 5,000-square-foot Heart of America quilt in memory of the Sept. 11 victims and has spoken with teachers and civic volunteers from around the state.
Like many college professors, group leaders and other individuals across the state, Morissette said this year has taught her a lot.
And one thing in particular.
“I see the world being so much smaller,” she said.
ltice@sunjournal.com
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By Kristen Andresen, Of the NEWS Staff
Last updated: Tuesday, October 16, 2001
Security Blanket
Winslow Woman Organizes Effort to Create Heart of America
Quilt
The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 left Susan Morissette
feeling cold. So one night, she gathered her husband, Bill,
and four young children together on the couch in their
Winslow home. They wrapped up in a big quilt and talked
about what happened, looking for answers and thinking of
ways to help. As they tried to make sense of it all,
4-year-old Christopher looked up at his mother.
"I wish everybody could have this feeling," he said,
pulling the quilt close.
His words echoed in Morissette’s mind. Everybody could
have this feeling, she thought, if only they had a quilt to
keep them warm.
"Having four children, it’s not like I could jump up and
go down and feed firemen and dig through the rubble,"
Morissette said. "We just wanted to do more and we didn’t
have the finances to give."
They wanted to help in any way they could, however, and
the Heart of America Quilt seemed like the best way. Since
that fateful night on the couch, Morissette has worked
nonstop, calling schools around the state to see if they’d
be willing to participate, setting up a Web site, recruiting
friends and family to start the project in other states, and
hunting down supplies. New Hampshire, Maryland, Florida,
North Carolina, Vermont and Illinois are now on board, and
Morissette’s dream of a big, cuddly quilt has grown
substantially.
When you meet Morissette, it doesn’t seem possible that
she has the time to sleep, let alone organize a
cross-country quilting effort. Her mother-in-law, Sylvia
Gilbert, answers the door and Morissette calls out and
invites you in, balancing 7-month-old twins Jackie and Noah
on each hip. As she hands off the babies to Gilbert,
Morissette clears off a space at the kitchen table and asks
if you want a cup of coffee. Christopher serenades you with
a one-stringed guitar while her 3-year-old son, Joshua,
looks curiously. He doesn’t like girls, and when you catch
his eye, he runs into the other room.
Though she has her hands full, Morissette isn’t too busy
to make time for people in need.
"It’s part of our life and it’s what we want to teach our
children, to be caring for our neighbors," she said.
This time, the neighbors happen to be in New York City.
When the quilt is completed, Morissette hopes to have
Maine’s congressional delegation present it to the families
of the World Trade Center attack victims. They may need a
little help bringing it there, however. Two weeks ago, the
quilt measured 200 square feet. Now, it will be at least an
acre large and its 4-by-4-foot squares will be arranged in
the pattern of a giant American flag.
"We’re going to sew it together and give it to the
victims and show them how awesome this state is," Morissette
said.
She’s had no problem finding "awesome" Mainers to help
with the quilt. The Morissettes started out buying supplies
with their own money, but as soon as people found out about
the quilt, the donations flooded in. Marden’s in Waterville
gave fabric. A company in California gave permanent markers
for the signatures. Morissette’s sister-in-law Debbie Hebert
and her friend Peggy Wentworth volunteered to sew the
squares. And schools throughout the state, including the
Carmel-Etna-Dixmont-Levant district and Bangor High School,
have been more than willing to have pupils sign the squares.
"They were very, very into trying to do something to
help," Suzanne Smith, principal at Levant Elementary School,
said of her pupils. "They’re aware at a child’s level of
what’s going on. This was a way to show they cared."
Though Morissette will hold public signings for adults in
the community, she focused on schools because she felt that
children needed an outlet for their feelings, even if they
can’t grasp the enormity of what’s going on.
When her 3-year-old son, Joshua, saw news coverage of the
World Trade Center attacks, he turned to his mother and
asked, "Is that monsters doing that, mommy?"
"Monsters do bad things — that’s a 3-year-old’s way of
thinking," Morissette said. "They see it; they feel it —
they can feel the tension."
And when they feel tension, they want to do something to
help.
"Our student council wanted to do something positive that
would be long-lasting as a tribute to the people who
perished in the disaster," said Louise Harrington, a
fifth-grade teacher and student council adviser at Albert S.
Hall Elementary School in Waterville. "It was something they
could really feel good about, helping someone."
Harrington read about the quilt in a local newspaper and
thought it would complement the school’s penny drives and
other related projects.
"I was very touched by the fact that she wanted to do
something to help and that her family wanted to do this
together," she said. "I just think she’s an angel for doing
this."
For Morissette, helping others is just a part of her
life. She’d rather see people donate money to the American
Red Cross — "where it would help" — than to her quilt fund.
She wants people to remember to pray for all the people who
got hurt. And she hopes to recruit more schools within Maine
and volunteers in other states, because the bigger the
quilt, the more people it can keep warm.
"I have this vision of it being a giant Band-Aid,"
Morissette said.
To participate or donate supplies, call Susan Morissette
at 873-3573 or visit
www.heartofamericaquilt.com.
Peace and Patriotism
February 26, 2003
To the Editor: It was striking to see the latest edition of the Reston Connection. It contained the heartwarming description of the Heart of America Quilt, commemorating the brave and innocent who lost their lives on 9/11. At the same time, the letter from Ting-Yi Oei, the Herndon Quaker, reminds us of the evils of war. How good to know that the people of Herndon and Reston can be both patriotic and mindful of peace. In fact, this is a timely reminder that peace is patriotic. It is the responsibility of all local citizens to speak out for peace, and of our elected representatives to reflect our views when they have the opportunity.
Adrian Farrel Reston
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City pays tribute to terror victims
From the New Yourk Daily News
9/11 remembrance events planned for today
- 8:40 a.m. - noon: Official ceremony at Ground Zero. Four moments of silence will mark times towers were struck and when they collapsed. Parents and grandparents will read the names of 2,749 victims. Families will descend the ramp to the footprints of the towers.
- 8:46 a.m.: Houses of worship will toll their bells throughout the city and the country marking moment terrorists flew the first plane into the World Trade Center.
- 8:46 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.: An order of Franciscan monks will ring a 5,000-pound bell every 10 seconds at St. Peter's Church, 22 Barclay St. The public is invited to help.
n 9:37 a.m.: At the Pentagon, officials will lay a wreath and observe a moment of silence at the time Flight 77 crashed, killing 184 people.
- 9:45 a.m.: Victims of Flight 93, which crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pa., will be remembered at a gathering near the site. Bells will toll across Pennsylvania marking the moment the fourth plane went down.
- 10 a.m.: Edward Cardinal Egan will preside at a memorial Mass in St. Patrick's Cathedral for the 74 firefighters from midtown firehouses who lost their lives. Similar memorial Masses are scheduled in local parishes around the city.
- 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.: Part of the Heart of America Quilt, a half-acre U.S. flag made of panels created by people from all over the world, will be displayed at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, 12th Ave. & W. 46th St. An observance ceremony begins at noon.
- Noon: Port Authority holds interfaith service at St. Peter's Church, 22 Barclay St., for 84 PA employees killed in attacks. Gov. Pataki, N.J. Gov. Jim McGreevey and Mayor Bloomberg to attend.
- 6:30 p.m.: "Postcards," a new memorial honoring Staten Island victims of attacks, is unveiled near the ferry terminal by Bloomberg and families.
- Sunset: Annual Tribute in Light soars into the night sky.
Originally published on September 11, 2004
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Quilting and American Women
From the Georga State University Library
A Metaphor for the Courage and Inspiration of American Women in History, Literature, and the Textile Arts
This subject guide highlights resources available in the University Library on quilts and quilting in American history, literature, and textile arts. Women in the United States have made quilts for the past 200 years for utilitarian purposes and to express their creative and artistic abilities. Quilts and their makers have contributed to American history in many ways such as their use to convey secret codes to fugitive slaves escaping through the Underground Railroad. They have also been made to express patriotic sentiments of their makers and as a reminder of various ethnic traditions in America.
The quilt as metaphor for the courage and inspiration of American women has been used in literary criticism and in creative works of fiction and poetry in recent scholarly collections. The resources in the University Library collection document quilts made by African-American women, women of European descent, Native American women, as well as quilting in Southern states such as Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama. American women are continuing to use quilts for creative expression and as a way to foster community in such projects as the Freedom Quilting Bee, the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and the Heart of America Quilt to honor those who died in the 9/11 tragedy.
118. Applique Bible quilt by Harriet Powers, c. 1886, probably commissioned by faculty wives at Atlanta University. Fifteen panels depict biblical or verifiable astronomical events. (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts) in Stitched from the Soul: Slave Quilts from the Ante-Bellum South by Gladys-Marie Fry.
More Articles
St. Clare Mississippi Seacoast Echo Article
Dear Park Union Free School Dist. NY Article
Northeast Area Postal Update Article
Portland Press Herald, Me. Article
Visitation School in the Penn. Tribune Article
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Media Organizations that have covered the Quilt
Eyewitness News, Memphis, Tennessee
Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc., Kennebec Journal
Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc., Morning Sentinel
Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Florida
Saint Petersburg Times, Saint Petersburg, Florida
20th Public Affairs Detachment, Richardson Army Base, Alaska
Navy and Marine Corps News
Bangor Daily News, Bangor, Maine
St. Clare Mississippi Seacoast Echo
Dear Park Union Free School Dist. NY
Northeast Area Postal Update
Portland Press Herald, Portland, Maine
Pennsylvania Tribune
Reston Times, Reston, Virginia
VOA (Voice of America, broadcasted to India)
NBC Radio
NBC New York, New York
92Moose Radio, Augusta, Maine
Florida University Radio
Fox News, Tampa, Florida
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