PATCHES OF THE QUILT is a collection of true stories written by the men and women who grew up at the Methodist Home for Children and Youth in Macon, Georgia. These stories began to surface at Homecomings. Whenever former residents got together, they shared old times, and over the years these oral histories have been honed to a richness and texture that is palpable. In this work you are invited to see the world through the eyes of a child beholding the ocean for the first time, or a precocious girl enjoying the pleasures of summer or the wonders of a starry night. You are encouraged to walk in the shoes of a platoon leader in World War II, directing his troops into battle for the first time. You may marvel at the lengths some boys will go to play a prank on an unsuspecting soul, or find a touch of the divine in the most unlikely places. It's all here. The title, "Patches of the Quilt," was derived from a welcoming ritual that began in the early 1980's. Since that time, whenever a child arrives at the Home, he or she is given a new, handmade quilt, and is told, "Like this quilt, you are unique and worthy to be cared for. We will do our best to care for you. You do your best to care for yourself." The beauty and softness of a quilt, the talismans of warmth and nurture, are remembered long after the words are forgotten. The patches that comprise what is the Methodist Home are infinite in number and include every aspect of the Home: especially the more than 10,000 children who have been given a new lease on life since 1872. Because this book is historical in nature, spanning more than one hundred years, it is chronological in spirit with the oldest stories in the earlier chapters and the more recent ones appearing later. / https://dc.etsu.edu/alumni_books/1034/thumbnail.jpg
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:alumni_books-1034 |
| Date | 01 January 2008 |
| Creators | Chase, Edwin |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | ETSU Alumni Bookshelf |
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