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Quilts honor Walworth County's agricultural heritage

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Walworth County barn quilts

A group of Walworth County farmers is putting up quilt squares to recognize the county's agricultural heritage.

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Patty Stern remembers how Walworth County looked when family farms—large and small—lined the rural roads.

Cows wandered on expansive green pastures. Tractors plowed sprawling fields. Barns dotted the countryside, symbols of a way of life that soon would begin to fade.

Stern misses that picture, embedded into her memory during long rides with her father along his milk route.

"I go past those places, now, and it makes me so sad that there are no family farms anymore," she said. "I miss that. I miss the animals. I miss the places where barns used to be. I miss the little, old family farm."

Stern is among about a dozen local farmers who are part of an effort in Walworth County to revitalize its rural areas and honor its agriculture heritage by placing colorful painted squares on the sides of barns.

The barn quilts are expected to attract visitors, said Walworth County agriculture educator Peg Reedy, who is leading the project. Drivers will slow to admire them. Tourists will spend money at nearby restaurants and shops. People will buy fresh fruits and vegetables from roadside farm stands, she said.

Last fall, a committee began planning for the barn quilt project, and this spring volunteers held a "quilting bee" at the fairgrounds, spending hours priming boards, penciling patterns and painting.

The 8-by-8-foot quilt blocks are hanging on nine barns throughout the county. More will be hung in the coming weeks.

Reedy said each family selected a quilt pattern that reflects its farm and the family's personality.

"We had books full of pictures for them to look at, and they were just instructed to pick something that struck their fancy," she said.

Stern, who raises sheep on a 5-acre farm in Sugar Creek Township, said the barn quilt project is a unique way to pay tribute to local agricultural history.

But unlike many of the farmers who have barn quilts, she chose a pattern that has little to do with farm life. The pattern is called "Cake Stand" in honor of the dozens of cakes she has entered at the county fair.

The quilt block is cheerful, painted in bright blue, yellow and pink.

"I just love it," Stern said.

Helen and Don Schmaling, who milk cows and grow corn and soybeans on their 300-acre farm in Delavan Township, said the project is a nod to local farmers whose families have worked the land for decades.

The couple chose a traditional pattern called "Corn and Beans." Although it doesn't resemble the staple crops, it reflects the origin of the pattern, said to be popular among farm women. The quilt block is a series of yellow, green and white triangles arranged in a diamond, reminiscent of a summer vegetable harvest.

"It just ties in with our life," Helen Schmailing said. "We just thought it was a neat idea."

Alyce and Gordon Smith, who raise lambs and sell homegrown fruits and vegetables from a roadside stand, said the project not only allows farmers to showcase their historic barns but also helps them bring customers to their on-farm businesses.

The couple chose a simple quilt pattern called "Ohio Star" and painted it in traditional red, white and blue. The couple have renamed the pattern "Cedar Bend Star" after their farm, which has been in the family for more than 100 years.

"It's kind of a wholesome heritage thing," Alyce Smith said.

Reedy said the barn quilt committee is developing a driving guide with a map of quilt locations and information about the project. The guide is expected to be available later this summer.

She said the committee would like to incorporate the quilts into the Walworth County Farm Tour offered as part of the Country With Character fall tourism promotion.

The tour has been popular in past years and would put the quilts in the spotlight.

Reedy said despite no formal marketing of the new attraction, the response has been positive.

"The first day the first one went up, I had three phone calls from people who had seen it," she said. "After that (initial response), I knew they were going to be popular."

Barn quilt history

Barn quilts originated in Adams County, Ohio, in 2001, when Donna Sue Groves painted a traditional quilt square on an old barn on her family farm as a tribute to her mother, who loved quilting and farming.

The project grew to include 20 barn quilts on a driving route through the county as a way to attract visitors to rural areas. Local artists painted traditional quilt blocks on weathered barns, and soon travelers from across the country were coming to see them.

Barn quilts now blanket at least 19 states, mostly in the Midwest and Appalachia.

Several Wisconsin counties are dotted with barn quilts, including Green County, which boasts about three dozen quilts; Lafayette County, which has almost a dozen; and Racine County, which features about a dozen.