Mysterious squares generously gifted to Milam County Museum
It is approximately 170 miles from the Parker County Courthouse Square in Weatherford to the Milam County Courthouse Square in Cameron. However, this distance and the brutal Texas summer heat did not deter two ladies from recently making this trek in the interest of historic preservation.
With a generous spirit and an appreciation for vintage items, these two women brought a piece of Milam County history back home. Twenty-four pieces of history, to be exact, were given to the Milam County Historical Museum. A gift from one Texas county seat to another.
Mrs. Kathleen Posnick and her daughter Amanda Posnick Rosales traveled three hours to Cameron on July 17, 2024, with the sole purpose of bringing twenty-four vintage handmade quilt squares to our local museum.
Mrs. Posnick had recently contacted Melanie Reed, the former Cameron Area Chamber of Commerce Director, and made her aware of these quilt squares’ existence.
It seems that these particular quilt squares, which date back to the 1930’s, had been made by citizens of Milam County.
Mysteriously, these cloth relics somehow ended up in Parker County and became the property of the Weatherford Public Library. The multi-colored patches, which each measure 15 x 15-inch square, were made in a Dresden Plate quilt pattern according to Mrs. Cecelia Marak, of the Cameron Stitch Witches Quilting Guild. This pattern was named for the town of Dresden, Germany, which is famous for its finely decorated porcelain plates.
This flower-like pattern became popular with quilters in the 1920’s and 1930’s.
During the Great Depression, sacks used for grain and feed were often made of printed cloth. These “feed sacks” were used by women to make clothing for their families, and the scrap material was saved to make quilts. The colorful, flowery patterns were used to make the Dresden Plate design, resembling the beautiful German china.
Each of the squares donated to the MCHM contains a name, or two, stitched into its center.
In researching these cloth artifacts, Mrs. Posnick determined that the 33 people listed on the squares were all former residents of Milam County. Thus, she contacted the Cameron Area Chamber of Commerce and they in-turn contacted the Milam County Historical Museum Director. This caused these artifacts to come full circle and be returned to their point of origin.
A former librarian, Posnick conveyed to the museum staff that the vintage quilt pieces were most recently the property of the Weatherford Public Library. Prior to being donated to that library, the squares were purchased at a Weatherford estate sale in November 2022 by Mr. James Morris. He then entrusted the squares to Mr. Michael Saunders and the Weatherford Public Library Staff.
After many hours of researching the names on the quilt squares, Mrs. Posnick proposed that the library in Weatherford return these unusual cloth relicts to their home in Milam County.
The museum in downtown Cameron excitedly welcomed the gift and became the new caretakers of the well preserved 1934 quilt squares.
It seems these squares were meant to be made into a “Friendship” quilt, but this never happened. These patches are twenty-four separate pieces that were never actually quilted together. Many of the names on the squares seem to reflect former residents of the Buckholts area.
Concerning the people’s names on these squares, the donors said, “It’s believed that the thirty-three names stitched on the squares would represent members of the Greatest Generation who lived in the World War II era.”
Realistically, more research is needed to determine who made the quilt squares and why the quilt was never completed. Still perhaps, the most looming and daunting question is, “how did they make their way from Milam County to Weatherford in Parker County approximately 170 miles northwest of Cameron?”
Sometimes between 1934 and 2024, a span of ninety years, someone took this unfinished quilt to a new location. So, we know the when, we just don’t know the who or why.
One theory is that perhaps they followed a path leading to the historical Texas Pythian Home in Weatherford. This facility was opened in 1909 by the Knights of Pythias as a home for widows and orphans.
Today it is still in operation as an orphanage, but there has been no clear connection made between the Pythian Home and the quilt squares.
Although, one woman, whose name appears on a quilt square, is also believed to be found in an old photograph at the orphanage. Coincidence? Not sure, so the mystery continues.