While the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt is at the Vienna Branch of Heartland Regional Library System on Thursday, Dec. 10, everyone who comes to see it will surely want to look at the Maries County quilt block. Someone else who can’t come but is surely proud of the state’s bicentennial quilt is Kay Waldron of Dixon. It is her design which was chosen as the winner and the quilt block she made is now part of Missouri’s rich history.

The bicentennial quilt will be at the Vienna library from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday. It was made in honor of the state’s 200 year anniversary in 2021. Missouri became the 24th state in the United States on Aug. 10, 1821. The state first was part of the Missouri territory and came into the United States as part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, one of the best real estate deals the United States ever made.

Kay Waldron, 72, who lives in Maries County but has a Dixon address, says the Maries County quilt block was the first one she ever made. Waldron enjoys artistic pursuits such as painting, drawing, embroidery, designing and more. It was her husband, Bennie Waldron, who heard about the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt and put it in front of her, urging her to make the Maries County quilt block.

Both of them were raised in this area, with Kay growing up in the Dixon area, and Bennie in the Shantytown/Kenner area. He is the son of Bennie and Delphia Waldron.

Kay said she looked at it and thought, “Maybe I do need to do it,” she said about making the quilt block for the county. She did some research on the county. Maries County was established in 1855. Kay knew she wanted to feature the Old Jail Museum. She took the names of the county townships and color-coded them and made a county map with the colored townships and wrote the names of the towns on the map, along with the rivers, with the county seat starred. She made a separate light blue Missouri drawing with Maries County’s location in darker blue.

She was very pleased when she was notified her quilt block was selected to be part of the bicentennial quilt. It is a neat thing for her to have done. It is an honor for her.

As an artist and a designer she is self taught. She has another artistic achievement in that she was part of a commission to do decorative painting on ornaments. Her ornament hung in the White House and now is in the Smithsonian.

She and Bennie moved back to Maries County in 2003 after he retired from United Airlines. Kay is a retired licensed optician and worked in the industry in St. Louis for 33 years. After they retired they moved back home and live in Bennie’s home place in Shantytown. They say Shantytown and Kenner are like Mayberry and when they moved back, they picked up where they left off before they moved to St. Louis for employment. “It was like coming home,” she said, as they fell back with all the old friends and neighbors.

Kay recognizes the determination she has within herself, saying it’s her Irish-Scottish roots. She was at a quilt show in another state where she saw a Dear Jane quilt. Kay said at first she did not like the Dear Jane quilts. Still, the quilt had an impact on her and she continued to think about it in an artistic way.

Kay decided she would make this type of quilt. She learned how to make quilts watching YouTube. She is making two Dear Jane quilts, a Plain Jane and a Sister Kate. She has 5,632 pieces and has carried it with her during the two years she and Bennie traveled extensively to Ireland, Austria, Germany and Switzerland. “It’s a long process,” she said.

These Dear Jane quilts first became known in the United States in 1863 and are enjoyed by quilt lovers and Civil War buffs alike. There are 225 quilt patterns of Jane Stickle’s quilts with emphasis on the Civil War and the women’s movement.

Kay won’t be able to go see the quilt when its in Vienna because she and Bennie are under quarantine this week for the coronavirus.

Like many other families, they will be postponing Christmas this year until its safe. She’s looking forward to having Christmas with their daughter, son-in-law and their family, which includes three granddaughters, and also their son and his wife.

Hopefully in the near future, the virus will be defeated with a vaccine and maybe Kay Waldron can see the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt with her Maries County quilt block at another place in the state.