Quilt exhibit and mural bring story, visitors to Goshen College

GOSHEN, Ind. – Every quilt has a story. This summer, Goshen College hopes to share one of those stories with visitors through the addition of an 81-square foot quilt mural on the bricks of the college’s Newcomer Center. The mural, painted by Nappanee native Jeff Stillson, is a replica of a quilt currently on display in an exhibit of Amish and Mennonite folk art heirlooms in the basement of the college’s Good Library, and is part of the Elkhart County Quilt Gardens Tour – an initiative by the county to attract more people to different parts of the region’s Amish Country.

The multi-colored mural is designed after a “crazy patch friendship quilt.” The faded fabric, in contrast with the brightly-colored mural painting, was made in 1903 as a wedding gift from the friends of Lina Zook and A.J. Ressler. Zook was a faculty member at the Elkhart Institute before it became Goshen College, and Ressler was the first Mennonite missionary in India. After their marriage, the couple went to India as missionaries until 1908.

“We chose the quilt because it has a story behind it. ... It represents Goshen College,” said Ervin Beck, a member of the Mennonite Museum Committee at Goshen College that recommended the quilt mural and helped bring it to campus. “The Resslers’ mission to India was an early version of the college’s current commitment to intercultural and international education.”

A “crazy quilt” is made by compiling fabric patches from friends and family members, and making them into a complete quilt – or, technically, a comforter since it is not quilted. The individual patches are made from different fabrics, and the creator of each section puts their name or initials on the quilt. When the patches come together, it’s a random assortment of colors, shapes and names that looks unlike any other quilt.

“Exceptional stitching and a determination to find a use for every last fabric scrap are the hallmarks of ‘crazy’ quilts that still grace bedsteads in Elkhart County,” the sign next to the mural says.

There are more than 100 names or initials on the original quilt, including J.M. and Ella Smucker, founders of Smucker preserves company of Orrville, Ohio.

Beck hopes the mural will get people better acquainted with the campus. An information box is available with a map of the campus, which encourages visitors to also walk around campus. As tourists season picks up, Beck hopes to see more visitors to Goshen College on campus. The mural will be taken down in October of this year, but will return for display every summer through 2012.

Beside the mural at Goshen, there are 12 quilt gardens and 11 mural sites that are part of the Elkhart County Quilt Gardens Tour, which includes sites in Bristol, Elkhart, Goshen, Middlebury, Nappanee, Shipshewana and Wakarusa. Most of the sites are along the 90-mile Heritage Trail, which was recognized by Life Magazine as one of the “100 Places to See in Your Lifetime.”

–By Tyler Falk

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.