St. Cloud Area Quilters to Honor Veterans’ Service

This Thursday evening -- just a few days in advance of next Tuesday's federal Veterans Day holiday -- a group of artisans from around the St. Cloud area will for another year gather at a west St. Cloud church to honor our military service veterans.

The group -- the St. Cloud Heritage Quilters -- will present around two dozen handcrafted quilts made and donated by group members to men and women who have served in the military.

Quilting group members nominate military members and invite them to come in and choose a quilt as part of their "Quilts of Honor" project.

Many of those true pieces of art are patriotic-themed in shades of red, white and blue.

Others highlight a veteran's particular interests.

All of them are made with love and gratitude.

"A lot of our guild members have family members who served," says project coordinator Suzy Rainer. "Whether that's a brother or sister or uncle."

Rainer's been spearheading the military quilt project for the past three years.

She says they've been honored to present quilts to service members from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and now Desert Storm.

Sometimes, the military members are reluctant to receive their gift of a quilt. "Often they feel like they're not worthy," says Rainer. "They say 'I just did my job' or 'I didn't do anything special.'"

But Rainer says Guild members reassure them that "You served and you are worthy."

Rainer says the Guild holds a ceremony and offers each vet the opportunity to introduce themselves and to say a few words about their service.

"A lot of times, they'll tell a funny story -- maybe about something that happened in the mess hall or what job they did in the military."

And sometimes, their words have been emotional and even prompted some tears.

If you go...

The Quilts of Honor veterans presentation begins at 7 at:

Love of Christ Lutheran Church
1971 Pine Cone Road South
St. Cloud, MN 56303