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Hearthstone by Lynn Wilder for Marcus Fabrics
The Hearthstone fabric collection and Bridle Path quilt are Lynn Wilder's tribute to brave women of the 1930's American Depression era. These women were hired through the newly-formed Work Progress Administration (WPA) by President Franklin D. Roosevelt; with the purpose of putting Americans to work during and following the Depression. Eleanor Roosevelt sought to create jobs specifically for women, beginning with the Packhorse Librarian Program, the first traveling "bookmobile". Women were paid $28 per month to transport books deep into the hollers and mountains of Kentucky by horseback and mules. These brave women (along with a few men) put their lives at risk as they carried books into inaccessible and remote places on a daily basis. They brought literacy to the mountains through terrible storms, rising creeks and rivers, and wild animals, and the fact that some were resistant to the written word. These were the obstacles the Packhorse Librarians faced.
The fabric line is called Hearthstone, named for the flat stone forming the hearth, in the small cabins in the woods. The quilt is called Bridle Path. These fearless women sometimes had to carve out their own paths through the wilderness, sometimes following game trails barely visible to the naked eye. "The women were fearless, "plucky", and determined to improve the lives of their own families, in addition to improving the lives of the impoverished and illiterate. Their courage is admirable and their stories need to be told." ~Lynn Wilder
