Quilt Drive Sends Thirty-Four Coverlets East After Grass Fire

IRONWOOD STATION— Within seventy-two hours of the wire from Jasper County, the Methodist basement looked like a field of calico clouds. Each quilt bore a card: Made with hope and good thread—Desert friends.

Convoy drivers honked twice leaving town, which here means safe travels and come home hungry. Organizers credit teenagers who learned to knot on purpose. "We are not heroes," Chairwoman Porcupine said, "we are just fast with a thimble."

Jasper's mayor sent a telegram saying the first quilt unwrapped smelled like cedar pencils and kindness. We file that under Good News, bold type.