Kathy Bohannon’s Front Porch Stories

My husband’s grandmother was a well-known resident of Madras, Georgia. Lee Phillips may have been best known for the multitude of quilts she handstitched and also demonstrated at Powers Crossroads Fair, back when that was a thing. Of course, anyone would be impressed by her fortitude as a widow raising seven children alone, so it could have been that. Come to think of it, it may have been her appearance on the 1950’s era Queen for a Day show, and the item she chose for her prize. More on that later.

Grandmother Phillips created legacy pieces and made sure her grandchildren had something she had made. I don’t know if she was able to share something with every grandchild, but she definitely tried. My husband’s quilt was made in the early 1950s. It is constructed of cotton ticking, pieces from clothing and assorted blocks cut from flour sacks. It has seen better days, having been in my husband’s life for nearly 70 years.

Grandmother Phillips lived in a wood framed house on Highway 29, and it is still there today. I recall the rooms had tall ceilings and a bathroom that was clearly a coat closet in its early days. It was so small I could barely get inside when I was expecting our first child. My father in law said it was added “later”. I can’t imagine my mother in law and her six siblings waiting for that tiny bathroom. My brother, two sisters and I would have had fights over less.

I often think of Grandmother Phillips when I sew. I first met her when she was in her late seventies and I was amazed at her ability to do pretty much anything she wanted to do. Quilting and cooking were her