Thompsons save quilts from destruction at dump


Thursday, May 24, 2007
Community \| Obits \| Editorial & Columnists \| Society \| Sports \| Education \| Classified Ads \| Calendar of Events \| Features \| Newsbriefs \| Legals \| Archives \| Subscriptions \| Photo Gallery

• ‘If only they could talk’ •
Thompsons save quilts from destruction at dump

By LINDA JONES
Staff Writer

Photo by Linda Jones

Amazing rescue
George and Maxine Thompson display two of the quilts they rescued from the Marshall County landfill recently. The Thompsons took the quilts to Lois Swanee, Marshall County Museum curator, and Jennifer Bone (pictured, center, with the Thompsons) to try and find a way to protect and preserve the historical quilts.

George and Maxine Thompson were at the Marshall County dump Saturday, May 12, getting rid of some old skirting from their house.

Maxine was backing the truck up to make it easier for George to pull the skirting out, when she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

The manager of the rubbish site was emptying some cardboard boxes into a dumpster — Maxine thought it might be blankets, looked again and immediately went over to the dumpster to check.

What the manager was actually emptying into the dumpster was quilts — old, wonderful quilts.

“Normally, I wouldn’t interfere with anything like that, but I just had to go look,” Maxine said.

The manager of the landfill wasn’t sure where the quilts had come from. Maxine told him “you can’t just throw them away!”

“He told me if I wanted them, I could go and get them,” she said.

“He told me there was a ladder on the other end of the dumpster and I asked for a stick with a hook, or something. George and I rigged up a hook of sorts with a piece of an “A” frame off a door jamb and a curtain rod.

“We managed to get the quilts out onto the ground and George picked them up. I met him at the bottom of the hill with the truck and we brought those quilts home!” she continued.

“Such stories they could tell if they could talk — if only we could understand the language in them.”

Maxine, 65, is an accomplished quilter herself and she and George are also skillful woodworkers. George, 69, additionally works with Lionel trains (HO gauge).

“Some of the buildings on his platform he’s had since he was 15 years old,” Maxine said.

The Thompsons moved here Dec, 9, 2005. They came from Fayette County, Tenn. moving south from Pennsylvannia.

Maxine and George are looking for someone who can help them preserve and house the precious quilts. The president of the Mississippi Quilter’s Association is hoping to see the quilts soon and begin research into their stories.


Blue and white quilt — backed by Rust College patch	Rust College Holly Springs stamp on backing fabric.

Grandmother’s flower garden — possibly 1930s fabric.	“Do not cut when opening” Memphis Branch Federal Reserve Bank (St. Louis, Mo.) stamped on block.

“Underground railroad” Is this strangely patterned block one of the fabled “underground railroad” quilts? The quiltis made of red and white fabric.

Report News: (662) 252-4261 or south@dixie-net.com
Questions, comments, corrections: south@dixie-net.com
©2004, The South Reporter, All Rights Reserved.
No part of this site may be reproduced in any way without permission.
The South Reporter is a member of the Mississippi Press Association.

Web Site managed and maintained by
South Reporter webmasters Linda Jones, Kristian Jones
Web Site Design - The South Reporter

Back | Top of Page