Mary Elizabeth Johnson Huff and Carole Ann King - Alabama Quilts: Wilderness through World War II, 1682–1950

Wilderness through World War II, 16821950

Mary Elizabeth Johnson Huff and Carole Ann King
Foreword by Steve Murray

UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI / JACKSON

The University Press of Mississippi is the scholarly publishing agency of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning: Alcorn State University, Delta State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, Mississippi University for Women, Mississippi Valley State University, University of Mississippi, and University of Southern Mississippi.

www.upress.state.ms.us

Designed by Peter D. Halverson

The University Press of Mississippi is a member of the Association of University Presses.

Copyright 2020 by the Friends of the Alabama Department of Archives and History

All rights reserved

Printed in Korea

First printing 2020

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available

LCCN 2020939826

Hardback ISBN 978-1-4968-3139-2

Trade paperback ISBN 978-1-4968-3140-8

Epub single ISBN 978-1-4968-3141-5

Epub institutional ISBN 978-1-4968-3142-2

PDF single ISBN 978-1-4968-3143-9

PDF institutional ISBN 978-1-4968-3144-6

British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data available

Mary Elizabeth Johnson Huff (Sunshine) passed away March 27, 2019. She lost her struggle with cancer as she was doing the final editing of the manuscript of this publication, which is a culmination of her lifes work. She entrusted Sarah Bliss Wright, Carole King, and her beloved husband, John, with the challenge of putting the finishing touches on this work. She put all her professional confidence in her friends at the University Press of Mississippi, whom she admired and with whom she enjoyed working, to produce this quality publication. She is sorely missed every day.

To the people of Alabama who have loved and taken care of their quilts, precious parts of their personal and our states history

To Dr. Robert Cargo (19332012), noted collector and scholar of Alabama quilts

To Dave Martin (19552013), photographer extraordinaire and all-around good guy

To Pat Flynn Kyser (19342017), skilled designer and quilt craftswoman and internationally known quilt teacher

, by Steve Murray

Grateful appreciation and many thanks to the following:

Alabama Department of Archives and History director Steve Murray and Dr. Ed Bridges, director emeritus, for their unequivocal support of the Alabama Quilt Book Project (AQBP). To the curatorial staff at the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH): Bob Cason, Bob Bradley, Jessamyn Boyd Rock (all now retired). To outstanding curator of textiles, fellow research nerd, and good friend Ryan Blocker. To reference specialists Norwood Kerr and Nancy Dupree for so pleasantly accommodating all research requests. To Georgia Ann Hudson and Mary Beth Wasden, communications and development specialists extraordinaire. To Debbie Pendleton for all kinds of help, and to Kevin Nutt for making us look good during talks at ADAH. To registrar Sherrie Hamil (also now retired) for help in directing some outstanding quilts into the ADAH collection and for sharing deep knowledge in so many areas. And to the staff who prepared the Milo Howard room for our photography sessions by making the lift available.

To the Alabama State Council on the Arts and Al Head (now retired), not only for generously sharing some of their funds from the Alabama Bicentennial Commission with the AQBP, but also for early support of this project through a grant that enabled us to hire someone to enter the data from the Alabama Decorative Arts Survey quilt forms into an Excel program. (That digitized information is now available online through the Birmingham Public Library. To access it, go to Digital Collections and then look for Alabama Decorative Arts Survey.) Thanks most especially to Joey Brackner, director, Alabama Center for Traditional Culture, for his support of this project from its very inception throughout all the subsequent years. Joeys advice and wisdom in connecting us to various sources have been invaluable aids. His Alabama Potteryhas served as the standard for this book of Alabama Quilts. Maybe one day he will visit us as part of his