Rita Collins

For years I worked in education, part of that time overseas, and at the age of 60, I returned to Montana. I found a part-time job working for a nonprofit, but I was interested in becoming more involved with the community, especially with a group of older women whom I thought of as the heritage keepers for this rural valley.

They are hand-quilters and meet weekly from Labor Day through Memorial Day. I see these women as preserving the history of the rural valley in the museum they maintain, in the stories they tell and in the quilts they create. In an age when so much is electronic and people rely on communication limited to 140 characters, to sit around a quilting frame and listen to these women talk about the first newspaper in town, or what the valley was like before the dam was built, has a texture and depth that I appreciate. These women are in their 80s and 90s, so it felt imperative to join them and learn stories to pass on for future generations. As a plus, I am learning the techniques involved in hand quilting (who would have thought?!).

The proceeds from their work support a historical site and museum in the town of Eureka. I also began a blog for them, so there is a crossing-over from the old to the new. Some of the women who are tech-savvy even follow it and give me feedback. Besides creating a record of this remarkable group, it serves as advertising to bring in potential buyers for the quilts and other handmade items.

UPDATE ON MY ENCORE: I have now launched a new venture, St. Rita’s Amazing Traveling Bookstore and Textual Apothecary. It is definitely a personal passion and pursuit. It also has a social impact. The closest bookstore to my town is about fifty miles away. The traveling bookstore can go to the farmers market, the local brew pub, the annual quilt show, a roadside cafe as well as sell used books while parked in front of my house. It’s a way to get affordable books into people’s hands in a community that is rural and low income. That’s my vision now.