DARLINGTON — November 11 is Veterans Day. It is a day to pay tribute to veterans who have served during war and conflict, no matter what soil — foreign or domestic — who have worked tirelessly to keep our country safe.
Some veterans don’t tell their story, as the hardships of war memories are not easy. Most people know at least one veteran, even if they don’t know their story. It is through the healing efforts of support that the idea of the Quilts of Valor came to fruition. From time to time, a Quilt of Valor is been presented to a well-deserving local veteran, whose time spent defending their country has not gone unnoticed.
Two Darlington residents have been official members of the Quilts of Valor Foundation for the past seven years. Phyllis Sonsalla and Patricia Discher have been actively creating and presenting Quilts of Valor throughout the Lafayette County area. They have made it their passion to honorably create quilts in patriotic colors and themes, and present them to those who deserve the honor. Since joining the national organization ‘Quilts of Valor Foundation’ in 2018; Sonsalla and Discher have presented 171 quilts to veterans.
The start of their journey was inspired by Sonsalla’s son Andy, who suffered an injury and loss of limb while serving his country. The pair were first inspired to distribute quilts to veterans in nursing homes located in Darlington, Shullsburg, Argyle and Belmont. It was through their experience of “giving back” to the veterans that brought the two of them so much honor and joy. The quilters guild that the two of them are part of have since joined their efforts to help support area veterans by working with them, creating squares, cutting fabric, donating their time and assisting with quilting the handmade creations. The local quilters meet weekly on Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the downstairs reception room of the Lafayette County Historical and Genealogy Society museum. Anyone interested in quilting is welcome to join. While gathered, the quilters work together, share stories, and gather names of local veterans who do not yet have a handmade quilt of their own. Many of them have multiple projects they are working on, but always take time to first support the local veterans.
Creating patriotic handmade quilts take time, effort, and thoughts of support and appreciation for each person who has served. As most quilts are created with the traditional red, white, and blue American flag colors, there are also other patriotic themed quilts, such as the Statue of Liberty, bald eagles, and navy ships. Sometimes the quilts are more personal as they lean-in toward the personality of the individual, with themes such as country and farm themes, favorite pastimes, or whatever best suits the veteran. Quilts of Valor have been presented locally in nursing homes, in the recipients home, at the Veterans Memorial in Veterans Park, and at the Darlington Country Club.
As Sonsalla and Discher continue on their journey, they are filled with patriotism, and have been a supportive presence within the community. They are backed by enthusiastic volunteers from the area, who enjoy putting quilts together as much as they do. Both former teachers, they look forward to inspiring another generation of sewers, in hopes that the local Quilts of Valor program continues long into the future.
With Veterans Day just around the corner, they are reminded of the freedoms that they appreciate each day because someone stepped up to defend those freedoms.
The Quilts of Valor Foundation is a National organization that creates and distributes handmade quilts, to be honorably presented to a veteran man or woman, in honor of their years of service.
The foundation started in 2003 as a dream — a literal dream. The foundation’s founder, Catherine Roberts had a dream about her son who was serving in Iraq at the time. She said that in her dream, he seemed to be in “utter despair”. Then in another “frame” of her dream, her son was wrapped in a quilt, with feelings of “hope and well-being”. The message was clear, the quilt equaled healing.
From her dream experience, she started gathering volunteers to create patriotic quilts to present to veterans as a way to bring them comfort and healing. To date, more than 424,000 Quilts of Valor have been distributed, according to the organization’s website, qovf.org.
Honoring veterans is not just a one-day event each year, but a continuous commitment to recognizing their sacrifices and contributions, they said. It is programs such as Quilts of Valor that continue the mission of appreciation and healing.
