This content was published: September 14, 2007. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Cascade gets historic quilt donation from local
Photos and story by James Hill
The Hattie Bell Anderson Quilt Collection has a new permanent home in Jackson Hall, thanks to the generous donation of quilt historian Mary Bywater Cross (pictured). The collection consists of four quilts, handmade from strips of colorful cloth, and made as far back as the 1930s.
The artist, Hattie Bell Anderson, was born in 1894 in Rushton, Louisiana, the eldest of eight children. Her life was often hard; she bore the primary responsibility for caring for her brothers and sisters, filling her days with plowing, sewing, cooking, and cutting wood.
After moving to Portland as an adult, she continued the quilt-making hobby that she began as a child. She supplemented her income as a nanny and housecleaner by selling her quilts on the side. Hattie was proud of the fact that she was the only African American member of a quilting club on Portland’s West Side, the Northwest Quilters. She died back in 1990.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »