Quilts for the holiday season

War veterans living at Pacifica Senior Living in Pinehurst recently received quilts from the local "Cabin Fever Quilters" group in honor of their time in the service.

Victoria Johnson, a regular volunteer at Pacifica, said Cecilia Ruff, member of the quilters, and Scott Burrows, American Legion Post 13 member, coordinated this event. She said Burrows was inspired to do this when he visited Pacifica and met resident Bob Nelson.

"I took Scott to Bob's room and he met him," Johnson said. "He was a bombardier, they swapped stories. Then he and I got to talking and he said 'you know there is a gal here, Cecilia Ruff, who does quilts.'"

Johnson said from that moment on plans started. She said originally there were going to be eight quilts, but Nelson died before the event came about. One other planned quilt recipient also passed away, but Johnson said his daughter asked if the family could receive a quilt in his memory and was not refused.

Quilt recipients include Joseph Paul Cote, Laverne (Shorty) Wellman, LeRoy Timm, Leo Weeks, Walter Schulhauser, Justin Rice and the family of John Steeler.

Johnson said the original plan was to let each veteran pick their own quilt, and if the wanted to trade they could do that, but she said each quilt fit so perfectly that trading wasn't necessary.

"They were just so touched," Johnson said. "I was able to talk to some of them later in the day, because it was such a crazy thing that I couldn't find out details, so we talked to a couple of the gentlemen and they started to tell their stories. They would keep asking 'Did you see the quilt, did you see the quilt,' forgetting that I was there. Then one of them went over to another and said 'Did you see my quilt, let me show you my quilt, come to my room.' Both them and their families were very touched."

Johnson said the quilts were a great way to show appreciation for Pacifica's military veterans and provided them with a warm blanket to snuggle with through the winter season.