Drivers in Howard County will be treated to a little more color starting this fall.
    Residents and visitors will be welcomed into the county with vibrant colors painted on 8-foot-wide by 8-foot-tall quilts adorning six county barns.
    Howard County is joining 11 other counties in Iowa that have taken part in the quilt project, coordinated by Iowa State University Extension, since its inception in 2003.
    The goals of the Howard County project are to emphasize the historic role of barns and quilting and to benefit the county economically.
    ISU Howard County Extension staff, Sue Barnes and Lynette Anderson co-chaired the Barn Quilts of Howard County project. Realizing fewer than 60,000 barns remain of more than 200,000 originally built in Iowa, Anderson’s goal as 4-H County Youth Coordinator was to create a citizenship project focusing on revitalizing agriculture, promoting tourism and creating partnerships between youth and adults.
    Barnes supported those efforts and also coordinated the creation of quilted window covers as protection for the winter season on the Little Red Schoolhouse located at the Howard County Fairgrounds.
    “Sue was instrumental in the success of this project from coordinating the partnership with Diamond Vogel, graphing quilt patterns to size, communicating with barn quilt families and assisting 4-H Clubs to organize work times at the fairgrounds,” Anderson said. “Barnes’ creation of the quilted window covers as protection for the winter season of the Little Red Schoolhouse located on the fairgrounds was a way to add a personal touch of the importance of education today and protecting historic sites.”
    Barnes chose to cover the windows with the “nine-patch” quilt pattern due to the structure of three windows per side.
    The first barn quilt can be seen two miles west of Cresco on Hwy. 9 at Bart and Julie Wilson’s farm. The Wilsons selected the Eight Pointed Star quilt pattern and chose colors true to the spirit of ISU. The Howard Center Stars 4-H Club partnered with the Wilson family to complete the quilt.
    Lon Scheidel is a Barn Quilt owner of the pattern “Prosperity.” Scheidel joined the project to create a quilt as a memorial to his mother, Betty Scheidel. He chose the vibrant colors of red, gold and blue. The Afton Aces 4-H Club worked with Scheidel to construct and complete the quilt, which is displayed on his father’s barn, located on the east side of the Schley blacktop. Scheidel’s quilt was the first to be displayed in Howard County.
    As tourists make their way around the Hwy. 63 curves near Lime Springs they will be welcomed with the autumn hues of the “County Fair Quilt” at the Randy and Darrelleen Lewis Farm. The Lewises chose the fall shades of orange, gold, brick and taupe to accent their rich farm colors. The County Fair pattern has personal meaning for the family, who is actively involved with 4-H and shows their sheep annually in the Mighty Howard County Fair. The Saratoga 4-H Club provided the youth and adult volunteers to complete the quilt.
    Lorraine Peckham and Bev Meade chose the Variable Star pattern and completed it with the colors of blue, green, red and gold, incorporating colors the two enjoy. The Millennium Masters 4-H Club worked with Lorraine and Bev to create and construct the quilt, which will be located south of Cresco on V-58.
    Randy and Vicki Mracek of rural Protivin will be displaying the quilt pattern “Card Tricks” on their county barn located on 100th St. This pattern helps the family reminisce about the years of watching their parents and grandparents gather together with neighbors for social evenings of card playing. The Mraceks’ quilt is rich with mustard, burgundy, brown and green hues. The Heritage Homesteaders 4-H Club partnered with the Mraceks to complete “Card Tricks.”
    Bob and Jeannie Vobr of Cresco will display their barn quilt, “Iowa State Fair,” on their barn located on Hwy. 9 East. Jeannie Vobr designed the color palate in memory of her sister, with a desire for the quilt to resemble stained glass. She chose jewel tone colors of gold, purple, green, blue and rose to complete the quilt. The Flying Hoofs 4-H Club was instrumental in its completion.
    Howard County Farm Bureau and the Iowa Farm Bureau provided the seed money to get the project started. Funding was also received from the “Community Improvement Grant” sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. in conjunction with the Iowa 4-H & Youth Programs. Project coordinators were rewarded a Howard County Community Foundation grant as well.
    Quilts are expected to be secured to the Lewis, Meade, Mracek and Vobr barns in mid-September.