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Old Mulkey Celebration of Quilts and Quilting in Tomkinsville pays tribute to Lucille Page


Even when she was blind and suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, Lucille Page was able to check her grandchildren’s work when they made a quilt.

Page

“It was amazing to see,” said her grandson, Trevor Bean, of Tompkinsville. “She used her hands to see if I did it the correct way.”

Quilting was a family tradition in Page’s family and she made sure to pass it along to her 10 grandsons and five granddaughters. Quilts marked significant points in the family life like a birth or marriage. “There was always quilting going on in her house,” Bean said.

Page’s love of quilting led to the annual Old Mulkey Celebration of Quilts and Quilting, which will be June 8-10 in Tompkinsville. The event began in 2014, a year after Page’s death at age 86.

During the inaugural event, dozens of Page’s quilts were on display. This year’s celebration will be held at locations throughout Monroe County, with the Old Mulkey Meetinghouse State Historic Site serving as the event headquarters. One of this year’s displayed quilts will be a work by Page.

More than 200 quilts can be seen at satellite locations on Saturday. Homeowners and businesses throughout the community will also be displaying quilts in windows and yards for “drive by” viewing throughout the weekend.

The park will also serve as the location of this year’s featured exhibit, 70 quilts by the Nimble Thimbles of Franklin, Indiana.

In addition, the park will host a variety of quilting-related demonstrations, a country quilt store and more. Saturday’s activities will include an introduction to button collecting with the Tennessee State Button Society and Sunday’s program will include the popular Trunk Show and Tell.

Admission, which includes all satellites, must be purchased at the park. Friday is free. The ticket price Saturday is $5 and Sunday’s charge is $1. Times vary daily.

For more information about Kentucky State Parks, visit www.parks.ky.gov.

Kentucky State Parks


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