Morgan quilts for the Lord

By Virginia Culp - WCU Intern

"Miss Bessie" Morgan and the Rev. Mike Dellinger of Webster Baptist Church display the quilt Morgan made for a church fund-raiser. The quilt shows off more than Morgan's skill with a needle - it is a testament to her unquenchable spirit and her love for the church, Dellinger said. Morgan, 90, sewed the quilt with her left hand after a stroke 10 years ago left her right side paralyzed. For more on Morgan's effort, see page 1C. - Herald photo by Rose Hooper

And she's proving it. Morgan is helping her church, Webster Baptist, by donating a quilt she sewed, which will be sold at auction Saturday, June 23, to help raise money for the fellowship hall. The deed is good, but the fact that she can do it at all is amazing.

Ten years ago Morgan's right side was paralyzed in a stroke. For most people, a catastrophe of this magnitude would be devastating, but for this 90-year-old great-great-grandmother, it was simply a challenge.

Morgan has been quilting all her life. When the stroke disabled her "good hand," she learned another way to pursue her passion. Morgan trained herself to hold the cloth with her right hand while sewing with her left. Her stitches are fine and even, and few would guess the story behind the vibrant colors and careful craftsmanship.

"I just had to learn how," Morgan said of her post-paralysis quilting. "I can't pull them up on a frame, so I just do them on a chair."

Morgan, who grew up in Dillsboro, joined Webster Baptist in the mid-1940s, and since then she has been a devoted member, helping out in every way she can. Her skill with a needle is well known, and folks around the community contribute to her projects.

"Everybody saves scraps for her," Morgan's daughter, Nellie Morgan, said.

The quilt will be part of an auction, which will include hand-knitted sweaters, baby quilts, jewelry, lawn and garden equipment, guns, firewood, furniture, handmade porch swings, two pie safes and items for the home.

A preview of the auction will be held from 5-6 p.m. Saturday, and bidding will begin at 6 p.m. The church will serve breakfast from 8-10 a.m. Hot dogs and barbeque will be available from 10 a.m. to noon, and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Bargain-hunters will have another chance to find a treasure at a flea market held at the church from 8 a.m. until noon.

Proceeds will go to pay off the fellowship hall; since October 2000, the church has raised almost $50,000 of the $63,000 debt, according to a church member.

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