Every Tuesday morning at the Hughesville Library, ladies gather to hand quilt blankets and donate all proceeds to the Library. Left to right: June Laurenson from Hughesville and main coordinator, Peg MacDonugh from Benton, Flicka Losch from S. Williamsport, Kari Sauder from Montoursville, Iva McCoy from Clarkstown and Nancy Dewire from Hughesville. They are working on a pattern called "Grandma's Flower Garden."

HUGHESVILLE – The Hughesville Library has been a stage for several quilters for many years. Since 1976, June Laurenson from Hughesville has been organizing a group of dedicated quilters to meet every Tuesday morning to hand quilt blankets.

Laurenson said she became inspired in 1976 during the bicentennial and wanted to host a craft show to depict the American history. “We started with a class for anyone who wanted to learn about quilting,” she said. It wasn’t long before a group was formed. After the third meeting, the first quilt was completed and chances were sold to win the quilt in order to help offset the initial expenses.

The quilt was very patriotic to commemorate the 1976 bicentennial. “It was white on white with a big eagle,” Laurenson added, and it was on display at the Hughesville Fire Hall.

Before meeting at the Hughesville Library on Main and Water Streets, its original location, the quilters started at the Hughesville Baptist Church on N. Third Street in 1978. “From there, we just grew and grew,” said Laurenson, and then they moved to the social hall at the Trinity Lutheran Church on S. Main Street in Hughesville where they had more room.

It wasn’t long before they decided to relocate to the library. The ladies average about four to five quilts a year that they bind together by hand. “We will quilt anybody’s top, and all the money goes to the library,” they said. They do have a waiting list and pricing will vary depending on the size and the amount of hand quilting and custom design work that is embedded into the quilt. There is usually a waiting list so it is advisable to stop in the library several weeks in advance if there is an interest to complete a quilt.

All labor is donated and they usually turn over close to a thousand dollars at a time to the library. They meet every Tuesday from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and they are now in the new library on Fifth Avenue in the Community Room.