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THURSDAY-FRIDAY, MARCH 7-8, 2013
HE HAPPENED UPON HOBBY. NOW, HER QUILTS HERALDED EVERYWHERE By LIBBY CUDMORE SCHENEVUS ome people make scrapbooks, slideshows or websites of family photographs and letters. Mary Wirchansky hand-stitches quilts. “It’s like those old paint-bynumbers kits, but with fabric,” she said modestly. A portrait quilt of her grandfather, Joseph Kader Bryan Sr., titled “Waiting for the Mail,” took the People’s Choice prize at the 22nd annual Fenimore Quilt Club Show, which closed Sunday, Feb. 24, at the Cooperstown Art Association. The quilt was in the making for three years, on and off. And on Thanksgiving 2011, Wirchansky realized that if she was going to finish it, she was going to have to devote herself to it. “I got up at 4:30 in the morning, when it was quiet,” she said. “And there were times I got really stuck, and I just prayed for a way out – and I got one.” The quilt depicts Mary’s granddad waiting with his dog, Queen, Mary Wirchansky’s portrain quilt of her grandfather won the 22nd annual Fenimore Quilt Show in Coopertown, but her creations have been heralded far and wide.
in front of the house he built in Kenansville, N.C. The mailbox is the only detail the Schenevus woman will admit she fudged. “I didn’t have his mailbox,” she said. “So I used my neighbor’s.” Her mother saved letters her father sent in the 1930s and ’40s, and Wirchansky used excerpts from those letters – as well as fabric copies of the stamps on the envelopes – to make up parts of the quilt’s sky. “I traced the letters,” she said. “It’s his handwriting.” On the back of the quilt is a scrapbook photograph of aunts, cousins and her grandmother copied onto fabric. There’s also an article about him, and his obituary. “He died a few months before I was born,” she said. “But I had cousins who remembered him, and I wanted to make this as a tribute to him … I was intrigued by the letters he wrote her during the Depression – it was such a hard time, but he was such a strong person.” One such excerpt, printed in the sky of the quilt, reads, “The Lord will provide – one time we were down to 10 cents, but by the end of the night, we had $20 on hand.” While pleased to win the latest accolade, Mary Wirchansky – and her quilts – are no strangers to awards and honors. OTSEGO.seniority Please See QUILT, B3
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Renovations Highlight City Hall’s Classical Charms At 100, Oneonta Main Street Landmark Still A Beloved Icon Two “small-scale” projects are underway in the former post office, the first being the restoration of the front doors, ONEONTA which have been part of the building since it was built. or its 100th birthday, City Hall is “They’re large doors, but over time, getting a little work done. the elements have gotten to them,” Long A metal front said. “The varnish door in place of the wore off, exposing usual solid oak ones, and the wood, which was scaffolding in the 1913 starting to deterioClassical Revival lobby rate.” are the tip-offs. Then there are “I like saving old repairs in progress buildings,” said City on the ceiling of the Manager Mike Long. lobby, which contains “It’s a lot less expensive City Hall, Oneonta’s former fairly high-style eleto repair than to replace.” post office, is 100 this year. Please See ICON, A3
BEST BETS
By LIBBY CUDMORE
The “Send Me On My Way” hitmakers bring their blend of rock, folk and world music to Foothills.
Rusted Root To Rock, Roll At Foothills
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ennsylvania rockers Rusted Root, known for the hit, “Send Me On My Way” celebrate their 20th anniversary. Gold, $25, Silver, $18. 8 p.m. Friday, March 8. Foothills Performing Arts Center 24 Market St., Oneonta. Info, (607) 431-2080. FINALS FEVER: The state tournament begins for the Lady Yellowjackets at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 9, v. Utica Notre Dame at Onondaga CC, and for the Lady Redskins at 1 p.m. that same afternoon v. Harpursville at SUNY Oneonta. GO FOR BAROQUE: The Oneonta Concert Association presents Pittsburgh ensemble Chatham Baroque, with dance from 17th and 18th century Spain and Italy, featuring period instruments and costumes. 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 8. $20 general, $6 students. Oneonta Theatre. SHAKESPEARE: “As You Like It.” SUNY free, $5 for all others. 8 p.m. FridaySaturday March 8-9, 2 p.m. Sunday, March 10. SUNY Oneonta, Fine Arts Building, Hamblin Theater, 108 Ravine Pkwy., Oneonta. Info, (607) 436-3500. MUSICAL MADNESS: The 4th annual March Musical Madness lets children to play, construct instruments and try out technology. $5 per child. 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, March 9. Hartwick College, Anderson Hall, 1 Hartwick Dr., Oneonta. Info, (607) 431-8543, oneontaworldoflearning.org. COIN OF REALM: Otsego Numismatic Association’s 23rd annual Coins, Cards & Collectibles Show is 10-3 Sunday, March 10, at the Oneonta Elks Club.
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Oneonta City Manager Mike Long points out damage to City Hall’s lobby ceiling now under repair.
BROOKWOOD PLANS: Future of Brookwood public meeting, 11 a.m. Saturday, March 9, Templeton Hall, Cooperstown. Briefing by Otsego Land Trust chair Harry Levine. Info, call Marcie Forster, 547-2366.
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL • HOMETOWN ONEONTA • www.allotsego.com • @allotsegonews EVERY HOUSEHOLD, EVERY WEEK IN ONEONTA, WEST ONEONTA AND COOPERSTOWN