WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
Passing the Torch for Family Sciences By Wendy Kaplar
M
arilyn Gore’s infectious smile sparkles as she speaks about the artistry of quilting, confirming her deep affection for the craft. Gore’s first connection to sewing was formed under the guidance of her mother’s hands while growing up on their
tobacco farm in Bolivia. Using animal feed croker sacks made of coarse burlap, Gore’s mother, Mattie Pearl, taught her how to stitch twines of tobacco to sew handmade rugs for the floor. “Once the tobacco twine was washed and softened up, they were beautiful rugs,” Gore recalls. She is unsure where her mother got the
idea for the rugs; she has never seen them since. Mattie Pearl hand-quilted Gore’s first quilt and taught her how to embroider pillowcases and crochet. “Living on a farm 70 years ago, it was a way to pass the time. There was not so much to do,” Gore says.
Learning to Sew Since the age of 14, Gore has used the art of sewing as self-expression. At that time, girls were automatically enrolled in home economics. Ms. Lizzie May Mitchell of Brunswick County Training School was Gore’s home economics teacher. Until 1950, Brunswick County Training School was the only African American school in Brunswick County that went above the eighth grade. During her time in Ms. Mitchell’s class, Gore developed and honed her sewing technique. Under Ms. Mitchell’s direction, young Gore constructed a stylish suit with an orange jacket (Gore’s favorite color) and matching culottes; from the left-over scraps, she also made her first quilt.
This crazy quilt by Marilyn Gore is titled “Africa in Gold.”Gore conducts presentations to quilting guilds across North Carolina, demonstrating her distinctive scrap quilting technique and emphasizing the history of African American quilting. Photos contributed
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The Coastal Buzz
From there, Gore earned a B.S. in Family Consumer Sciences with a concentration in clothing and textiles and a minor in art from Bennett College. Upon graduating from Bennett, Gore returned home to Bolivia to seek employment in Brunswick County, but jobs
SPRING 2023