To the Editor:

Clearwater Food Pantry, located in the West Mills village of Industry, would like to extend a heartfelt “Thank you!” to Ann Baker, who recently donated several dozen beautiful, handmade potholders to be given out to people who come to the pantry. Although she retired several years ago from her position as a home economics teacher in midcoast Maine and moved to her family farm in Avon, Ann continues to use her skills to help the community in many ways. I caught up with Ann recently to learn more about her and the project she has undertaken. When she was still teaching, she said, “You couldn’t buy a decent potholder…so I started making my own. When I got here [to Avon], I realized that people were making things and donating them. In twenty years, I pretty much have Franklin County covered in potholders!”

Ann is a member of both the Narrow Gauge Quilters and the Maine Mountain Quilters. People know about her outreach and donate materials – not just pretty quilting fabric scraps but old jeans, towels, torn flannel, and the like. She uses what she calls “the washable junk” material for the batting that goes inside the potholder to make it thick enough to protect the cook’s hands.

“We live in a throwaway generation,” Ann remarked, “but these things get used in potholders and people say they wear like iron!” She and the quilt groups she belongs to also make quilts for people who have lost their homes to fire. Ann makes sure to add some beautiful handmade potholders as well. “Growing up, my mother would always say, ‘You make and give from the heart,’ so I’ve continued that tradition,” she told me. Thank you, Ann!

Maria James
Volunteer

Clearwater Food Pantry
Industry