Alumnae Association News

A quilter's bequest

Reunion quilt has special meaning for class of '65

By Stephanie Cooper Schoen AC '91

Winter 2000-2001

Quilting has long played a social, communal, and artistic role for women. Dating back to 3400 B.C. in Egypt, this craft born of necessity has evolved over time into an art form that may tell personal or cultural stories, make political statements, raise funds for a cause, or simply create something beautiful—while helping to forge friendships among women working toward a shared goal. For Carolyn Smith Bonner ’65, the idea of a quilt sewn by classmates for their 35th Smith College Reunion brought with it the potential to realize meaningful historical traditions. Bonner, an accomplished watercolor artist, cookbook author, and former restaurant owner, was headquarters chair of her class’s Reunion last May. Responsible for the look and feel of Franklin King House, she envisioned a setting filled with art and infused with community spirit. A quilt that tapped the memories of classmates would add beauty and special significance to the setting. It would give friends the chance to work on a shared project, and it could be raffled to raise funds for class expenses.

Diagnosed with multiple myeloma three years earlier and treated with a bone marrow transplant, Bonner had been in remission until the summer of 1999. When a recurrence of the cancer was discovered, she remained determined to see the realization of the Reunion quilt. Despite her chemotherapy and radiation treatments, she traveled to Smith that fall to take photos for preliminary sketches, and she sent out a call for quilters in the class Reunion newsletter.

Using the class’s “W.O.W.” (“Women of Wonders”) theme and other creative word combinations from that acronym, Bonner devised several suggestions for the class quilters, including World of Wisdom (books), Wonders of Water (Paradise Pond), Walk on the Wild Side (partying at Rahar’s, a favorite Northampton bar of the era), and an upside-down “W.O.W” 
evoking Memories of Mountain Day. 
She would quilt the large center square 
depicting College Hall and the Grécourt Gates.

To each person who responded, she sent a packet filled with fabric pieces, a master drawing, suggested themes, and lots of encouragement. Soon a long-distance extended community of quilters was born.

Early in January, Bonner’s health began to deteriorate. Over the subsequent months, as her strength and mobility declined, she sewed for an hour each day. “Completion of the quilt was a race for time,” said her husband, Ted Bonner. “As she progressively weakened, she limited her physical activity to painting and to finishing her center square.”

Suzanne Holden Gordon ’65 of Connecticut, a classmate who had never met Bonner, learned that help was needed. Gordon, a biology and math teacher by profession, had begun quilting two years earlier, enjoying the community-building aspects of the craft. During school vacation in mid-April, she arrived at the Bonners’ New Hampshire home with her sewing machine, rotary cutter, and quilting board. Fortunately, the final square had arrived in the mail the previous day. Gordon stayed overnight, arranging and assembling the squares, sewing and sharing Carolyn’s pride in the project. Although Carolyn was confined to a wheelchair, “her spirit and mind and intelligence were very much well while I was there,” Gordon said.

A lifelong journal writer, Bonner made her final diary entry on April 17th: “It all works! And looks great! Donna [a friend] comes up April 19th to help with the quilting, then Suzanne will attach the binding.”

Bonner died peacefully at home on May 12th, a week before Reunion. Her final creative effort, dubbed the “Wowquilt,” was hung in the headquarters at Franklin King House along with class artifacts. Classmates set up a small art exhibit with one wall dedicated to Bonner and her art. Included was a pen-and-ink drawing she gave to friend Sue Shepard Jaques ’65 in 1962 when they were students. Jaques, now incoming class president and Reunion co-chair, shared humorous and serious stories about her friend with classmates. “Carolyn was with us throughout our Reunion,” she later wrote to Ted Bonner, “and she was our shining star of the weekend.”

Mary Pennell Nelson ’65 was the winner of the quilt raffle, which raised $2,200. Nelson, outgoing class president and a former president of the AASC Board of Directors, offered to return the quilt in 2005 for the next Reunion, suggesting that future owners bring it back every five years to be re-raffled. The class voted to use all raffle proceeds to establish the Carolyn Smith Bonner Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Eventually, when the last surviving member of the class of 1965 “owns” the quilt, she will leave it to the College as an heirloom reflecting individual memories, group collaboration, and the spirit of an inspiring woman.