River City Strippers do it again

Down at the River Mile 38 brewery last Friday, another beautiful show of craft(wo)manship created a moment of communion and community. The River City Strippers, Cathlamet's local quilting club, exhibited their handiwork and held a silent auction for charity.

Javier Sanchez, co-owner of River Mile 38, looked on at the gathering with a smile. "I asked them to start doing this show," he said. "Their hard work was meant to be shared and they look beautiful here." While Javier may have been talking about the quilts, he could easily have been talking about the women in the room, as each told stories and admired the topstitching from one blanket to another.

One particular quilt, which was sewn by Susan Early, was up for auction. The pattern was an eye-catching red and white pinwheel pattern laced over dark blue squares. Hanging from one of the brewery windows, the white patriotic topstitching let through the delicate light of the early evening. The quilt finally went for $400, with the proceeds going to the St. James Family Center's 40 for 40 program.

The quilts displayed were delivered to veterans returning from Washington D.C. earlier this week at SeaTac airport via the local chapter of Puget Sound Honor Flight.

Esther Roche, the local contact for Honor Flight, has been coordinating this quilt effort since 2020. Puget Sound Honor Flight is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to celebrate Western Washington WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam War era veterans with a free trip to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at the memorials built in their honor. The quilts are gifted to each veteran after their flight coming home.

If any of these words have inspired curiosity or fond memories, stop in to see the River City Strippers any Friday morning at St Catherine's on Columbia Street. They accept new members, admirers, and donations.