With ties and time on his hands, Effingham man turns to quilting

Bill Grimes
Effingham Daily News

March 25, 2008 12:33 pm

— With his wife in a nursing home, Eldon Ooton found himself with some time on his hands.
He also had some ties — lots of ties, accumulated over many years reflecting many style changes.
Ooton, a retired Effingham barber and real estate agent, found a way to use his newfound free time and his ties by sewing the ties onto a sheet and then having them quilted.
After wife Bernice went into a local nursing home last fall, Ooton talked to cousin Alline Lewis, an experienced quilter from Clay County. He then sewed ties onto a sheet and had the creation custom quilted.
Ooton, whose friends call him Scottie, said he was only going to make one for one of his granddaughters. That first one included some of his old ties, as well as ties from the granddaughter’s husband and the Rev. Lawrence Beebe, a longtime friend of the Ooton family.
“But then I had so many ties given to me that I decided to do more,” he said, adding he also bought some ties at the Catholic Charities store between Effingham and Teutopolis.
Ooton has made eight quilts in all, one for each grandchild and another for his friends at Ainad Shrine Temple in East St. Louis.
“It’s given me something to do now that Bernice is in the nursing home,” he said. Bernice Ooton suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease and also had a stroke.
Granddaughter Aimee Berman, who teaches at a charter school in Springfield, said the quilts have sentimental value.
“It’s a neat heirloom for us grandchildren,” Berman said.
“They all enjoy them,” Ooton added.
Bill Grimes can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 131 or bill.grimes@effinghamdailynews.com.

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