Carrie Nation

Her first husband died young, a victim of alcoholism. Their only child, a daughter, had several birth defects, which Carrie believed was another result of her husband’s drinking. Instead of blaming him for his own addiction, Carrie Nation blamed society. She began protesting outside saloons and other drinking establishments; at first singing hymns accompanied by a hand organ, and later by what she called, “hatchetations.” Nearly six feet tall and weighing 175 pounds, she must have been a force to reckon with. She was also outspoken – and ahead of her time – in the fight against tobacco and the use of corsets. Carrie Nation died in 1911, but she was still very well known three decades later when the pattern for this block, formerly known as the “Double Four-Patch,” appeared in the Kansas City Star’s quilt column carrying her name.