By Tom Kelly
Editor and Publisher

When Mrs. Blanche Lovett Carter's mother, Della Oakes, married Buford Lovett, she brought into the marriage as a big part of her "hope chest" a total of 75 quilts, hand-made by herself and her mother. After marrying at age 28, Mrs. Lovett gave birth to seven children--four girls and three boys, who grew up at the Lovett's rural home near Atlanta, Louisiana.

It was remembered by Mrs. Carter, who will be 91 this coming November, that her mother and grandmother caused her grandfather to complain that they were draining income from her mercantile store in Atlanta because of the free use of fabrics from his store for their non-stop quilting.

From such a background, Mrs. Blanche Carter was one of the organizers of the Kisatchie Quilters Guild in May, 1994, "to provide a means for quilters and quilt lovers to share the art of quilting and the appreciation of quilts."

The Guild plans a public showing of the quilts and other crafts made by members on October 14 at the First Assembly of God Church, Hwy 167 North, in Winnfield. The exhibit-only show is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a $2.00 admission charge. Quilts are not for sale.

Mrs. Carter's father Buford Lovett, and his brother (name?) were partners in a cane farming and syrup making enterprise in the rural community of Tide, south of Atlanta in Winn Parish. Her father had homesteaded 62 acres of farmland, and the brothers made and sold around 1,000 gallons of Lovett Brothers-branded cane syrup each year as their cash crop. They also grew other crops for use by the families.

Growing up, all the Lovett children helped with the home and farm work, and attended the Tide school, located between Atlanta and Dry Prong.

During an interview in her residence room at Autumn Leaves Nursing Home in Winnfield, Mrs. Carter recalled an interesting array of childhood experiences--including one that remains vivid today. When the girls were teenagers, in some excursion onto the back porch of their farm home--apparently after dark--they managed to drop a coal oil lamp into the well. The next day, while their parents were away from the house, they organized to draw all the water out of the well, and lowered one of the sisters into the well on a rope. She rescued the lamp, and all survived with no problems.

Of the Lovett children, one sister, Mrs. Cressie Ashford of Shreveport, survives at age 94, and one brother, Doyle Lovett, lives in retirement in Florida after a career with Toledo Scale company.

During her earlier years, Mrs. Carter worked at a number of Winnfield businesses, including Garrett Cleaners, and Norman Smith mercantile store. Later she worked as branch librarian for the Atlanta, Louisiana branch library, retiring at age 65 after 12 years in that position.

Her husband, J.C. Carter, worked at the Carey Salt Mine in Winnfield until it closed, and then worked at the Winnfield rock quarry until his retirement. He died in 1988. After they both were retired, Mr. and Mrs. Carter indulged a hobby of collecting glass bottles--including one made by the Winnfield Bottling Works, the first bottling plant in Winnfield. She also collected lamps. She finally sold the bottle collection for $2,000.

The Carters had four children, Mrs. Jo Gresham of Winnfield, Mrs. Sharon Yanarello of Detroit, and a son James Carter of Dolores, Colorado. A daughter, Mrs. Betty Herman, died in an accident several years ago. She has 10 grandchildren, including logging contractor Jimmy Carter of Toledo Bend, Louisiana, and more great and great-great grands than she wanted to count.

She says she expects to attend the quilt show next month, to display some of her own work, along with that of members.

The Kisatchie quilters include Laverne Adams, Guinevere Allen, Mary Arnold, Sadie Ballard, Billie Ann Bates, Blanche Carter, Clara Cockerham, Claudine Coon, Lois Davis, Essie Dell Frazier, Molie Fulghum, Jackie Gaddis, Irene Grant, Jessie Hand, Shirley Jones, Bonnie Martin, Lennie Morgan, Lois Porter, Cornelia Pray, Oleta Roberts, Nina Simmons, Anna Bell Taylor, Doris Varnell, and Berneice Weeks.

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