- Place
- Delta, British Columbia
- Date
- 1979
- DIMENSIONS in centimetres
- 227 x 220
- Materials & techniques
- Cotton/polyester blend, cotton, polyester; Quilting, embroidery
- Credit
- Pat Vidulich
- ID
- Delta Museum and Archives Society DE2008.1.1
This quilt displays interpretations of heritage homes and scenes in and around the area of Ladner, British Columbia. Each block was created by a different member of “The Quilters of Ladner” and demonstrates a variety of needlework techniques used by the contributors. The quilters were a group of women who met regularly in the home of Ethel Mowat. The quilts made by the group were sold to raise funds for the local Delta Museum and Archives Society.
The quilt shows the group’s connection to the ongoing preservation of the heritage character of Ladner. Founded in 1879, Ladner was a landing site for barges carrying settlers to the marshy lowlands between the Fraser River and the United States border and for shipping goods grown on the Fraser River Delta to various ports around the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island – particularly New Westminster and Victoria, the two capital cities of British Columbia.
The scenes selected for inclusion indicate what the community held to be important (from left to right and top to bottom):
W.H. Ladner Paddle Wheeler, by J. Calder
Del-Eden Farm Red Barn, by Evelyn Fraser
McNeely House, by Jackie Brown
Chung Chuck’s House and Potato Store with Woman
Picking Potatoes, by Barbara Hogan
The Town of Delta Centennial, 1879–1979
Ladner United Church, by Kitty Gray
Thomas Ladner House, by Mary Johnson
First Nations Longhouse, by unknown maker
The Deltan Fishing Boat, by Ethel Mowat
The scenes reflect Ladner’s economic reliance on farming and fishing, and they show some sites that are now lost to the community. This quilt brings together the memory of these heritage sites in a unique format.