RN: Today was our day to wander around downtown Paducah, so we walked 9 short blocks from our lovely Airbnb to the National Quilt Museum. The quilts on display totally wowed us and we spend an especially long time in a special exhibit, “Quilt as Art” by Barbara McCraw.  Barbara grew up in the south side of Chicago, got her BA from IL State University, and also earned a degree in Medical Technology.  She worked in medical pathology, ultimately becoming a pathology supervisor at UT Southwestern before retiring in 2000.  She took many classes in quilting and now teaches quilting.  She has achieved Master Status in quilting and specializes in story telling through her quilts.  Two of my favorites showcase her contrasting styles.  The first one, “Lessie Rose” showcases 3 beautiful Black women with flowing natural (real) hair on a background of undulating quilting. The second, “Back to Africa” looks like a more conventional quilt design until you look closer.  She has taken animal patterns and used them to create the petals of the flowers in the quilt- in the photos, you can see the whole quilt, and then a close-up so you can see the detail.

FE: On the walk through Paducah I noticed too many closed storefronts, but also signs of economic revival, murals, funky cars etc. Here re a few:

The closer to the museum, a statue showing Lewis and Clark interacting with Chief P, a native child, and Rae in the role of Sacagawea.

On, then to the museum…it is a treasure and visual feast. Here are just a few of the amazing quilts we saw. The posted pictures are low res and do not do the artistry and colors justice. Let me know if you want a select high res file and I will email it to you.

RN: After the quilt museum, we grabbed lunch at a stellar restaurant called Stella’s, then we walked over to the flood wall that the Army Corps of Engineers built to protect the city after the devastating 1937 flood.  Starting at one end, there are murals painted on each section of the wall that depict the history of Paducah. This literally extends down the length of the flood wall and is called “Paducah Wall to Wall Portraits of Our Past”. In the photo below you can see Felix admiring the murals.