Stitching Together History & Heritage

November 2025 Issue
by Lesley Kyle
Photography provided by Heritage Library

Next year marks the 250th anniversary
of the American Revolutionary War.

Barbara Catenaci, Executive Director of The Heritage Library on Hilton Head Island, understands the importance of history and lineage. As such, she began dreaming of ideas of how The Heritage Library would celebrate this historic anniversary. Over cocktails and conversation with friends, Barbara amusingly confided, “This will be the war that does me in!” After all, it’s not every year a milestone of this magnitude comes along directly in the wheelhouse of The Heritage Library.

The question was: How could the Library commemorate, celebrate, and educate both localsand visitors about the Lowcountry’s impactful role in a meaningful and innovative way?

As The Heritage Library is a nonprofit organization that offers ancestry research assistance, classes, and tours about the Island’s history, Barbara felt it was imperative to celebrate the Lowcountry’s exciting role in the Revolutionary War. Ideally, in a way that could appeal to all ages, and be educational, versatile, and memorable.

Did you know more Revolutionary War battles were fought in South Carolina than in any other colony? Residents’ loyalties were divided between the Patriots and the Loyalists—those who remained loyal to Great Britain. The Patriots encamped on Hilton Head Island, while the Loyalists put down roots on Daufuskie Island. Spies lurked on both islands, and while there were no major battles between the two locations, many smaller skirmishes took place. South Carolina was also the locale of the bloodiest battle during the Revolutionary War. As a result, the Hilton Head Militia was nicknamed, “The Bloody Legion.”

Aha! After thinking it through day and night, Barbara figured it out! She approached the Art Quilters of the Lowcountry with the concept of making a quilt that not only commemorated the War but also gave a history lesson of that time. The Art Quilters declined, and Barbara went back to the drawing board. But two weeks later, the quilters called back wanting to discuss it further. The general idea was Barbara’s, but the quilting artisans had the vision, a quilt of their design and interpretation through the lens of Hilton Head Island. Conceived as an educational tool for all ages, the quilt would be one that schoolteachers could simulate on paper.

Barbara has found tourists want to learn about local history and don’t only come for golf, sun, and sand. Visitors often return to the Island with their children and grandchildren to research family history at The Heritage Library, the Southeast’s premier research library for genealogy. “That’s our point of entry,” Barbara said. “Come for the golf but stay for the history.”

Barbara introduced the quilting artists, Ron Hodge, Ro Morrissey, Peg Weschke, and Jody Wigton, to higher-profile local war events and turned them loose in The Library to begin their research. The group made all of the story choices, and the process became an adventurous history lesson for them.

The quilt project began in October 2024 and was completed in July 2025. The quilt measures 6-feet by 6-feet with a 6-inch border. The border depicts the number 250; 13 stars—for each original colony; the South Carolina state flag; and sweetgrass baskets—a connection to the Gullah and Native American cultures. The background features sky, water, and marsh imagery, representing Hilton Head Island. Each scene, starting with the Battle of Sullivan’s Island, tells a different story from the American Revolutionary War. And there is a scene representing the majestic and historic Talbird Oak, named after Talbird Plantation in what is now Hilton Head Plantation.

The story goes: A Loyalist militia arrived to burn down Talbird, the Patriot owner’s home, only to be greeted by Mary Ann Talbird, Lt. John Talbird’s pregnant wife. The officer in charge that night was none other than Mary Ann’s brother-in-law, who gave her time to remove items from the home. Those personal effects, along with Mary Ann and other residents of the plantation, all safely hunkered down beneath the live oak tree, which was massive even 250 years ago. The plantation’s inhabitants and property survived, but sadly the home itself was burned to the ground.

This is the first project on which Ron, Jody, Ro, and Peg have collaborated, and they created a masterpiece. The project is also a first of its kind for The Library. It has been such a resounding success, Barbara hopes to work with more local artists using various mediums in the future.

As the construction of the quilt came to completion, Barbara and the artists discussed names for the quilt. Throwing out ideas, “a stitch in time” was blurted. “We all looked at each other and said, ‘That’s it!’”

The quilt now aptly called “A Stitch in Time,” is on display for public viewing at the Island Recreation Center through November 7 and The Heyward House in Bluffton, November 11-17. Tickets to win the quilt are available for purchase at the The Heritage Library or online, and all proceeds will benefit The Library’s general education fund. One lucky winner will take home this masterpiece quilt—a meticulously crafted, one-of-a-kind, piece of Hilton Head Island and American history. Now that your interest in local history is at full attention, be sure to check out The Heritage Library and soak in the comprehensive array of resources they make available to us all.

---

Up Close:

A Local Par-tea: A Charleston (SC) Tea Party took place approximately two weeks before the famous Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773.

Biggest Surprise: The tremendous amount of time the quilters spent preparing the story for the scenes portrayed in the quilt.

You Can Win! Single tickets are $10 or three for $25. You can purchase tickets through the QR code on this page, online at:
www.heritagelib.org/a-stitch-in-time, or paper tickets can be bought in person at Heritage Library, 2 Corpus Christi, Suite 100 off New Orleans Rd, HHI.

Don’t Wait! November 30 is the last day to purchase tickets. The lucky winner will be announced during the first week of December.

The Quilters: www.ArtQuiltersOfTheLowcountry.com