The hard times and tight budgets of the Depression spawned innovation. So when Aunt Jenny got sick, one artist with a quilting needle found an innovative way to pay the doctor. Her skill survives today and still warms one woman's heart.

In 1933, the Depression had a stranglehold on the rural community where we lived in Chariton County, Mo. In those days, it took all the ingenuity one could muster to feed and clothe a family. Sadly, many of our neighbors were unable to make their farm mortgage payments, and foreclosures were all too common.

As if times weren't hard enough, my husband's aunt, Jenny Slaughter, fell ill. The once energetic and vital mother of the household was soon confined to her bed, and each time Dr. Putnam was summoned, the bill increased.

One day, Aunt Jenny's worried daughter, Gladys, came by to discuss with us her plan for paying down her mother's doctor bill. She had decided to make a quilt and present it to the doctor as payment toward their account.

Gladys was an excellent quilter, and the quilt frames stayed up in the "front room," as we called it, at all times. Everyone loved for her to come to quilting get-togethers. One need not worry about stitches long enough to catch your toe in--she was, indeed, an artist with a needle.

Unfortunately, Gladys didn't have enough money to buy the material at Simpson's Dry Goods Store for her quilting project, so she made a deal with my husband, Owen.

The deal was struck. He would pay for the material for two quilts, and she would make one for the good doctor and one for us.

Quilt making wasn't my choice of endeavors, and I knew Gladys' reputation as a quilter was widely respected. We had to scrimp like everything to get enough money to buy the material, but finally we had the cash. Gladys bought the material at Simpson's and set to work on her masterpieces.

I don't know what that good old country doctor did with his quilt, but mine is as beautiful as the day Gladys presented it to us. The colors are still as vibrant as a flower garden, and the stitches are as uniform as can be. I don't think Gladys ever knew how much her beautiful quilt warmed our hearts during some very difficult times.