In quilts, snippets of life

The museum should serve as a haven for those in need of solace, said its director.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- There are six Michaels.
And two Allans and one Allen.
Two Rafaels and two Larrys accompany one Mary, a Krista and a Charles.
There's a Joey and a Joseph, a Jeff and a Jeffrey.
And dozens more.
The names are spelled out in red vinyl letters on the white square tiles outside the McDonough Museum of Art at Youngstown State University.
They are among the 82 names of Mahoning Valley residents appearing on the wall. Each has died from AIDS-related complications.
Next to the wall, a potted Christmas tree, adorned with red ribbons, is alive -- just as the memories of these AIDS victims remain alive.
Those memories are obvious when people walk through the museum's doors.
Stories of lives
On the inner walls, the 24 quilts crafted by family and friends of the local victims -- from Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties -- tell stories of lives stopped short. Each is part of the national NAMES Project Foundation AIDS Memorial Quilt.
"Tommy, your star still shines" adorns a quilt that simulates a football field with a "Hubbard Eagles" football, a dove, champagne and Snoopy with Charlie Brown. His dates are Feb. 27, 1956, to July 7, 1993.
James' quilt features a poem, a verse from Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and a quote from the late actor Michael Landon: "Remember me with smiles and laughter. That's how I'll remember you. If you only remember with tears, then don't remember me at all."
One that reads "Bill's Gone Camping" features a blue pickup truck pulling a camper. He lived from 1934 to 1992.
Charlean Brown is remembered as a "classy lady" on a quilt featuring a woman in a purple lace dress, wide-brimmed hat and fur stole.
Awesome reaction
"We're delighted to have them," said Leslie Brothers, museum director, referring to the quilts. "They're remarkable and detailed and beautiful and different. ... They're a little overwhelming."
The "Live and Let Live" displays are sponsored by the museum and the Valley HIV Coalition, the Mahoning County AIDS Task Force, the Youngstown City Health District AIDS Unit and the Ursuline Sisters HIV/AIDS Ministry.
Trinkle Signs & amp; Displays of Youngstown donated the outdoor vinyl letters for the name display.
The list is "by no means comprehensive," Brothers said, but a start by the various local organizations who search to provide comfort, food, medical resources and other needs to AIDS victims and their families and friends.
Museum hours
Although the name memorial in front of the museum will stay up through the holiday season, Brothers said the quilts will come down Thursday. Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays. Call (330) 941-1400 for information.
Terry Schueller, 1954 to 1992, will "fly like a butterfly" on a quilt featuring butterflies over a garden of flowers featuring signed names.
Krista Blake's quilt features a Columbiana High School pennant. She lived from 1972 to 1994 -- "I tried to dance with what life had to hand me."
One quilt, not yet hanging, has been crafted by the family of a man who still lives. His birth date is listed next to a blank area awaiting a date of death.
"That kind of puts this in perspective in terms of the expectation," Brothers said. "We still know these people are going to die. We can't save them from that. There are really good drugs, and people are living with AIDS much longer, but preventing their physical and mental demise is something much harder."
Brothers said the exhibits are part of a community effort from groups that give sustenance of many kinds to those living with AIDS. She hopes people, for any reason, will look to the museum as "a haven ... as a refuge for them."
Jeff Lee was "always praising the Lord." His quilt features the back of his head -- with a wispy tail -- and arms stretched toward heaven holding a leather-bound Bible. Open the Bible to read, from Paul's epistle to the Romans: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons ... nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God."
More insights
From the quilt of David C. Puckett, 1969 to 1996, it's obvious that he must have liked fishing, camping, Bud Light (and "I love you, Man"), Mozart, Kiss, Van Halen, the Beatles and "Waylon and Willie," the Cleveland Browns, Cavs and Indians, bowling, pool and the Beetle Bailey comic strip.
From James Raduga's quilt come the words he wrote in spring 1995, telling of the pain and depression of illness and loneliness: "Everyone has to realize that just being alive is wonderful. ... Like the rose. ... Sure it's dead. However, its fragrance, its beauty and most important, its spirit is still there."
viviano@vindy.com