Oral History Interview with Theresa "Tracie" Meyer

Mandy Higgins 0:00 So, my name is Mandy Higgins we are here at the Kentucky Historical Society in Frankfort on May 20th, 2022. To start our mask makers quilt oral histories with Tracy Meyer. And Tracy, can you just go ahead and will you spell your name for us?

Tracie Meyer 0:18 Sure, I will

so it's T R A, C, ie Meyer, m e y e. r.

Mandy Higgins 0:24 Thank you. Can you tell me a little bit about when you began to sew or craft?

Tracie Meyer 0:29 I was probably around eleven, sewing, I was [laughing] the second child of six and my mom sewed most of our clothes because that's a lot of kids. And so I kind of got an attitude [laughing] about what I wanted to wear. And so I decided I would take that on. And so I started sewing on a sewing machine, probably around age eleven. And quickly picked up a love for fabric and thread. Prior to that, I actually did a lot of embroidery, some crocheting. Back in the day, we didn't have internet or videos. So, I remember pestering this nice lady at a little league game [laughing], to show me how to make a French knot. And it's one of my really cherished childhood memories, because she was so kind and so excited that I was doing embroidery. So, I've kind of always been a little crafty and artistic from the get go.

Mandy Higgins 1:21 And how did you learn to sew was it by--

Tracie Meyer 1:24 I just read? Yeah. And my mom sewed. So, she would help me if I didn't understand, basically sewing clothes. You know, you have a pattern. And it's kind of like a 3-D puzzle. But there's some tricks that you should know, I've never taken a home ec [home economics]. [laughs] I've, I've just self taught.

Mandy Higgins 1:43 That's incredible, did you--when did you move to quilts?

Tracie Meyer 1:47 I started quilting--I was previously married to somebody in the army, and had the opportunity to get out of Arizona and see other things. And so, there's a lot of Oklahoma and Kentucky and then in Germany and the country sort of decorating was very popular at that time. And I did have a quilt that was just square quilts from my mom [laughing] from a childhood. Again, you take old fabric and put it together, but I decided to take on big quilts that were very fancy and all handsewn probably in 1983-ish, maybe in there.

Mandy Higgins 2:28 Great. And so, you've talked a little bit about what you made before 2020. Are there other things that you made beyond quilts or clothing?

Tracie Meyer 2:38 I--home decorating, I had a little craft business when I lived in Germany. So, it was an officer's wife and some other officer's wives and I decided, well, I can't buy this stuff, but we can make this. So, we had a craft business for--I wanna say two to three years while I was there. So, there's our home decorating kinds of things. Curtains, pillows, bedspreads [laughing]. I've made wedding dresses, communion dresses, christening dresses, I really love the very, very old-fashioned hand smocking, very detailed heirloom dressmaking. Like, the more detail, the happier I am. [laughing]

Mandy Higgins 3:18 Incredible. Were you--so you, you mentioned that you had this craft business? Were you involved in other craft communities or selling groups before the pandemic?

Tracie Meyer 3:28 No, just--just that and that was just a couple of friends, we wanted to entertain ourselves while living in Germany.

Mandy Higgins 3:34 Wow. Okay, so switching a little bit from that to March of 2020. How did you learn about COVID?

Tracie Meyer 3:44 You know, I think like everybody else, TV, maybe some social media. I have a husband who reads everything constantly. And I believe he was the first person who said, "stuffs gonna happen," and I was like, "oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever." And then, stuff started happening pretty fast. And so, I went into this sort of like, how do I be helpful? What can I do? Like a Rosie riveters? [Rosie the Riveter] Sort of like, we have to do this together? Kind of thing.

Mandy Higgins 4:17 Yeah.

Tracie Meyer 4:18 So it was like--I want to say March 12th-ish. And-- I only remember that date because, my husband started working from home, which was a whole new experience.

Mandy Higgins 4:26 [laughing] Can you tell me a little bit--take me back to that March and April--tell me how you were feeling?

Tracie Meyer 4:32 You know, I was not as concerned because I was like, "Oh, sure. We can isolate for a couple weeks." And my husband kept saying, he reads Apocalypse books and stuff. He was like, "No, this is--this is serious. This is gonna be big time. I'm gonna go stock up." You know, "we're gonna have all this stuff." I'm just like, "I think you're overreacting. We just do this stuff." And then, it became really obvious pretty fast that it was going to be something more serious. And then it--then I was kind of like Like, well, what can I do to help? What is it that I can contribute? And that's when I learned about, you know, that nobody had their protective equipment, [laughing] and mask and, and there was just a lot in the news. And I have worked in hospitals for years, worked at schools for years. My mom was an ICU nurse for years. So, I have a love and a compassion for people who serve in that way to their fellow human beings.

Mandy Higgins 5:27 Yeah, did you--did you start watching sort of the governor's briefings? How did you--

Tracie Meyer 5:32 Absoutely--.

Mandy Higgins 5:32 get that news?

Tracie Meyer 5:33 Yeah, I absolutely watch the governor's briefing pretty much every day. And I would sew, like, it would inspire me. Like, I would have it on. And I'd be like, Okay, I gotta make more, I gotta do more. They're--it was very emotional. That was kind of one of the things that surprised me, for as many tears as I might have shed making a wedding dress or communion dress or a--whatever kind of thing. This--this was like sad tears. This was like, I can't go fast enough. How do I help and get people's faces covered. And then, I just started making them, I didn't really have a plan. [laughing] And so, through social media and other kinds of connecting, which I didn't typically do a lot of, I was able to find some ways to get the masks out in bulk. Because, I made a lot of them. I used every piece of material I could find

Mandy Higgins 6:24 Yeah, let's talk about that a little bit. Do you remember exactly when you began making the masks?

Tracie Meyer 6:29 I began March 12th, [laughing] I began pretty much immediately because, they were already talking about not having masks. I have a sister who works in a dental office, I have a sister who's a teacher, I had very good friends that work at hospitals. And, all I could think of is these nurses and doctors and these people that are, you know, forward-facing with patients need protection.

And I figured if nothing else, I could just take them to the hospital. [laughing] So, I started reading about what kind of materials you needed to use and how to make them as safe as possible. And then, I learned all about not being able to get materials you needed. And so, I had to keep adapting to the style of mask I made. What kind of elastic or ties, I have several different patterns just based on what I could get my hands on.

And I did have some really lovely people donate fabric. And sometimes they wouldn't get the right kind of fabric. So, then I would have to try to like triple layer that. And so, I really knew everything about masks, I felt like that I could read. And I felt ahead of even the public knowledge because, it seemed to me--and some of that is I've been fitted for an N95 When I worked at a hospital. And I was like, Well, I can't make those [laughing] But, if they are being required to wear an N95, then this is bigger and worse than we imagined and everybody should be wearing, like I had that everybody should be wearing masks in my head for a long, long time. And it was interesting to see that kind of unfold. And where I understand it was important for medical personnel to have that first. You know, I was sort of in the business of who can I help and who can I protect? And very much I'm a mother tiger. So, I have five children and one granddaughter, and so I was all about getting them safe, too. So--.

Mandy Higgins 8:26 Yeah. Can you talk a little bit more about where you found those patterns? What sorts of patterns you used?

Tracie Meyer 8:31 Sure. So a lot online, there are a lot of sewing tutorials, you can get patterns--online. JoAnn Fabric actually had their website, you could get packages, but they weren't available [laughing] anymore. But, they at least had some directions. And so, I took some of those directions, I would try--I would make the mask and it was interesting, the first thing they said to do is sterilize your whole sewing area, wear gloves, make a mask, put it on while you sewed, re-sterilize everything. [laughing] And it's interesting to think about today, you know, what we know versus what we thought we knew then. So, it was very strange to try to sew with gloves, if you could get them [laughing] and then a mask on, which sometimes interferes with fine detail. And then, just trying it because, you might have a pattern and then you try it on and It's like, this is just not gonna work. So, then I started adapting patterns to what I thought might work better. I found a pattern that a nurse--and she willingly put that out online, that would really cover the N95. So, I made a lot of those because, I was trying to get it out to the hospitals, hospice, those kinds of places.

And I just kept vamping you know, revamping, you know, every time I would find a new pattern, it was like, is this going to be a little bit better? You know, I mean, there's--we've--something on someone's face, but when people are wearing things for eight hours, ten hours or even an hour, [laughing] you know, the comfort level was important. The breathability was important, you know, there was a lot of sharing of like, what not to do, what stitches and make sure, you know, air couldn't get through. And there was a shortage on interfacing, which was what we were using as some sort of filter.

And I found filters that you could order and slide them in. So then I had to modify [laughing] those patterns. And then wait for those filters. Nobody had nose pieces. Eventually, there was a group--a union that put out nose bridge pieces that were metal, and they gave them to you for free if you were making masks. So, I was so excited that again, because you want that protection around the nose, you don't want, you know, air to get in and out, [laughing]. I've used floral wire, I mean, I got creative. I was like, what would work? You know, and you know, towards the end, I feel like some of my masks were just really beautiful, actually. I got into making them more attractive. I made holiday masks, which I jokingly said in 2020, "well, this is a waste of time, right? Because we won't need these next year." [laughing] And sure enough, we wore them next year.

So, I tried to him embrace something that I think was hard. But, a lot of it was because I ran out of material or I could only get a certain kind of elastic or--and then I was like well, what could I do with this? So, it pushed my creativity, and then, there were some Facebook groups that people were talking about different patterns, sharing patterns, sharing the latest information. There are people on there that went and got their grandma or their memaw's old sewing machine from out in a garage. And we're using this singer pedal machine because that's what they had, and they'd never sewn before. So, it was really sweet, I mean, it really touched me [laughing] like, there were families where they had the kids cutting out masks, so they could do assembly line. And then there were people like me who had sewn forever and could kind of help talk those people along. So, it was a really fascinating and positive way to use social media, in my opinion. I don't think we had any kind of zoom going on just yet. [laughing] So, a lot of it was you--you know, put your message in, or send a picture or share a video and then, you know, share those resources. So, it was really something very lovely, I thought with the Kentucky mask makers, I was on one that was bigger that I think was too big. And that got a little wonky, I think for people. [laughing] But with Kentucky, I felt like okay, I've got resources, and I've got people that know where we need to get them in Kentucky. You know, I had visions of covering the United States, which I kind of did, but[ [laughing] you know, it helped having a smaller group specifically knowing their resources and what was needed in Kentucky.

Mandy Higgins 12:58 Yeah. Before we move to--

Tracie Meyer 13:00 --Sure.

Mandy Higgins 13:01 The Kentucky group, a couple of questions. As you got these patterns, how did you bring in the changing knowledge about the virus to how you were constructing these masks?

Tracie Meyer 13:15 I stopped wearing gloves [laughter] because it was very hard to sew that way. For me, it's a very tactile experience, and stopped wearing a mask while I made it. And then, when we delivered--somebody, had provided this really great sheet about like what are the materials because, if there was elastic that had latex in it, and somebody [wh was allergic to latex, you needed to say that. We always clean them first, put them in, you know, a sealed bag, but then left the directions, take this home, clean it, [laughing] you know, those kinds of things. And then, we learned that that probably wasn't as big a deal. So, then it was just like, here's your pile of masks, go for it. And, and then--that, so the interfacing worked with the fabric to create more barriers.

So, like what kind of interfacing and what kind of fabric and how breathable something would be. My last batch that went to children, these were small, I call them babies if they're under ten [laughing], and--and so, how to make their masks something that wouldn't feel too tight and it was a little bit more adjustable. And then, the fabric not be too thick, where an adult may be in, like the one I sent my mom, who was in a assisted living facility. I really made sure it was solid fabric with really thick interfacing [laughing] because she had more risk. So, kind of learning like what you could and couldn't do, how to help things fit better. That was sort of that process. You know, at the beginning, it was simply get something out there that's gonna, for me, stay together, be together, be as safe as possible.

And then, you know, sometimes we were learning things about like put, you know, tie it back in the back and you get these plastic things. And then--we called them them this plastic muzzle that could go in it and then, you know, it was just sort of as patterns came along, I would try a new pattern. And I would have people wear them and say, "tell me how they fit, how they don't fit." You know, "what works for you, what doesn't, do you need more space?" So, you know, I had a lot of people willing to take my, you know, craft, [laughing] and give me feedback. And, and I could adjust that. And then, you know, I learned things like, I have children, stepchildren, who were very fatigued. And so, an adult mask just doesn't work for them. So, then I would eithe--well, actually, I just made them children's masks, because they might go to work and they were being handed these one size fits all and it wasn't covering. So, where rules like, my daughter-in-law worked at a bank, and they could only wear blue. And I'm like, can you get blue? [laughing] So, I was able to get blue. And then I put cute lining on the inside so she could flip them. I made reversible masks. So, you know, I got clever because, I still wanted to be creative. And I wanted people to wear the mask. And if it, you know, wasn't something that they were comfortable in or that actually did the job, then they wouldn't be wearing it. So it was really this process over the whole time I was making masks.

Mandy Higgins 16:31 Yeah. Can you tell me a little bit about how giving those masks made you feel?

Tracie Meyer 16:36 Oh, I might cry. [laughter] Yeah, it's still very, very emotional. First of all, I thought, oh, I'm gonna make all these and I won't know where to get them or where to take them. Because, they were also leery of having something come into their workplace. I mean, we were still collecting our mail and taking it outside or keeping our groceries out in the garage and wiping everything down at the beginning. And so, when I was actually able to find resources of where to take them, I literally cried, it was just like, okay, we're gonna do this, we're gonna be good, we're gonna be safe, people were so grateful--was the other thing. I have friends that are social workers. And so, they might be working in a hospital or they might be doing a home--in person visit. But, they were not being provided any kind of protection. So, for me to be able to protect them was like just very deep and emotional.

And that's where a lot of the tears came from while sewing. I can remember sewing and be like, I've never been this emotional, even making my daughter's wedding dress or the christening dress for our grandbaby and, and I'm like, I don't even know where these are going, you know, but there were definitely tears or when I'd be, you know, I would listen to Governor Beshear and I'd hear these numbers and you know, and these stats and I'd be like, [laughing] sew more, sew more, sew more. You know, a lot of assembly line, a lot of math. [laughing] It was just--it was a lot of thread. And you know, all over the carpet. Probably will have permanent, you know, creeched neck from [laughing] [being] hunched over my sewing machine. And--but then, to see the piles, you know, the piles that actually, you know, went somewhere. It was--it felt good to help. You know, it felt important to help, it felt like, I'm gonna--I did feel very Rosie the Riveter. [laughing] I really did. So, it was a very emotional--and it's surprised me, I'm a very responsible person. And I, I though, well this was just being responsible. But, I found that there was a lot of emotional connection that came to that in trying to help people and keep them safe.

Mandy Higgins 18:50 Yeah. You mentioned that you wanted to cover the United States.

Tracie Meyer 18:53 I did.

Mandy Higgins 18:54 Where did your mask go outside of Kentucky?

Tracie Meyer 18:56 Washington state, Arizona, New York City, Georgia, Florida, Indiana. So, I always brag that, you know, I got Washington state and New York City, that's pretty much [laughing] the coast to coast.

Mandy Higgins 19:14 Yeah!

I think California, Colorado, and some of the more random ones were friends of my kids, you know that their best friend from high school who was an OT, who had autoimmune disorder, [laughing] and we didn't know that then, I just knew that I needed to keep her safe. So, there were some one-offs like that. The larger portion of it went here in Kentucky. And then, one big batch went up to New York City at the beginning because it was just so devastating. And--I have two children that live in New York City. So, I would hear from them. I would also listen to their governor every day. So there's lots of--lots of intense information coming my way. So, that was actually one of the biggest first batches. [I] actually went to New York City, I found a clinic up there that needed. And they were gracious and lovely--[laughing] it felt good. Felt good to do that.

Yeah. Can you talk a little bit about packing and sending that, like, how did you--how did you find the clinic? And then, how did you get it to them?

Tracie Meyer 20:18 So, clinic in New York City I was familiar with, because I do a lot of suicide prevention work, and a high area of suicide is LGBTQ individuals. And a friend of mine was actually doing a nurse practitioner fellowship up there. She was talking about doing that. And so I had learned about Callen-Lorde, and I had reached out to them. And I said, "What is your need, because I--I will do whatever I can." And so, they were very--well, first, they're like, "who are you?" [laughing] You know, somebody from Kentucky. And then, you know, when I--I actually was able to get a phone number, and we called and talked, and she gave me the, you know, the shipping, and then I made sure she knew when to expect it, and then, even going to the post office at that time was really stressful.

You know, so I would pack everything at home without my directions about you know, and so it literally--it was very emotional, where I could physically feel it, you know, and know that they had no resources, and that these were gonna help because they were basically wearing their N95 and then they would wear the cloth mask over it to try to get more use out of an N95, which is not how you're supposed to do it. [laughing] Excuse me, and they were, you know, seeing clients and patients, you know, face to face at that time. So again, there wasn't zoom, and you know, that was something to come in the future. With the you know, a lot of it, too, was very similar in the sharing online. Who needs this? And so, some had very official, like you fill out, you know, an Excel sheet, and you get an address that way. So that was one thing. I actually was following the social workers--the Kentucky social workers, and they were talking about, I didn't even think, like they're going into homes still, they're still doing this. So, I reached out to them and said, "you tell me how many you need." And they weren't very good about asking for what they need. And I was like, "really, tell me how many you need. I am--this is what I'm doing with my life right now." So, I sent you know, a few hundred their way I said, "you--you're on the front line, you need these too." Hosprice [Hospice] was wonderful, they--they just put an ask out, I know the chaplain that works there. And so I was like, "how m--again, how many do you need?" And people were a little bit leery to say, "I need hundreds." And I'm like "I'm making hundreds. [laughing] I gotcha."

Mandy Higgins 22:54 Yeah. How did you find transitioning, since you--sort of gave it to us perfectly? How did you learn about the quilt--the mask makers quilt?

Tracie Meyer 23:03 Oh, so one of the women who was on our group [laughing] that was making masks, Gina, she said, "you know, I have this idea." And I think for all of us who were just doing this assembly line kind of work and feeling overwhelmed, it gave me a little break to do something really creative, and meaningful, because, I think one of the things that touched me about the social networking piece was that, I was hearing from people all over Kentucky, and what they were doing and where they lived, and what the needs were there. And so to me, because of my love of quilting and how I perceive quilting, and the importance of quilting, I mean, I feel like the threads from one generation to another to another, I feel very connected to quilts. It just spoke to me. So, I might have been the first one like me, me, me, me. [laughing] So, she had set up, you know, a separate Facebook page for those who would want to participate. And then, one night, I had made an error in like 40 masks, and I needed to undo that error. And I was like, you know what, this is the day I'm going to make my quick piece to just, you know, take a breath and work on that and then get back to my error. [laughing] So yeah, she just utilized social media, and then people just kept jumping on and she really managed a lot of that. It was an interesting process again, people that maybe had never quilted before. I honestly struggled with finding enough pieces of fabric because, I literally would just push my pattern to the very edge to get every ounce of fabric because it was so hard to get fabric. So, I was like I don't know if I-- I don't know if I have enough to spare for a little you know, eight by eight square. [laughing] But I did and so--oh yeah, then I put it together and it was the wrong size. and Ihad to take it apart [laughing] and put it back together.

Mandy Higgins 25:05 Yeah, tell me a little bit more about your square.

Tracie Meyer 25:07 So my square is, because I'm in Jefferson County, I had to put a jockey in it. So, I found--so apple kay (??) quilting, to me, is both beautiful and tedious., so it just fits all my little parts. [laughing] And so, I have a jockey that's in the center of the square. And because my pieces were so small, I--I could get triangles, but not a whole square. So, I was able to utilize some of my more favorite colorful pieces of fabric of some of my favorite first masks, I thought that was important to me to do that. And then, I actually had green fabric that might have been thirty years-old,[laughing] it might have been older than that. And because the governor had us doing green lights, I wanted to you know, use the green as the most prominent color in there. And so, I got that all together, not once but twice, and sent it off. Very excited to be a part of it and very excited to--I don't know that connecting with all these other women and how willing the quilter was to quilt this huge quilt, it's not like your average quilt, [laughing] and how willing somebody was to embroider all of the different counties and two we'll get through this together. It was very moving, I bought a shirt special to wear to the presentation, which we couldn't go to. Understandably so, and but, you know, fortunately, they had somebody that sent us a lot of photographs. And--and I was just very proud. And it's still very emotional.

Mandy Higgins 26:49 Yeah, let's talk a little bit more about those emotions. [laughter] Why are you proud? What is--what makes it so--

Tracie Meyer 26:54 So--so, I think the proud part was that, in an event as significant as a pandemic, I've not been through this before. And I think we're still learning what is the outcome of it, that people put aside the tedious, boring complaints and decided to be together, to work together, to share materials together, to share knowledge together to say, you know, we are going to do this as a togetherness. It was a very connected feeling, even though we were so disconnected and not able to see each other, touch each other. You know, typically, if you quilted together, you would have, you know, a quilting circle, [laughing] or a sewing circle. And so, it was a virtual sense of a sewing circle. I learned about different people, different people had family members that may have gotten COVID or gotten sick, or people said, "you know, I have to take a break, because, you know, XYZ's happening in my life." And, but there was this sense of great connection in--to me--my background is in art therapy. So to me, the quilt was just this like beautiful, really, I don't want to say statewide, because we're a Commonwealth, but this--all these people that don't know each other coming together, to be together. And then to make this beautiful piece of--I consider artwork and connection. Like the symbolism in there is so powerful to me. The willingness to do that, the willingness to share the willingness to, um, I know we all wanted to go like, see it. [laughing] And actually, every once in a while, I still get a pop up if somebody's you know, like, "hey have you heard about this?" You know, "you heard about that?" So, I think that just, I've never really had that sense of great connection like that in such a strange time.

Mandy Higgins 28:58 Yeah, did you--did you all share other parts of your lives? Are there parts of things you were learning within that community?

Tracie Meyer 29:08 Yeah, there were times things, you know, came up and like, you know, it was sort of like, "hey, I read this update, you know, and did you see this on Governor Beshear's" you know, "talk today?" You know, "this is what's happening in my community." You know, we get--sometimes a community would have a bigger outbreak. So, then we could kind of push, you know, materials that way. So, there was that sense of, yes, there might be more people in Jefferson County, but if a smaller county with less resources is having a huge outbreak, and they don't have anything, how can we get stuff to them? So, there was a lot of that, but there was also personal stories people shared, you know, like, I was so touched by this whole family, like all these little kids cutting out these squares; and you know, this was a family thing they were doing and I was like, that is just so sweet and precious and kind and what a wonderful lesson to teach your--your young children and your family to do this together. Like there was a real sense of, we're here, we're doing this, we're protecting each other, we care about each other. We don't know what's going on in the world, but you know, we're doing this.

Mandy Higgins 30:17 Yeah. Now I'm gonna be-- [laughter]

Tracie Meyer 30:21 It was really--it was a lot.

Mandy Higgins 30:23 Did you--so some of the quilt makers wrote notes.

Tracie Meyer 30:29 Yeah

Mandy Higgins 30:30 Did you include a note with your square?

Tracie Meyer 30:33 I did include a note with my square. And so we were, we could send a note, we could send a picture. And then, you know, we got that to Gina. And then she, you know, I was aware that she was putting together a scrapbook, because I think, you know, the governor and his office, [laughing] you know, all the work they did, you know, to have that, that scrapbook and hear each person's story and why they did it. I really hope that those stories like help the governor in his office and, and the Public Health servants that just were doing such hard work, realized how much they were loved and appreciated. That was really important to me to be able to, you know, say that, so I was really glad she let that door be open to everybody. Because, everyone had a different story or a different reason, or they came from a different part of Kentucky, you know, and so I thought that was a very touching thing. So yeah, I did include a letter.

Mandy Higgins 31:35 would you be willing to tell us a little bit of at least the like five thousand view, [laughing] of what was included in that letter?

Tracie Meyer 31:42 You know, I am drawing a complete blank. [laughter] I probably should have went into my email and checked that, which I probably could do. So, I did share with him that I served in the Personnel Cabinet with his father, and how much I appreciated his family. And his mother also does work with breast cancer. And they were all so willing, when I--I worked at the Personnel Cabinet to support our prevention and wellness programs, that I really, really liked him and his family. I, you know, maybe got a little fan girl. [laughing] And that how much I appreciated that every day, he came to task to tell us what was going on. And that I knew that it was hard, and I just really appreciated, you know, I figured he had a lot to read. [laughing] I don't recall it being super, super long. But, I just wanted to let him know that I appreciated that kind of effort. I probably shared I had kids in New York City and that--and how scary it was as a mother to not be able to hug them or know that they're okay. So, yeah.

Mandy Higgins 31:43 Yeah. Can you tell me a little bit about--so you mentioned that you couldn't go to the ceremony--

Tracie Meyer 33:02 Yeah.

Mandy Higgins 33:02 --the delivery ceremony? Can you tell me a little bit about the planning and then how that came together.

Tracie Meyer 33:08 So, Gina really took, you know, the reins with that and was really trying to coordinate it. And so, we were hoping that we could do something that was outdoors, so that people could come and be you know, six feet apart. I feel like it was in the summer-ish time of 2020, maybe fall-ish, but, you know, our numbers then would have started going up, you know, I was under the maybe delusion [laughing] that Kentucky was gonna--we're gonna be okay, we're not gonna be New York City. And so, I think that's when numbers are really starting to go up. And they were really starting to, you know, be very cautious.

And so, you know, we all in the group were like Gina, you need to be the person there, you coordinated this. And then, we felt like the quilter did so much and took on so much, like way more than she probably thought [laughing] she was taking on. And we felt like those were the best representatives. They--they were the people, you know, that appreciated and loved this project, knew the most about it and were most familiar with it. And then they were really good about sending out pictures about it. And then he mentioned us on his, you know, five o'clock thing and we were all just bawling like, he talked about us! And he said "it was love" and I was like put that in my "Governor Beshear says," you know, on my Facebook because, I was like, I wanted people to know about the project and we had to keep it secret for so long. [laughing] So, I would tell people "I'm doing something special for somebody who rhymes with candy. That's all I can tell you." [laughter] So, it was--it was lovely and still a little sad because you know, I just really wanted to see the quilt and I think everyone else wanted to too, but it was wonderful to just see how large it was because we got some perspective at that point. And then, to have him be--had the governor be so kind to talk about that and share that with the rest of the Commonwealth. So, it was just hard not to go. I also wanted to sort of meet all these people I was communicating with on Facebook, you know, like, I felt like we had this connection and this camaraderie. Yeah.

Mandy Higgins 35:27 Yeah. Have you had a chance to meet any of the other--

Tracie Meyer 35:30 I have not met them in person?

Mandy Higgins 35:32 Okay.

Tracie Meyer 35:32 No, no, I haven't. [laughing]

Mandy Higgins 35:35 And you have seen the quilt now?

Tracie Meyer 35:37 I have. Yes--

Mandy Higgins 35:37 So, can you tell me a little bit about how you felt when you saw it in person?

Tracie Meyer 35:42 [lauging] Excuse me. [laughing] That's how I felt. I came here, my sister was visiting. And you all were so kind to let me know that I could come see it. Because first, I wasn't sure where it was anymore. And so I dragged my sister and her eighteen-year-old [laughing] son, who wandered around the museum and loved it. And I just, I just felt so moved. It was very spiritual, very quiet, but very--it was sacred, that's the word, I'm gonna use the word sacred. It was sacred to me to see it altogether.

And to--you even let me touch it, which I wasn't sure it was going to be allowed to [laughing] cuz, you know, eh, fingers and oil and all that stuff. It was, I was giddy to see where my, my spot was, you know, and who was around me, and it was fun to see, because I had seen some of the squares beforehand, because a lot of people would post on the--on the Facebook group, what they had made. And so it was really fun then as a quilter to be like, wow, somebody had to figure this all out, you know, like, where it would go and what was that like for them? [clears throat] So, I was imagining, you know, sort of that process of putting it together. There's a funny story about when the embroidery got done, there was one misspelled word, and we were all like oh, do we--do we let them know or do we--? Yeah, I mean, we let them know. And she was like, "oh, my gosh," you know, and was really good about [it]. And so for me, it was kind of fun to look at that, where I knew where the misspelled word was and it was like, I don't know, maybe we should have just left it misspelled. [laughing] Quilts don't have to be perfect. There was again, that really sense of being connected to something greater than the single of me. Seeing it, I literally wanted to wrap myself up in it, which is what you do with quilts. And it was--it was nice to share that with my sister as well, because she lives in Arizona, and just kind of heard me talking about it. And she was pretty fascinated with the whole process. So, but yeah, it was sacred. [laughing]

Mandy Higgins 38:00 Did you make anything else for officials?

Tracie Meyer 38:03 I did not. I know that they made some bears. I think--I want to say Gina may have done that. Because, then there was that sense of we know the governor's not the only person doing this. So, there were some bears that were made, again, out of the quilted pieces, because there were so many. And then given to I think Virginia [Moore] and then Dr. [Steven] Stack, I believe. There mi-there might have been more but, which I thought was very sweet because they were working hard too. Yeah.

Mandy Higgins 38:35 Yeah. So you've talked a lot about community, and the way you found that, have they--has the community continued?

Tracie Meyer 38:45 Yes, every once in a while like, so there's a quilt show that--I think it was done in Paducah. And then somebody was like, "is anyone going," da da da. And I was like, "oh, maybe we will get to meet some day at a quote show." It was recently, it was quilt month, so I was able to see quotes here, and then the Speed [Speed Art Museum] had some beautiful quilts that were on display as well. And then they actually have this amazing quilt--artist. I can't even call it a quilt artist, but he's using quilts and then changing it. And so I had this whole, like revival of quilts for a month. And I'm gonna start a quilt for my granddaughter. [laughing] So, I was like, all right, well, we'll do that next. So.

Mandy Higgins 39:28 Yeah, you mentioned a last batch. So when did you stop making masks?

Tracie Meyer 39:32 The las--oh, I might cry now too. The last batch was the Monday before I had surgery for breast cancer. The kids were going back to school. And I can remember people were like, why are you doing this, I'm like because babies are going back to school. And babies need to be protected. Again, a baby in my heart isn't a child and the teachers need to be protected. And I--my experience, I worked in community mental health for about a decade. And I did work at schools, and the poverty that exists in Jefferson County is very, very real. And a parent may not be able to afford to buy a $5 mask. Or, if you have kids like mine, who knows where it--it was on their face, and then when they got to school, it's not on their face. [laughing] So, it was really important to me and the governor's wife had done a call out to everybody for, you know, masks for children. And so, I--I'm a very responsible person, and I had made a commitment to making a bunch of masks. And so I made various sizes, again, had to learn something new, like what's the right size for a child and how do we make it adjustable or it doesn't hurt their ear? So, fortunately, I had a six-year-old granddaughter who I could test things on--for the little ones, and then just got all those out. So, that would have been March--like the 16th, maybe of--

Mandy Higgins 40:56 Of '21?

Tracie Meyer 40:57 Of '21.

Mandy Higgins 40:58 Yeah.

Tracie Meyer 40:59 I've made a few since then. And people are like, "hey, I have a special event." [laughter] Or at Christmas time, I made some and Halloween. But not--not a big batch.

Mandy Higgins 41:12 Yeah. So, the governor describes all of us as part of Team Kentucky. Can you define Team Kentucky for me?

Tracie Meyer 41:20 Sure. I, I think, for me, Team Kentucky are simple things. For me, it was caring about more than just my world and caring about this bigger world out there, caring about people that I never met, doing what I needed to do to keep things healthy and safe. And to be understanding of--because of my background in mental health, you know, and with my work in suicide prevention, there were lots of conversations about we need to be addressing this. So, I think I had a sense of team-ness before, that was bigger, because I did a lot of work with the suicide prevention grant here in Frankfort.

But I think the sense of people that I didn't even know, coming together to do something for the greater good. That to me was Team Kentucky. And it's hard when you're isolated, it's hard when you're bored. It's hard when you know, you can't get that toilet paper. [laughing] You know, like how, how do we help people out? You know, we dropped off groceries and meals to people that did have COVID. We, you know, did what we could for businesses that had to be closed. You know, like we did a lot of drive up, you know, pick up food from around the corner from one of our favorite little places. We contributed when we could. And in Louisville, the Lee Project I might be--the LEE Initiative, who is a chef, Chef Lee. So, I did a lot of masks for them because, they were trying to get food to restaurant workers. I think that was team, you know, because these are people that don't have a backup plan. I worked in [the] service industry to get myself through school. [laughing] And it was like, they don't have Plan B. [chuckling] And so, they were providing meals and so their volunteers need masks. So, it was an easy way for me to be part of a team of--of helping and protecting others that were struggling. So, that to me is Team Kentucky. And I honestly have not, you know I grew up in Arizona, very different than Kentucky. I've lived here a long time. [laughing] But, that sense of belonging yeah, there's a sense of belonging to me and Team Kentucky, yeah.

Mandy Higgins 43:55 Did you feel that before the pandemic?.

Tracie Meyer 43:57 No. [laughter] But that was a quick no wasn't it

Mandy Higgins 44:01 Yeah! [laughter] Can you expand a little bit on that for us?

Tracie Meyer 44:03 Sure. I think some of it is growing up with--my dad was born in Brooklyn. He was a first-generation American. So, I was raised by, you know, a Brooklyn Yankee in Arizona, and my mom was the farmer's daughter of people who--who had to live through the Depression. But in Arizona at that time, there were no natives, everybody was a transplant and people kept to themselves more. My dad was very gregarious, [laughing] but there was not this sense of connection. And then, you know, years ago when I moved to Kentucky, and then into Louisville, there was this--people knew each other, like there might be families, you know, that live on the same street and you know, I had grandparents that lived in Michigan and grandparents who lived in Tucson and it wasn't that sense of connection. I went to a small grade school, but still not that--that sense of I'm connected to you on a much bigger level. And even though I have good friends that I've known for a long time, there was definitely, there's definitely been a shift of belonging that happened because of this. [laughing] And I joke with everyone because, you know, if you live, at least in Louisville, everyone wants to know when--where you went to high school

Mandy Higgins 45:30 Yeah.

Tracie Meyer 45:30 --and who you're connected to, and I always call it the game of one degree of separation. And because I was kind of this outlier for so long, there was never this sense of being a Kentuckian. So, when I--I've made the observation like I might be officially a Kentuckian now! [laughing]

Mandy Higgins 45:50 That's incredible. Last question, and we'll, Wyatt has a thing. How are you feeling in May of '22?

Tracie Meyer 46:00 I am both hopeful and discouraged. [laughing] Before coming here today, my son text me [to] tell me after all this time, he was diagnosed with COVID today, and so it was like, we tried so hard. And I mean, he was in the throes of New York City and managed to get this far. So I'm, you know, when I read that, we're back in yellow, and I read things like, I have a six-year-old granddaughter who is vaccinated. But, [sighs] kids keep their--they don't keep their germs to themselves. [laughing] And, you know, I worry, because that's what moms and Gigis do. About that--I'm tired of, you know, of the masks, I'm tired of feeling so distant, and I'm a--more of an introvert. So, I really think of like, people who are extroverts, this has probably been so much harder on them, and my heart goes out to them, because we can see what's happening with mental health. And just that sort of being worn down by it all. I do feel like I have seen--both the best and the worst in people. People that--I'm still so tickled [laughing] that distilleries made hand sanitizer, I mean, they could have been making bourbon. But they made hand sanitizer, and that gets me every time, the union that made the nose clip things that, you know, it's pressed metal, but we learned you needed to, they gave that away for free. All you had to do is say "I'm making mask," and they helped me make something that was better.

So that's what I mean, like the best of people. And then, you know, we have other things that have happened that have been discouraging to me because, I don't think it's a big ask to care about your fellow human beings. And, and I think sometimes, you know, that's gotten a little bit or a lot politicized and that disappoints me, I try to believe that we are all connected, we all should care about each other, and maybe I shouldn't use the should word, but maybe that's part of being raised by a nurse, you know, she took care of people that died every day [laughing], you know, and she did that twenty-one years and, and that sense of caring and calling, you know, that is out there. You know, I'd like to think that soon [laughing], mean, I guess I could even wait till the end of this year, but I'm not feeling like I want to anymore, but like, can we take a breath and can we get back to what feels something normal? So, the few times that I have run errands or done something that felt normal, was so joyful.

I went to New York City last November, I had had a big birthday in the pandemic [laughing] that got uncelebrated [laughing] not celebrated because you couldn't do anything. And I was able to go there for a marathon day. And my son is a pacer, and it was perfect weather, and we were in a good spot, it was before Omicron hit. And I have never felt so much joy, and again connection to all these people in New York City and they, you know, they had been hit hard and to see all these people cheering all these--why does somebody run twenty six miles? I'm not sure. [laughing] But, that's the--that was the sense of joyfulness. And I was like, you know what, if after we come out of this, I and everyone else maybe, if we can appreciate joy and connection more, can we say it's worth it? [laughing] Maybe, you know, some kind of in that in-between place of hopefulness and discouraged because, we're in yellow and and I, you know, I just worry that there's still people--I think we're in a better place, I think we're safer if you do get COVID. But, it still has consequences that can be really hard for people. And I just don't know if we know enough yet. --The little scientist in me is like, hmm, I don't know, I don't know just yet. But, it's definitely been two and a half years of learning. And two and a half years of--I have been more creative, I've done a lot of artwork. In fact, today, I was designing a piece that I was like, I need to do a pandemic artwork, just kind of summarize the whole mess. I did a book with my granddaughter early on in a class because I thought, wouldn't it be interesting for her when she's older to have this book of how she responded as a four year old to the pandemic? So, that's a sweet treasure I have for her someday down the road [laughing] which ironically, has quilted pieces of mask in it, I tied up with this like little bow that--because we had made the quilt at that time. So, that was my finishing piece. So, I think good and hard. [laughing] Both are--both are existing at the same time, yeah.

Mandy Higgins 51:34 Thank you.

Tracie Meyer 51:35 Oh, thank you. [laughing]

Mandy Higgins 51:39 Thank you.

Tracie Meyer 51:40 Thanks for--thanks for having me. I really appreciate it. This is very exciting.

Mandy Higgins 51:44 Yeah, we're very excited for it.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai