Document text
69 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, May 2, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 25, 2004 Marilyn Hemingway helps Christina Johnson, 12, model one of more than 150 hats she knitted for the Caps for Kids program. Children received the hats made by Hemingway and others during a �Mad Hatters Tea Party� Friday. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli She just keeps on knitting This year alone, Marilyn Hemingway has knitted 150 hats for those in need By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune For Marilyn Hemingway, knitting caps for kids is not just a soothing meditation but a lifelong service to those in need. Making use of the odd hour traveling or watching television, Hemingway this year knitted 150 caps and still had time to knit sweaters and afghans for her two daughters and grandchildren. Two dozen smiling children from Medford Head Start showed their delight Friday as they picked out her hats, each one decorated with her signature needlepoint flowers, rainbows and other designs. "I’m no hero," Hemingway says. "It’s just a very gratifying thing to be able to help kids who don’t have enough — or those (in chemotherapy) who have to walk around with no hair on their head and really appreciate a nice cap." Advertisement Hemingway is co-owner with her husband, Jim, of Hemingway’s Vintage Homes in Medford. Says Jim Hemingway, "She finds great pleasure in the knitting hobby and in helping the needy. She’s done it for so long, I’m sure she could do it blindfolded." The Middleford Yarn & Stitchery Shoppe in Medford collects caps from area knitters for giving to needy children each October, when the weather turns cold. This year 950 caps went to Head Start kids and another 750 to kids with cancer or to church care baskets. Caps for Kids is a national, non-profit foundation that began in 1984 and has provided well over a million caps and other articles of clothing to underprivileged kids. At a "Mad Hatter’s Tea Party" at the Stitchery Friday, employees dressed up in Alice in Wonderland costumes, such as the Mad Hatter and Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and gave hats and cake to youngsters, says shop owner Sonja Tramontana, who supplies free yarn and patterns to knitters. "Marilyn’s a wonderful lady," says Tramontana. "She does an amazing amount of work on these and comes in here every week with another pile of hats for kids. There are a lot of needy families in this area — and a lot of young kids who have to walk to school and need caps, so this work is doing a lot of good and all the caps stay in this area." Raised in Massachusetts, Marilyn Hemingway, 62, married her husband 45 years ago and moved here 30 years ago for a new start in more rural, simple surroundings. They raised their daughters, Kim and Linda, in Rogue River, where Marilyn served as a Girl Scout and Brownie leader. Once a beauty salon owner, Hemingway now helps her husband with the home sales business. Together the couple travel extensively. On a just-completed trip to London, Hemingway found time to knit a couple of caps on the 13-hour flight (and stopover time) home. She likes to surf the Internet to find new knitting patterns, but finds working with her hands "much more fulfilling." Seeing the delight of pre-schoolers getting hats of their own is a huge reward for Hemingway and puts into action a lifelong practice of doing good for others, she says. "I talk to other knitters and we all say it’s a lot more relaxing than any pill or martini," she says. "I enjoy assisting other people � just a way of life I picked up from friends and family and love to pass on." John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Paris Hilton Online Poker Auto Insurance Slippers Student Loans Tatoo tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoos Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Advertisement s