TRAIL, Minn. -- Frank Buer is a veteran quilt maker -- in more ways than one.
Not only has Buer designed and made quilts for several years, he's a Vietnam vet, serving in the U.S. Army infantry in Vietnam from 1965 to 1967.
Buer donated his newest quilt to the Gonvick (Minn.) American Legion so it can be raffled off to raise money for the Clearwater County (Minn.) Veterans Transportation program. The raffle will begin Tuesday and the winner will be drawn on Veterans Day.
Buer, 65, served in the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry division. He spent most of his time in the jungles of Cambodia and Vietnam and was one of a few left in his company after the first six months. The rest were sick, killed or wounded, he said.
He returned home to the farm east of Gonvick farm with his father after his tour of duty, but has never forgotten his stint in Vietnam or the men with whom he served.
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"It's a daily deal. It's some something that will always be there."
The quilt is one way he can do something to help veterans in his area, Buer said.
The full-sized quilt he sewed for the raffle is made up 1,300 3-inch quilt blocks. Buer finds designs in magazines or sketches out his own on paper.
Longtime seamstress
Buer has been sewing since he was a small boy and his mother taught him to sew on a New Automatic treadle machine. The skill came in handy during his tour of Vietnam, he said.
"In the service, I sewed buttons on and sewed patches on. I made a few bucks that way."
He learned how to quilt by watching his mother and wife who are both longtime quilters. After he sews the quilt top, Buer's wife, Margie, who has a business called "Long Arm Quilting by Margie" puts the batting between the quilt layers and sews the top and bottom together.
Buer sewed the quilt he will donate for the raffle during this past winter. It is the fifth quilt he has made since he began quilting in 2005. He stitches the quilt blocks together on a sewing machine his son rescued from a pile of discarded items laying on a curb in Edina, Minn.
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"It was clean-up day and people were throwing out" unwanted items on the curb, Buer said. His son, who is the foreman on a pipeline crew, loaded up the New National treadle sewing machine on his truck and hauled it to the Buers' home in Trail.
"I took it apart, cleaned it and retuned it." As a mechanic, Buer has worked on equipment as large as four-wheel-drive tractors and as small as lawnmowers.
"I work on anything from two-horse to 500."
A hobby with a purpose
Buer began quilting to pass the time away in the winter. It's also a diversion from working on machinery.
"You can't monkey around in this dirty, stinky, rotten grease all of the time," he said, with a laugh. "You've got to have something else to do."
Sewing the quilt for the veterans gave him a sense of purpose.
"You've got to have a project when you make something because how many quilts do you need around the house?" Buer wanted to donate the quilt to raise money for the transportation program because he knows that it will benefit veterans.
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"There's always a lot of them that need help. That's one way you can help out a little."
The quilt raffle tickets cost $1 and the proceeds will go to Clearwater County Veterans Transportation. Information about the raffle: Fay Bjerke at (218) 487-6456.
Bailey writes for special features sections. Reach her at (701) 787-6753; (800) 477-6572, ext. 753; or send e-mail to abailey@gfherald.com .
