Letters to Editor

To the Editor,
Over the weekend, I read an article about how Steve and the crew at Three Oaks Greenhouse turned a problem that developed due to the Corona virus into a positive situation. That speaks very well of our community and of Steve and the crew, to go out of their way, delivering Easter lilies to the care center and assisted living units in our area. Keep up the good work everyone, and we will get through this health issue.
Homer Peterson
Lake Mills

To the Editor,
No, people wearing masks in public are not on the way to a masquerade party. They are at-risk or cautious individuals protecting themselves and others from the contagious COVID-19 virus.
After commercial mask inventories were depleted, the medical profession has reached out to home seamstresses and quilters. There are numerous online patterns and instructions available to willing volunteers. The one I’m familiar with, is the “Olson mask,” which has been preferred by many hospitals.
Quilters save leftover quality fabric scraps for future small projects. Should you see masks with strange patterns, it is due to the quilters’ leftover scrap supply. An existing problem, is that many fabric stores have depleted their inventory of 1/4” elastic needed for the ears to hold the masks in place. Closed stores is another problem. Sewers become creative, improvising by using ponytail holders, bias tape, fabric straps, or even reusing pieces of old cotton t-shirts.
Daughter, Kathy, and friends have made Olson masks for Allen Memorial Hospital in Waterloo and are now sewing masks for the missionaryies in India, whom their church supports. The fully-lined cotton masks have an inside pocket, with openings at each end, where an insert is added for more protection over the nose and mouth. The masks can be reused several times by removing the insert, hand washing the mask, and replacing a new filter. Inserts can be made by cutting pieces of interfacing, coffee filters, or inside mesh from new furnace filters.
Another daughter, Diane, from Thompson, is also a mask maker. Her daughter from Cedar Rapids, a mental health nurse practitioner, recruited her mother to sew masks for the mental health teams in Waterloo and southern Iowa. Diane sewed the “flamingo” masks that are shown on YouTube.
Cover it up. Your face, that is, especially if your immune system is compromised. Masks, hand washing, and equal distancing is the best method of helping stop the spread of COVID-19. You will also be ready for the next masquerade party.
Elaine Bergan
Northwood