Newly knitted hats, mittens for the kids

Mary Segrave saw a group of students waiting for their school bus in the bitter cold and decided she had to do something about it.

The transplanted Northerner from Connecticut said the sight of the children jamming their hands into their coat pockets to keep them warm inspired her to do some knitting.

Last year, she and others at Houston Springs made about 100 pairs of mittens and some hats; this year the total is about 350.

Their work goes to students at Morningside and Tucker elementary schools in Perry, said Segrave. The delivery is set to take place Monday, she added.

“It was a total surprise, a hugely wonderful event,” Patricia Witt, principal at Morningside, said of last year’s mittens and hats. “It was a great surprise for the holidays.”

Segrave’s neighbor, Peggy Tedesco, said one time while they were playing cards the conversation turned to the topic and she asked Segrave, “Where is the pattern?”

She was shown the pattern, and away she went. It takes about one day to do a pair of mittens, she said.

“If you could just sit and do nothing else, it whips up fast,” Tedesco said.

The hats take a little longer, about a day and a half, she said.

Segrave agreed, and said former resident Pansy Gordon could make one without any trouble.

“The first year, me and Pansy made 50 hats and 48 pairs of mittens,” Segrave said. “This year we have 100 hats and 100 pairs of mittens.”

The project is an evolving one, and the total of 350 this year will no doubt be exceeded.

School officials will decide to whom the donated hats and mittens will go, Segrave said, because they are familiar with the students and their needs. She added the targets of all the knitting and crocheting will be students in pre-school, kindergarten and first grade.

Aside from Segrave and Tedesco, other volunteers who have knitted or crocheted mittens and hats include Elaine Bridge, Doreen Shaw, Pansy Gordon and Pat Krammes; those who have donated yarn include Susan Verrochi, Shaw, Tedesco, Rotena Salter, Gisela Jacoutot, Sandy Rhoses and Olivia Stachorek; and funds were donated by Ann Pierce and Sue Runyon.

Megan Sweat, property manager at Houston Springs, said the work doesn’t stop with the holiday season.

“This is an on-going project. If you know how to knit or crochet and would like to help, please reach out to Houston Springs for more information,” Sweat said. “Thank you to everyone involved for providing warmth and protection to the children of Perry.”

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