Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
He has one room in his house that is piled high, with a closet literally filled, top to bottom, with quilts that he made. Dozens are stacked on a small bed in the same room.
“I just finished one of these quilts today,” said Howard Miller, 90.
Miller has been at it for years and has given away the vast majority of his work. While it’s a bit unusual for a man to be such a prolific quilter, he enjoys it, a craft he started with his family. He has more stereotypical hobbies, like woodworking.
He still fills in delivering Meals on Wheels, although he had to slow down because of his health; but he never stops quilting, even now as doctors say he is nearing the end of his life because of cancer.
“I guess we kind of got started marking quilts for family,” Miller said.
He and his late wife, Jean, started making quilts out of the family’s old clothes; but later, it became much more, said Marilyn Colburn, his daughter.
“Mom passed away (seven years ago), and he needed something to do, and it’s just blossomed.”
Miller has been living at his Juniper Street address for about 17 years, he said, so he estimates that he has been quilting for 20 years.
As a family activity, quilting grew out of crocheting, Colburn said, but neither were sure what prompted them to get started making quilts.
Miller started quilting by making one for each of his daughters, he said.
“I just got started and just kept making them.”
He gives most of them to Fir Lawn Lutheran Church, which has a program to distribute them to the needy around the world. The church sends out quilts made by community members every October. He also provides quilts to Sweet Home Emergency Ministries, the HOPE Center, Helping Hands in Albany and Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District.
“I’ve already given (Fir Lawn) 80 this year,” Miller said, noting he had a pile of them he had to get rid of.
He still has dozens filling that small room.
The quilts are unique, Colburn said. Her father uses donated material of all kinds and from garage sales. The seniors at the Senior Center usually pass on their “double knits” to him, along with other material they don’t want to use. One man donated a bunch of ties to Miller with the caveat that Miller had to make a quilt from them.
Miller’s quilts are often unique as a result, Colburn said.
He made two quilts from the ties, auctioning one to pay for a family reunion. The ties are arranged in a circular pattern in the center. He has made quilts from denim and others with wildlife portraits. His quilts often include squares sewn together from long strips of material, making a striped pattern. He takes special pride in one he calls “Around the world.” It features concentric circular patterns in rings around the quilt.
Her dad’s work always gets better too, Colburn said, as he blends the colors in different ways.
It takes several days for Miller to make a quilt, he said. “It’ll take you maybe a day to cut it.”
Then he must sew the blocks together and then put them together with batting and backing, finally tying it to prevent the batting from moving around inside the quilt.
“It’s something anybody can do,” Miller said. “I feel like I’m finishing something to keep somebody warm and comfortable. I’m not doing anything else. Why not give them something?”
Miller was born near Glendive in eastern Montana. He was the youngest of 10 brothers and sisters, one of whom still lives. He moved with his family to Colorado, where he grew up. He served in the Army for nearly four years in the 5th Armored Division before going to the Quartermasters Corps. During World War II, he got as far as Guam in the Pacific Theater.
“We were getting ready to get in closer, to Taiwan, when they threw in the towel,” Miller said. After his military service, he decided to attend Bible college in Denver. While there, he stayed at a rescue mission.
“When one of my professors gave me an F for speech, it kind of made the decision for me,” he said. He gave up thoughts of becoming a pastor.
He moved to Sweet Home, where he had brothers living, in 1947, Miller said. He moved in with one of them in Foster and started working as a choker setter, logging with his brother. They provided timber to Ray and Ted Hall, who had a small portable sawmill, used to cut cants for re-saw.
He logged most of his life, he said. He bought some equipment and had crawlers of his own. He finally got out of that and worked in shipping at Bauman’s near Lebanon for several years.
After that, he got his real estate license, and he operated a Ford tractor dealership for six years in Lebanon. He retired at 62.
“We lived out at Crawfordsville on Brush Creek Road,” Miller said. He and his wife lived there for 38 years. As they got older they decided to move into town.
“We’ve enjoyed being here,” Miller said. “My family’s all here.”
His daughters include Colburn, Helen Miner and Connie Hershberger of Sweet Home and Lois Shaw of Philomath.
At this age, his faith in Christ sustains him, he said. He had a man pray an unusual prayer demanding that God remove the cancer cells that threaten his life. But he said he’s ready when his time comes.
“I’ve lived many years,” he said. “That’s a ripe old age.”