"Introduction"
Julia A. Berg
This autobiography includes journal entries, short stories, letters, and event descriptions to tell their story. This is not be a chronological order autobiography; it is stories of events in our lives. The historical significance of the times run throughout the book — as taken from the outline developed by my husband and me for our 50th Wedding Anniversary in 2003.
One section covers photographs and is titled "360 Degrees: A View from Our Window." The three hundred sixty degree panorama photos of natures beauty were taken at Michriste, our home for close to 40 years in Rose City, Michigan. Most of the photos were taken during the years of 2004-2007 when I was pretty much homebound and being treated for cancer. The story memories cover the good times and God's glory in our lives.
Another heart rendering section covers the faith and optimism experienced during the "cancer years." This was truly a strengthening of faith; fully realizing the importance of family, faith, and friends in our lives. They tell of the importance of reaching out to others to make their lives complete.
I believes that most events and interests in my life are tied to the Berry Patch, a 14 acre piece of fertile farmland in the Thumb area of Michigan that was used to raise raspberries to earn money for college expenses for me and my siblings. It was always referenced as the Educational Plot. Lessons learned, beliefs strengthened, work ethics developed, friends made, growth of people skills and more happened at the Berry Patch. More than 30 years ago, I began telling folks, "When I write a book, it will be titled Down by the Berry Patch.
Quilt making and the study of their history and documentation began in the early 1990s after our retirement from a combined 66 years of service in the field of education. Life experiences greatly influenced their choice of designs — almost as if they were preparing to use them to tell a story of our lives. The quilt patterns and fabrics were selected and/or designed by both my husband and I. Lorain cut out most of the pieces of fabric and did all of the marking for hand quilting. Some quilts have over 2,000 pieces the marking for quilting. On one quilt alone, marking took over 40 hours. I did the research, hand and machine stitching, finish work such as bindings and quilt labels for documentation — working over hundreds of hours on each quilt.
We have given many presentations of their quilts and told their stories at places such as Michigan Quilt Network Conferences, the Detroit Historical Museum, Bay View Cultural Series in Petosky, Mother Daughter Banquets, MARSP meetings/conferences (Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel), school classroom setting (primarily for early elementary), the Annual Rural Days at the Ogemaw Fairgrounds, and more. We have also given numerous presentations on raising herbs and their culinary aspects — often using quilts as part of the illustrations.
Folks would often comment, "You have such wonderful stories to tell. You should write a book". I agree. This is the Berg story.
—August 2004
