On July 08, 2023, the Archives hosted the monthly meeting of the Queen City Samplers Guild in Amiens at Mount Notre Dame. This was their meeting, and the Archives was asked to display some of the samplers in our collection and to tell the story of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. We displayed the collections period of 1845-1910.
Sister Kim Dalgarn, SNDdeN talked about the founding and history of the SNDdeNs in Belgium and the United States and the teaching ministry. Their meeting was well and enthusiastically attended by 23 women, including the Archivist and the Curator of Historical Objects from the Cincinnati Museum Center.
They learned of the commitment of the Sisters to "teach them what they need to know for life" which included needlework that, as adults, women could use to make and mend their and their family's clothing or earn extra money for the household by hiring themselves out to do needlework for others. Including the samplers on permanent display in the Museum, more than 50 samples from archival storage were exhibited for the Guild to examine.
All of the samplers were created by students, Sisters as students, and Sisters who used their samplers as coursework demonstrations in their needlework instruction. All attendees were very appreciative of the opportunity to learn about the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and to see some of the treasures in our Archives.
Jennifer Winkler, Archivist