Fort Belknap Woman Receives Governor's Praise for Producing Masks
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On Thursday, July 16, Governor Steve Bullock released a statement praising Montana companies for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by producing personal protective equipment (PPE) such as cloth face masks, 3D-printed face masks, face shields, surgical gowns, and hand sanitizer. Among the 34 businesses and individuals recognized for contributing cloth face masks was Juanita Cole Crasco from Fort Belknap.
Crasco has been sewing since she was nine years old, not only mending but making doll clothes and blankets using an antique treadle (foot action) sewing machine.
She learned the art of star quilting from a highly respected Assiniboine elder, Dora Helgeson, and in 1987, Crasco turned her passion into a business called Juanita Stars.
Since then, she has been designing and creating star quilts in a variety of colors, fabrics, and patterns. Using vibrant colors and blending them, she preserves memories, celebrates milestones, and commemorates achievements of athletic teams.
The Montana Indian Business Alliance, which promotes private Indian business development by maximizing and developing resources that encourage and support Montana Indian Entrepreneurs, featured her and her quilting business in February of 2017.
When the pandemic struck and Crasco learned that medical professionals were in need of personal protective equipment (PPE), she decided to put her talent to work as an act of service.
With a crew of four assistants, she began sewing masks; other workers soon joined the group. A retired principal, teacher, grant writer, and program director, Crasco has a history of working with learners, so she taught those who didn't feel comfortable with sewing how to help. Whether piecing fabric together and operating a sewing machine or counting rubber bands or cutting threads, there were chores for any ability level. She even assembled do-it-yourself/ready-to-assemble kits, complete with precut fabric and elastic.
Initially, Crasco found ample material in her bags of fabric collected for quilt making. But soon, she was reaching out on Facebook for any donations of fabric or cash to be used for purchasing fabric and fuel or to pay the ladies that worked for her.
The donations poured in. By April 4, the workers had made 600 cloth masks and were accepting orders and material for their next run. One of Crasco's Facebook friends wrote, "You are an amazing lady. . . .You could probably take on the world with a single stitch."
When they ran out of rubber bands and elastic, the sewing crew discovered that narrow ribbon and yarn work equally well.
Crasco and her crew made masks not only for health care professionals but for the local schools and for people who just wanted the extra protection. Filling orders as quickly as they could, they worked on a first-come, first-served system. They took orders via Facebook Messenger and through word of mouth, sometimes selling the masks for $10.00 apiece.
Given her speed and efficiency, some might call sewing, Crasco's superpower. Many have already called her a hero.
"We are simply an organization that wants to help Fort Belknap elders and others during this crisis, so we volunteered much of our time," Crasco said.
