The three places I’ve seen treadle sewing machines in the US in my lifetime:
1. My house. My mom kept my great-grandma’s treadle in the living room – for display purposes- not practical purposes.
2. Laura Ingalls house. (Okay this one is kind of cheating since TV/books are not real life.) But I remember how excited Ma Ingalls was when she received her treadle machine.
3. The farmhouse at Living History Farms. (Living History Farms is awesome by the way. If you haven’t visited you should.)
Lewis attempting to sew at Living History Farms
But in Haiti and other third-world and developing countries, to have a treadle machine is to have a source of income.
So when a man from my church approached me about donating a working treadle machine, I was excited, but I thought, ‘How in the world will we get that heavy thing delivered without spending a fortune?”
But God is pretty much on top of things 🙂 , and he provided a contact from Iowa who periodically sends a truck of building supplies to Mission to Haiti in Miami and from there they are shipped to Haiti.
So I took a little drive to Waterloo on Friday and dropped off this pretty machine. From Waterloo it will travel to Sheldon, Iowa. From Sheldon to Miami. And from Miami to Haiti. Yay!
I’m praying it will arrive in one-piece and bless a Haitian family or vocational school or business.
AWESOME!