Quilt pays tribute to those in uniform

To honor the U.S. military and as a tribute to family members who have served our country, the pattern Randy and Renee Godin selected for their barn quilt has a patriotic theme. The quilt, Shawano County’s 398th, has been named Service with Pride and is on display on the Godin barn at W3506 State Highway 22, Cecil. The five gold stars on the quilt represent the five branches of the U.S. military — the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Marines and the U.S. Coast Guard. Randy served in the Air Force from 1985-1990; his dad, Jim, served in the Marines from 1957-1960; and Renee’s dad served in the Army from 1960-1963. The Godin barn quilt is the second one that has been sponsored by Charlie’s County Market in Shawano, owned by Charlie Harvey and his family. “My dad loves this community and has been one of its greatest supporters,” said Kelly Harvey, Charlie’s daughter. “He continually gives back to a community that has given him their never-ending support. We are proud to be a part of the Shawano County barn quilt project that encourages the preservation of our area’s historic old barns and promotes tourism to our wonderful area.” Randy and Renee moved from Green Bay to their present home in May 2004 in search of a smaller community similar to where they both grew up. Randy was raised on a small hobby farm outside of Wittenberg while Renee grew up in the small town of Rosholt in central Wisconsin. “We wanted our children to live in the country and experience country lifestyle, such as helping your neighbors pick rocks, bale hay and tame kittens,” Renee said. Their home was built in the late 1800s by a Marohl family and, at some point, was sold. The barn, however, stayed in the Marohl family. In 2021, Randy and Renee purchased the barn from the Marohl family, bringing the homestead back together again. “We have always enjoyed seeing the barn quilts as they have popped up around the county,” Renee said, “and are very thankful to Charlie’s County Market for sponsoring one for us. I hope people who see it will enjoy it as much as we do.” The quilt was painted by the Shawano County barn quilt committee and was put on display by Keith and LeRoy Raddant of Raddant Electric in Shawano.