Claremore Military Mothers Serve Veterans By Sewing Something Good

Two military mothers in Claremore are spending their retirement making quilts for veterans and both say their children are the inspiration.

Glenda Wiles and Rose Castleman said they love doing this and would hope someone would do the same for their sons.

Wednesday mornings at Glenda Wiles' House have a hum to them.

“I love when people give me fabric scraps, it is like Christmas,” Wiles said.

That hum is coming from the front room, where Wiles and Castleman spend hours each week working on their two sewing machines.

"I put it all together to make sure it matches the logo," said Castleman. 

They create quilts from fabric scraps. In the middle of each blanket are logos from various branches of the military.

"We would drive by the Veteran's Center and I kept thinking, 'I need to do something for the veterans,'" said Wiles. “A lady there told me about another lady making lap quilts for the veterans, and I thought, now that is something I could do.”

About six months into the project, Castleman joined.

"I love doing quilting with Glenda!" said Castleman.

The need to do something for veterans wasn't random for either for these women. Wiles is the mother of four boys, and three of them are marines. Castleman has a son serving now and her husband served in the Air Force.

"I would want somebody to do something for my sons, for my kids, if I was not there to do it for them," said Wiles. 

Hundreds of quilts have come out of this room and have been given to veterans all over Green Country because of these two friends and the love they have for men and women they have never met. 

"We really don't care how much it takes- how much time, the amount of money, it fulfills our desire to give to them freely without anything returning to us," said Castleman.