Last year, the Mission received more than 2,000 handcrafted hats, mittens, scarves, socks, and lap blankets from around the country. While it is not clear when the first knitted item was given as a Christmas present on the Maine coast, as early as 1910, the Mission noted in its Annual Report that knitted mittens and hats were donated to its Christmas Program alongside clothing, dolls, and books. Now, more than a century later, a knitted item is included in every gift given by the Mission and has become a staple of the Christmas Program.
Your gift to the Maine Seacoast Mission makes you part of all we do.
As part of the Mission’s exhibit at the Great Harbor Maritime Museum, a pair of knitted mittens by Alice Carter were included alongside the history of the Mission’s Christmas Program. Alice spent the first six years of her life living on Mark Island, off Stonington, with her grandparents. Her grandfather was the lighthouse keeper on the island from 1923 to 1935. Every year she received a gift from the Mission: an article of clothing, a toy, and an orange.
n later years, Alice began making mittens of her own to donate to the Mission. Many coastal residents still remember the years when the Mission might have given them their only Christmas gift and always included was either a hat or a pair of mittens. They fondly share the importance of the Mission and many would go on like Alice, to continue to support the Christmas Program for years to come.
By the 1920s, knitting had become integral to the Mission’s work and in the Annual Report the Mission specifically asked for donations of knitted items. In 1935, the Mission thanked knitting groups for their donations including one group that sent 464 items to the Mission. Knitters and crocheters have continued to make and send items to the Mission for decades, sometimes sent with notes that speak of generations of grandmothers, mothers, and daughters.
And while mittens might not be at the top of most kids’ wish lists today, they often are a favorite of many kids. Douglas Cornman, Director of Island Services, says many times kids overlook the toys and go straight for their new hat and mittens. “It amazes me when they do this. They love their new hat and mittens and want to know how Santa knew their favorite color. Their wonder and amazement adds to the magic of Christmas.”
Now, the Mission is reaching out to current knitters and crocheters to find out more about their connection to the Mission. If you have created handmade items for the Mission, please let us know by filling out this survey. And because the Mission still gives thousands of knit items to people living on the coast each year, new knitters and crocheters are welcome to send their items to Maine Seacoast Mission Christmas Program, PO Box 428/ 6 Weald Bethel Lane, Cherryfield, ME 04622.
To learn more about the Christmas program and its impact here.