Lincoln quilting group donates time, effort to benefit project for veterans

A group of local quilters are creating bed coverings for a project near Superior that's designed to give service members returning from deployments a place to rest and heal.

Tom and Debi Logan are creating the Red Lions Project on 164 acres surrounded by the Lolo National Forest in honor of their son, Marine Cpl. Joseph Logan. Joey Logan served in Afghanistan with HMH 363, the Red Lions, as a crewmember on Irontail 06, a Marine CH-53D Sea Stallion heavy-lift helicopter. He and the rest of his crew died Jan 19, 2012 in Helmland Province when their helicopter went down.

Tom, an Air Force Veteran who served during Viet Nam, said his son's dream was to buy property in Montana when he returned from his deployment. It was to be a place where Joey and his dad could hunt and fish and where Joey's fellow Marines could visit to unwind.

Although Joey was from Texas, it was Montana that made an impression on Joey during a three-month, multi-state fishing trip he and Tom took before he joined the Marines. During that trip, a hand injury that could have kept him from enlisting healed and he realized the healing power of nature.

After finding the property near superior Tom and Debi purchased it with the money Joey had saved during his deployment to buy land. Since then, they have dedicated themselves realizing Joey's dream by building a sanctuary comprised of six cabins – each named for a member of the Irontail 06 crew – where service members can come to reconnect with their families, heal and find themselves again.

Work on the project stalled last year when they were evacuated by the Sunrise Fire, which burned 30,000 acres around the property. Tom credited the work of a firefighting crew that included military veterans who took special care to wrap all the buildings and construction material and protected the property from the fire.

Jesse Sallin first heard about the project from her daughter Kathy Bertrand, who learned about it on Facebook.

"I told the girls about it and they decided to do it," Sallin said.

Rosaire Hoffman, a member of the quilting group, acted as a liaison with Tom and Debi, calling and checking in with them.

Their quilt donation prompted the couple to pay a visit to Lincoln last week.

"We wanted to come visit these ladies. They called us and said 'we're doing this for you,'" Tom said. "When you meet people like this, it's a blessing."

The visit to Lincoln gave the ladies a chance to meet the Logans, and to make sure they're creating quilts the right size, since each cabin includes a king bed and four bunks.

Sallin and her group gave the Logan's six quilts to take with them for the cabins. One for a king bed, one for twin bed and four "youth-sized" quilts Sallin said are a bit too small for the beds but can be used as "snuggle blankets."

Some of the quilts included cloth from clothes worn by Sallin's grandson Zach Buff, who serves as a Marine himself.

The ladies plan to make several more quilts for the Red Lions Project, which needs bedding for 23 more bunks and five more king-size beds.

"We'll make some. We probably won't make them all," Sallin said. "We'll probably make the rest of the king-sized ones."

She said there are other people and groups that have an interest in making quilts for the project as well.

"It's gonna make a huge addition to the place," Tom said. "Once you get the furnishings in there and get the covers on stuff, it just makes it so much nicer."

Sallin said the group was glad to help out.

"It'll be fun to go there and see them," Sallin said. "And maybe work for a day."

You can find out more about the project a redlionproject.org