After knitting children’s hats on Tuesday afternoons for twenty-one years, the knitters met for the last time on September 17, 2018. Over those twenty years 4,112 hats were knit. This small group ministry started in 1998 meeting at Ruby Botnen’s home for nine years. It was “Ruby’s on Tuesdays.”
Above: Lyria Doerring and Arlo Overskei knitting at Ruby Botnen’s home.
After Ruby died in 2006, the group met in the church library for a couple years and then moved to Applewood Point/Roseville where Ardella Norenberg has hosted the knitters for ten years. There Applewood residents joined the group. Ardella holds the record of knitting 1,290 hats, plus mittens and scarves and finishing projects other knitters started. Photos were taken each year of all the hats knitted.
Hats have been given to Southside Family Nurturing Center in Minneapolis, inner city elementary schools, Plymouth Christian Youth Center After-School Program, Chinese Hospitality House, Karen Refugees, and 205 to our Companionship Village in Bomalang’ombe, Tanzania. This year 68 hats were delivered to Central Park Elementary School.
Over the years the Prince of Peace participants have included: Ruby Botnen, Arlo Overskei, Lyria Doerring, Catherine Wayne Benysek, Mary Lewis, Elly Osterhoudt, Cathy Yoon, Vivian Lamb, Sylvia Rockne, Mabel Thompson, Ardella Norenberg, Gail Meier, and Anne Haugan. The group has had fun together celebrating holidays and birthdays and doing lots of visiting. Many thanks go to Ruby and Nanci Botnen and to Ardella for their leadership.