By Kathy Gigandet
You don’t know what you don’t know until you learn something new.
Learning comes from information and that information might come from conversation with a knowledgeable person. Or information might come from the news media, which can be quickly forgotten, or it might come from personal experience, such as finding an easier way to do a task. This is the most memorable of the three ways.
For me I learned about the Gang of Seamstress through all three methods. First, Bonnie Bey told me about a Versailles alum, Pat Mangen Cochran and the worthy work she has been doing. Second, I was referred to Pat’s Facebook page to read more about her work and the group of volunteers that share her vision, the Gang of Seamstresses. And third, I personally got to meet Pat, ask her questions, and watch her in action.
Her story begins, as most good stories do, with a childhood friendship. Pat and the late Denny “Redman” Seger, had a lifelong friendship; they played together, rode the bus together and both graduated in 1972 from Versailles.
When Denny was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2015, he began chemotherapy at the James Cancer Center. He told Pat he had to remove his shirt for treatment and believed there had to be a better way. Pat realized that adding a zipper on the port side of a patient’s shirt would let patients receive treatment without disrobing, thereby preserving their dignity and improving their comfort.
Pat began by sewing a zipper in a shirt for Denny. The nurses at the James Center loved Denny’s modified shirt, so Pat made a few shirts in each size donating them to the James Center. The shirts were an instant hit, and the James Center requested more shirts to distribute them to their seven centers.
And sew it began…
Before long, fourteen women from Beavercreek became known as “the Gang of Seamstresses” for their efforts to support people fighting cancer. In their first year, they sewed 900 shirts, and production continues to grow each year. Since 2018, there are more than 30 volunteer gangsters that have sewn more than 30,000 shirts. The organization turns new donated shirts into port-accessible garments for patients receiving chemotherapy or other infusion therapies.
The shirts are distributed free to the adult infusion centers within the Kettering Health Network, Premier Healthcare, Dayton Physician’s Network, Adena Cancer Center in Chillicothe, as well as to individuals by request.
The lady seamstresses work in their homes, at their pace, sewing on their personal machines, which means anyone who is interested in assisting this organization can. Bonnie Bey saw the opportunity to put her sewing talents to altruistic use. She became a seamstress gangster and began distributing to the VA hospital in Dayton and Wayne Healthcare in Greenville. Bonnie got the word out to area ladies who brought their sewing machines to the Versailles Vets Club Hall for Zipper School, the name Pat has given for her hands-on instruction.
At Zipper School, new volunteers are taught how to install zippers that run diagonally from a shirt’s neckline to the armhole, allowing patients to receive treatment without undressing. The training is methodical. Each trainee completes two shirts before deciding whether to become a gangster.
For the past two years, Pat has offered Zipper School upon request for interested sewers, with help from her daughter, Molly. She has taught women from Florida, California, Arizona, and across Ohio. Snowbird Sonnie Rhoades used what she learned in Pat’s Zipper School to start a group of seamstresses in Okeechobee, Florida, over the winter. When the women returned home for the summer, they began recruiting seamstresses in Indiana, Wisconsin, and Fremont, Ohio. Those out-of-state sewers now provide shirts to treatment centers in their respective areas.
And now the rest of the story. Denny Seger went in remission in 2017; however it returned, and he passed away on February 21, 2019. His widow Deb has made annual donations to the Gang of Seamstresses organization in his memory. Denny’s brother Dave had also donated time and gas in delivering the shirts.
This labor of love has become a ministry for which Pat remains inflamed by the memory of her good friend and the knowledge that she is helping those engaged in their personal battle against cancer.
This ministry, like all ministries, is built on people helping people. There are many ways to get involved. Sewers are always needed, but those who do not sew can help by running errands or delivering finished shirts to hospitals. The late Carl Stuck, a cancer patient himself, filled that role and was affectionately known as the gangsters’ mule. Carl cared so deeply about the cause that he asked the Gang of Seamstresses to have a display at his celebration of life and requested donations for the group instead of flowers or gifts.
The group is always in need of shirts. This is why Pat is reaching out to the public looking for clean shirts. The organization needs short sleeves, long sleeves, and sweatshirts. She is asking anyone who has a storehouse of shirts to consider donating them. She can put any unworn leftover shirts from a fundraiser or 5K to effective use.
Monetary donations are also needed to purchase thread, zippers, interfacing, shirts, and for postage when mailing the shirts. The group accepts donations via the Greene County Community Foundation which is a 501(3) c. https://greenegiving.org/donate-now/
If you need a port access shirt you can contact Pat at 937/974-6961, or if you would like to learn more or offer your time or talent. You can also find them on Facebook or email gangofseamstresses@gmail.com
Learn more by attending the Gang of Seamstresses presentation on Thursday, August 13th, at 1 pm at the Darke County Senior Center, 5844 Jaysville-St. Johns Rd., Greenville. To attend, please RSVP by text or phone at (937) 794-2556.
