ST. LOUIS — St. Louis’ finest just might be the most fashionable when it comes to facemasks thanks to one dedicated mother-in-law.
Vickie Clark of Muscatine, Iowa answered the call to duty when her son-in-law St. Louis Police Lt. John Applegate asked if she could make masks for officers.
Now, 300 St. Louis police officers have the custom masks made from fabric that includes a variety of badges as well as plain solid colors and other patterns.
Applegate said the officers prefer his mother-in-law’s masks over the regular surgical masks the department has provided for them to wear while writing reports or at a department building. They wear N95 masks while out and about.
“These are just more comfortable and they're more durable than the lightweight surgical masks and there's different colors,” Applegate said. “I just think it's a little thing.
“It makes them feel good and all the officers were very thankful that my mother-in-law thought of them and took the time to produce these and send to them.”
Clark has been a quilter for years, but has been feverishly using her fabric to make masks for first responders, hospital staff and anyone and everyone who might need them in her community.
She estimates that she and two of her fellow sewers have given away 3,000 cloth masks. They also include pockets where people can put coffee filters or even Shop Vac filters – which Applegate recommends.
But Clark said she doesn’t use just any fabric for the officers.
“How can you take an officer seriously when he stops you wearing pink roses or something like that?” Clark said. “So I had to find something I had to respect their authority.”
Clark said she got a personal thank you note from St. Louis Maj. Angela Coonce.
And she said she’s getting something out of the deed, too.
“My daughter won’t let me see my grandkids right now because of all that’s going on, so I have nothing else to do,” she said. “It helps pass the time and gives you a good feeling.
“You’re doing something that’s not nearly as important as the doctors and nurses out there, but I thought it was really cool. I worried for him when all that was going on in Ferguson, and I’m just as worried about him now.”
