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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Apr 27, 2020

Hundreds of homemade facemasks donated to support Waupaca Foundry workers

Ally Melby | Waupaca Foundry

During these uncertain times, top priorities are health and safety, and while facemasks are not a part of the usual Waupaca Foundry uniform, they have become an optional line of defense and protection today. At the gray and ductile iron foundry in Tell City, Indiana, many cloth facemasks have been handmade and donated by Waupaca team members and their families.
 
Joan Goble, wife of senior buyer Daniel Goble, first started making facemasks to protect herself and her husband when grocery shopping or working. While Daniel was wearing his at Waupaca Foundry, Gwenn Sanders, an occupational health nurse at the facility, took notice and thought the mask was well made and a good fit. What started as making a few more for Daniel’s immediate coworkers, turned into Joan making more than 130 cloth facemasks for Waupaca Foundry team members.
 
Joan has used fabric and quilting materials from home and the donations of elastic, fabric and camouflage fabric  — which has become a popular facemask choice at the plant — from friends to make more cloth facemasks.  
 
Barbra Flamion, the mother of Pattern Shop Foreman For Brent Flamion, started making and donating face masks for Perry County Memorial Hospital. After receiving approval for use at the hospital-level, she then started making the facemasks for her son’s coworkers to use at the foundry and to take home to their families. Brent’s mother, with the help of her husband and sister, has now made over 400 facemasks for the community.
 
Joseph (JJ) Sanders, an environmental, health and safety support specialist at the plant, started utilizing the sewing skills he learned from his mother as a boy to make cloth facemasks too. By using the extra quilting material around the house, Sanders has since made over 200 facemasks at this time —many of them being donated to Waupaca Foundry.
 
“You’re protecting yourself, but you are also protecting the people around you,” Sanders said. “The more that you can help and prevent the spread, the better.” 
 
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To learn how to make your own cloth facemask at home, visit this website.
#nurse #safety #tellcity