Bristol Campos with grandmother Kay Taylor and Cummings Elementary School teacher Tiffany Gates. Bristol and Kay delivered more than 400 masks to Cummings last week.
When the country was hit with the coronavirus pandemic in March of last year there was an overwhelming need for face masks. Many people with sewing machines began making masks at home and donating them.
Kay Taylor of Keizer heeded the call. The 85-year old grandmother was given a kit with instructions and fabric and she began sewing.
She gave masks to family members and neighbors and her church, Keizer Christian. Some of her masks even found their way to personnel at Keizer Fire District.
Taylor’s friend, Edith McCarty, was also sewing masks, and devised adjustable straps using T-shirts and beads. Two of Edith’s great-grandchildren are students at Cummings Elementary School, where Taylor’s granddaughter, Bristol Campos, is a third-grader.
With Salem-Keizer school students returning to in-person learning this month, the staff at Cummings was contacted and masks offered for staff and students alike. Taylor made 240 masks for the school and Edith made 200. Kay and Bristol delivered over 400 masks to the school on Monday, March 8. Teacher Tiffany Gates accepted the donation on behalf of the school.
Taylor has sewn for years. She made quilts and also cowboy regalia for her daughter, Bri Taylor Campos, who was a rodeo queen.