Ritch and Margie Foster had to cut short a much-anticipated vacation to Florida, Key West and the South when Covid 19 hit. On their return to their beloved Glen Ellen, which they helped after the 2017 fires, they once again jumped into a volunteer project to keep the town safe.
The inspired effort to sew and provide free masks, shares Angela Nardo-Morgan, makes the couple nothing less than the “Guardian Angels of Glen Ellen.”
Nardo-Morgan tells the story of what happened when the Fosters returned to Glen Ellen:
“Being Ritch and Margie, they immediately got to work helping their town.
“Margie who heard from a friend that masks were desperately needed by hospitals and who has helped make all of the beautiful quilts for the Village Fair quickly got to work sewing. When she realized the demand exceeded production she of course had no choice but to put her husband Ritch to work! After a brief lesson he caught on quickly and began sewing night and day.
“Just making masks to give to health care workers and others was not quite enough for Ritch and Margie. As Margie made her way through the neighborhood she discovered there were many places and people serving others that were going without masks. Being Margie, she instantly remedied that and personally made sure that any and all businesses in Glen Ellen working with the public got enough masks for every employee.
“She steadfastly visited every one of them. The GE Village Market, the local post office, the corner store, Les Pascals, Star Restaurant, Jim Shere at the Village, Yeti and even Tips Roadside in Kenwood got masks from Ritch and Margie. But still that was not the end of it.
“Margie visited every one she could think of in town who was vulnerable, elderly or compromised and offered to make them masks and yet still there was still more for them to do!
“She scoured her very own neighborhood of Warm Springs Rd. and made custom masks for her beloved neighbors. Margie felt that if people had some ownership of what masks looked like they might be more inclined to wear them. She arrayed a palette of colorful, beautiful fabrics on her porch.
“People could come up to the house and select their own personal fabric and pin their name to it. Margie came out later and collected the fabrics. Soon each member of the neighborhood had their own “signature” masks to protect them and others from Covid 19. She even included directions on how to wear them and when and how often to launder them.
“I watched as Ritch and Margie spent weeks furiously making masks, barely stopping to eat and little else. These two people are ALWAYS thinking of others and the good of the town. They have stepped up over and over again in big ways for our small town.
“I think many of you know they housed two different families who lost their homes to the 2017 fires in trailers in their own back yard for over 2 years. Mask making is just another iteration of the generous nature of the Fosters.
“In the midst of isolation, fear and suffering I look out my window and and I am reminded of the incredible resiliency of the human spirit. I see a shining beacon of hope in my own neighborhood — Ritch and Margie Foster, Guardian Angels of Glen Ellen.”
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