Saturday’s Repair Cafe at the Maple Ridge Public Library was the busiest the city has ever seen, according to organizer Leanne Koehn.
“It’s been so busy today. We’re up to 88 items, which is our record,” she told The News with still an hour left at the March 18 event. “I had to get more forms copied. It’s even more than our first day.”
By the end of the day, the total had reached 104 items, greatly surpassing the previous record.
PHOTOS: Dozens of items fixed at first Maple Ridge Repair Cafe of 2023
Out of all the items that came through the doors, Koehn said that one, in particular, stood out to her and all of the other volunteers.
A vintage viewfinder made in Austria in 1895 was brought in for a simple mechanical fix.
“It was one of those magical items that comes through here,” said Koehn.
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The recent Repair Cafe also featured several members of the Ridge Meadows Quilters Guild, including Tracy Hill, who was there to help locals with any quilt-related issues.
“We had about seven people by with big quilts that we had to look at and assess,” said Hill. “Most of them were old quilts that were made by grandmothers.”
They were also there hoping to get their group some publicity and possibly recruit new members.
“We’ve invited a girl to join us and finish her quilt that she started making 16 years ago, when she was expecting her baby girl,” said Hill.
And, “we had a lady who’s lived here for 30 years and she quilts and she didn’t even know we existed before this.”
The next Repair Cafe will take place on Saturday, April 22 at Memorial Peace Park, as part of the community’s Earth Day celebrations.
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