Gloria McCluskey is a name most Maritimers know, and at 95 and almost six months, she hasn’t slowed down. “I started quilting because I needed a challenge. I needed something to do in my life that gave me a challenge,” laughed the former mayor of Dartmouth. “When I first started, it was a challenge. But I have a lot of patience and I do it wrong. Rip it out. Do it again.” McClusky wasn’t always a quilter, in fact, it was something she wanted to try for a long time before she started in 2023. “I’m a knitter, I did stained glass. I’ve done a lot of things but quilting. I first started when I was playing in a golf tournament down in Clare, and I went in a little store, and they had a package of all the quilting material and I bought it.” She said her patience comes from earlier in life. “I mean, I had four children, so I had patience. But when I was a politician, I learned patience with so many people with problems from situations,” she told CTV. “And I learned to be very patient with them. I loved being a politician. I never had any problem with it, I loved it. And quilting, well you’re here by yourself.” McClusky makes the most of her days, finishing her 20th quilt in three years and she’s already working towards 21. “It’s going to be beautiful. I already picked up the fabric and Ken at Wild Daisy Quilt, talk about an inspiration. He keeps saying you have to make 21, he’s so great.” The colours of the next quilt are very much McCluskey, she said she chose greens and yellows. As for her inspiration, that is easy. “My family, my grandkids, my kids. Great grandkids. I gave one to the Dartmouth General and they sold tickets for the hospital,” she explained. “Every stitch is done with love, so when I give them the quilt, it’s a lot of love. This is for a grandson. I hope that when they cover themselves up in it, they feel the love.” McCluskey says she continues to pursue new things to stay active. “I’m 95 and almost half. Very important. When you get to be 95, you count the month,” she said. “When you’re my age, you don’t stop living. I live every day. You know? I get up with the purpose, I stay positive, and I watch everything going on politically so that when I comment, I know what I speak.” “I just want to encourage people, you know, older people that there is life, don’t sit around waiting, do something. It inspires you and it feels so much better if you know you’re doing something. I bake, I cook, I made 27 bottles of grape jelly from my grapes. Use your mind. Get involved. Stay involved in your community.” For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
