PHILLIPSTON – “I just finished an order of 32 masks yesterday,” said Phillipston’s Dee Lalonde in a recent interview, “and I’ve got an order for six men, two men, three women, and a man, woman and two kids, 5 and 6, and I also just finished an order for four women.”
Lalonde, who works with LifePath in Greenfield, is busy — very busy — making masks as she foster-cares two adult males and shelters at home during the coronavirus pandemic. The order for 32 masks was for four families in Winchester, N.H.
“I added up my total,” she said, “and after these all go out it will be 404 masks made.”
Lalonde said she decided to make and distribute the masks shortly after the start of the pandemic. In addition to family, friends, and neighbors, she has made masks for the Phillipston police and fire departments, Meals on Wheels, and the Templeton police department.
“When I first started hearing more and more about the virus and people needing the masks,” she said, “I thought, well, I’m home and I feel helpless to help; what can I do? So, I went upstairs into my sewing room and started gathering things together. I’ve always had these racks full of all different kinds of fabrics, and I started making some for my friends and my family and my neighbors. I went through that whole circle of everybody in my extended family and friends, and I’m thinking I still have all this fabric. The more I listened to the news — it was so heartbreaking. I decided to see what I could do for my community.”
She said news of her project spread quickly, solely by word of mouth. Material for the masks comes from fabric she purchased in 2003 and 2004, although she did add that she would be very grateful for any and all donations of fabric.
“I originally a craft store – Dee’s Country Crafts – on Main Street in Athol,” Lalonde explained. “I moved in there, right next to S&S Applicance, when Clay’s moved out. I had my store there for about five years, but then I started helping a special needs girl in town. I was helping her and running the store and it just got to be too much and I had to choose either her or the store, and, of course, she won out.”
Lalonde says anyone who wants a mask should contact her by email and plan on picking up their order at her home in Phillipson.
“People can text me when they’re on their way,” she said, “and I will go out and put their order on a table — a couple of sawhorses and a piece of plywood — at the end of my ramp. People were coming up to my door, but I want to play it safe. I’ve got a big sign out that says text me if you need a mask. Just give your first name — I don’t need a last name — how many you need, your phone number, and how many you need, men, women, and children. Then I’ll let you know when the order is done.”
Lalonde can be reached by text at (413) 687-2718 or by email at deelalonde80@yahoo.com.
When asked how long she’ll continue with her efforts, Lalonde simply said, “As long as I can, or as long as this lasts.”