- Associated Press - Monday, April 6, 2020

ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) - Mr. Rogers always said that when in a crisis, look for the helpers.

It was wisdom he took to heart from his own mother.

In Aberdeen, those with sewing skills have taken to making cloth masks in order to help increase the longevity of personal protective equipment used by health care workers.

You might know Laurie Martin, or maybe you know her bears. Laurie’s Better Bears is a business started from grief. The bears are created out of a lost loved one’s T-shirt or kerchief or blanket. But for now, the bears are taking a back seat while Martin sets her sewing machine to work on making masks to help with the COVID-19 pandemic.

A friend had sent her a pattern, and she also consulted with her sister Pam, who lives in Minnesota. She tweaked them a bit to make them a little easier to produce while also making sure the masks fulfill their purpose of keeping health care workers and high-risk individuals safe.

Her bears cost around $30, but the masks she is making are free.

“No, I don’t want any money. This is all donation from me. If I can help, I’ll help out any way I can,” Martin told the Aberdeen American News by phone. “I think they work great. Only thing is, I’m out of elastic. There’s no place that has elastic in town. I bought out Hobby Lobby.”

The Aberdeen craft store is out of elastic. Its supply warehouse in Oklahoma has been shut down after being deemed a nonessential service. The company is trying to get it reopened. Elastic at Aberdeen’s Walmart is in short supply or completely out, depending on the type, per an online search of its site.

That doesn’t really stop Martin, though. She’s a gifted seamstress and modified the masks to make tie versions as well. She makes adult and child-sized masks and was delivering a bunch of masks to Avera on a recent Wednesday.

“I’ll still do the bears for anyone who needs it, of course,” she said. But for now it’s the masks that are keeping Martin’s machine humming.

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