Photos: Illinois Valley Quilts of Valor honors 10 veterans at Princeton ceremony

Veteran Gregory Zerfas holds a Quilt of Valor as Betty Baznik (left) and Shirley Steele (right) drape the quilt over him during the Quilt of Valor ceremony on Saturday, April 19, 2025, at the Moose Lodge in Princeton. In 2003, quilter Catherine Roberts started the movement that became Quilts of Valor when her son was deployed in Iraq. Since that time, more than 401,361 have been awarded. The local group Illinois Valley Quilts of Valor awarded 189 quilts in 2024 and has given more than 1,000 quilts since its start in April 2017. Two veterans were absent. (Scott Anderson)