(Facebook/Kamloops North Shore BIA).

By Aaron Schulze

Keeping Kamloops Warm

Kamloops woman crocheting scarves and toques, hanging them on trees for those in need

Oct 19, 2021 | 12:22 PM

KAMLOOPS — Anyone walking along Tranquille Road near the old Duchess building may notice scarves and toques hanging from trees and posts.

They were put up by Cathy DuVall, a Kamloops resident who has been crocheting items to keep the city warm for 20 years. She describes herself as low income, but she still noticed a lot of people who were worse off than she was.

“I had a handful of scarves one day, taking them to my mom’s place to get washed, and there were these three girls walking down the street and they were freezing,” DuVall told CFJC Today. “I gave them the scarves and that’s where it started. You see so many people… they’re cold and they have no place to go.”

DuVall began with handing out 10 scarves to Kamloops residents who needed them, as that’s all she could commit to with financial and time constraints. However, she noticed her community operation grow over the last five years after a Facebook post asking the public for anyone unneeded yarn took off.

“My car was off the road… it’s a fair-sized SUV, and it was full – from the front to the back – with yarn,” DuVall says. “There was no room for nothing in there. That’s where a lot of the yarn came from, and I was able to get so many scarves done.”

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Over the last five years, DuVall has crocheted between 100 to 150 scarves and toques per year for Kamloops residents who need the extra warmth. As she received more yarn, DuVall has given scarves and toques to non-profits such as the Kamloops Food Bank, ASK Wellness, and Kamloops Family Tree.

As her stock increased, DuVall’s friend pitched her the idea to hang scarves and toques on trees two years ago and has been doing it ever since when autumn and winter roll around.

(Facebook/Kamloops North Shore BIA).

“Yesterday when I was putting up, and I had one lady come up to me and say, ‘I love my hat,’” she says. “This time of the year, it starts to get really cold. Where do the homeless keep them if it’s too warm? I usually put them out while it’s cold, but I have them year-round. I always keep it the same block, because everybody knows it’s getting cold and start keeping an eye out for them.”

DuVall hopes to keep crocheting for Kamloops residents as long as she can. She’s also given excess yarn to other residents who also want to make items to help people keep warm this fall and winter.

However, she crochets 10 months of the year and always has scarves on hand. DuVall says anyone in need of a toque or scarf as the temperature drops can contact her through her Facebook page.