Softball alumna has mask-making down to a science
As a high school science teacher and a mother with two young children, Margaret (Person) Drumsta doesn’t always have a lot of spare time, but the former South Carolina softball player (2004-2006) is making time to help out during the COVID-19 pandemic to fashion hundreds of homemade masks for those in need in her local Tampa, Fla., community.
“It just made it fun to help. That’s the teacher in me,” Drumsta said. “I love to help. I love to give back to the community in any way that I can. It’s something simple that I could do in between teaching and juggling two children and a family.
“I just saw the need. I’ve seen the complications with all of my friends. My aunt is a nurse. My next-door neighbor is a nurse. We have an E.R. surgeon down the street. I saw there was a need with masks, especially with stores requiring you to wear a mask to go in, and there is a shortage. People around town needed them to go grocery shopping or go to their doctor’s appointment.”
Drumsta said the idea to make masks stems from the inability to sit still.
“I’ve always had A.D.D. When I have down time, I have to do something,” Drumsta said. “I can’t just sit down and watch a movie. Usually I make cookies. In light of everything that’s going on now, everything’s gone. There’s no sugar, no flour, no eggs. I needed to figure out something else to do just to occupy my time, so I dusted off my mom’s 1970s Kenmore sewing machine and got out some fabric that was around.
“I saw a need and just started sewing. Some people asked for some, and then it just snowballed from there. So, then I put the word out myself that if anyone needed masks, I’m more than willing to make them at no charge. People wanted to help out, so some have put forth a donation for them for materials.”
She started with making masks for friends and family and then gave some to a co-worker.
“A former student of mine works as a nurse at Tampa General Hospital, and she needed a couple because they were dealing with so many people and there was a mask shortage at times,” Drumsta said. “Then I just put it out there that if anybody needs one, let me know and I can make one per person in your immediate family. I probably got up to 60 requests in a 24-hour period.
“I found some patterns online. Some people were saying that the masks that go around the ears were just killing everyone’s ears having to wear them for eight or ten hours a day, so I found a pattern that completely ties and doesn’t go around the ears at all and is very comfortable to wear.”
“I just really like to give back.”
Once an order is completed and placed in zip-lock bags, Drumsta has people pick the masks up from her front porch in order to maintain social distancing. She has had to order fabric several times to keep up with the demand.
“I just find the time whenever I can,” Drumsta said. “My husband, Matthew, works as a first responder (police officer), so I’ll do it when he’s at work or sometimes I’ll be up until 11 o’clock at night sewing after the kids go to bed. I think I’ve made over 300 masks so far.”
Not surprising, Drumsta has her mask-making routine down to a science.
“What I do is cut the fabric in bulk, and I have to pre-wash and iron all the fabric,” Drumsta said. “Then I have to cut it all into the desired pieces. That takes hours to do that part. Once that’s done, piecing it together takes five minutes. I do them in bulk in stages, kind of like an assembly line. It goes quick. I just put some music on and get in the zone. It’s like hitting off a tee. It’s just simple repetition.”
While she has a system, she does like to personalize some of the masks.
“I have a friend who is really ‘high end,’ and she had a fake Louis Vuitton purse that she wanted me to cut up and turn into a Louis Vuitton mask,” Drumsta said. “People saw those and said, I need that! I want to be ‘extra.’ So, I probably made 10 of those.
“I’ve had other prints that people like. Lobsters are a fan favorite. I’ve ordered tons of fabric. It’s better than simple and boring. I had someone whose husband is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, and they needed some. So, I did a special order of black fabric for her and made 15-20 for her husband and all the pilots in his unit. Somebody gave me some Disney princess fabric, so I did some with that and donated to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) at Tampa General Hospital for the nurses to wear. It’s been fun.”
Drumsta graduated from South Carolina in 2007 with a degree in marine biology and teaches AP environmental science and biology at her high school alma mater, H.B. Plant.
“I love it. I love being around the kids all day,” Drumsta said. “I love being in the classroom with the kids. It’s neat because my high school has a lot of alumni who are teachers there. There is a lot of camaraderie and pride in coming back.”
While she looks forward to the day when she can get back to teaching in the classroom, Drumsta is happy to do her part for her community.
“I just really like to give back,” Drumsta said. “It’s something that I can do. I hate to say no. I will always say yes to people. I’m just glad I could help.”
