While in high school I worked at a small airport for an FBO (fixed based operator) and we sold/serviced that type of plane. I think it is a Citabria or Decathlon. It wasn't unusual to see one come in from a ranch that had duct tape covering a hole.

The process to repair was much like Jim described: clean the area around the hole, cut away any ragged edges, sand the fabric, put on some goo, lay a piece of fiberglass fabric on it, cover with more goo, smooth it out, let it dry, then sand and paint.

We also sold/serviced the only wood-wing airplane - the Bellanca Viking. One sweet flying, fast single-engine aircraft.

I also worked for a crop-duster where we did similar type repairs on the fabric covered planes.