Racine county in the world war, Part 14

Author: Haight, Walter L
Publication date: c1920]
Publisher: [Racine, Western Prtg. & Lithographing Co.
Number of Pages: 612

USA > Wisconsin > Racine County > Racine county in the world war > Part 14

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The influenza epidemic swept over the city about this time and the motor corps gave in- valuable service to the city nurses, responding to 277 calls and giving 790 hours of service during the month of October.

Each day the need for workers brought new recruits and shortly the records showed an active membership of 44 and 17 reserves, with 45 cars ready for use.

October 30th the Red Cross society pur- chased a regulation Ford Ambulance which

proved to be most useful during the epidemic, conveying a large number of patients to the local hospitals. The Motor Corps served as Ambulance Corps.

A class in automobile mechanics was organ- ized with an enrollment of sixty-three women. Dean W. Payne of the U. S. Ordnance Depart- ment was instructor and gave a course of six- teen lessons at the Stephen Bull Garage and Case South Works. At the close of these class- es the Motor Corps was instructed in military drill and discipline by Lieut. McGregor.

From the time of its organization during the remaining period of the war, the Motor Corps, through volunteer service, rendered great aid to chapter officials and home service workers, to the Health Department for civilian relief and ambulance work, to Central Associa- tion and Public School nurses, and to the local hospitals, responding to 793 calls and giving 2,077 hours of service. The members of Red Cross Motor Corps were: Camilla Bennett, Mrs. Mabel Brandeis, Mrs. Amanda C. Crooks, Clara Driver, Margaret Cosgrove, Elizabeth R. Fratt, Gertrude Fratt, Mrs. Stuart M. Har- bridge, Nina Huie, Carrie Rapps, Sarah Jel- liffe, Florence Jelliffe, Georgie A. Malone, Mrs. Margaret L. Nelson, Mrs. Leone P. Miller, Olga Piper, Mrs. H. C. Severance, Amelia Smieding, Mrs. Walter H. Reed, Tillie E. Thorkelson, Eli- nor Parker, Mrs. Willard Walker, Mrs. Warren H. Walker, Mrs. J. H. Brannum, Mrs. E. F. Freeman, Mrs. Blanche Secor Rixton, Mrs. Frank Alshuler, Mrs. E. E. Bailey, Louise E. Bolton, Edith Schulz, Mrs. Walter Brown, Mrs. Opal J. Gist, Jeannette Hilker, Mrs. Taylor Jelliffe, Louise M. Jensen, Vera E. Johnson, Katherine L. Kearney, Mrs. Fred E. Koehler, Mrs. Henry C. Miller, Nellie K. Mohr, Mrs. Milo Griffith, Esther Holmn, Lilly H. Peterson, Mrs. Dick Kennedy, Mrs. Helen Lewis Wilson, Dessie Wishau, Mrs. William V. Osborne, Mrs. Bernice Sherman, Grace Laursen, Margaret S. Fergus, Ethel E. Olle, Erabelle M. Ingersoll, Abbie 1. Munn.

The Red Cross chapter as a whole did some remarkable work in connection with the "flu" epidemic, referred to above. The necessity for an emergency hospital was seen at once, and the only available empty house of sufficient size was that belonging to Richard Robinson at Eleventh and Main streets. Mr. Robinson was in Florida, hut a telegram was sent to him explaining the situation and asking for the use of the palatial residence. He answered immediately granting the request and offering any other assistance he could give. Newspaper notices were published asking the donation of

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125

QUOTA FOR CAMP SHERMAN AUGUST 26, 1918 FROM BOARD NO. 2

There were listed for entrainment the following :- Paul Struck, Hubert Stuart Stanton, John Youtes, Henry Johnson, Louis Orval Davis, Emilian Alban, John Joseph Heinisch, Harry Wright Lewis, David E. Davis, Edward J. Bowers.

QUOTA FOR CAMP GREENLEAF JULY 24, 1918 FROM BOARD NO. 1

There were listed for entrainment the following :- Knute G. Anderson, John Chickadaunce, Harry O. Johnson, August J. Grapentin, James F. Middleton, George Wholust, Bakdasar Bokaholian, Vaghan Koroghlanian, Rapan Manandician, A. J. Pluhar, II. Macullin.

CONFECTIONERY

QUOTA FOR CAMP GRANT SEPTEMBER 7, 1918 FROM BOARD NO. 2

There were listed for entrainment the following :- Edward Joseph Tecktonius, David D. Stone, Einer H. Jacobsen, Ed- mund R. Jayne, Arthur Hay, Thomas Allen, Chris M. Sorenson, Fred Levinson, Walter Malonowski.

DXERY

CIGARS

QUOTA FOR CAMP DODGE AUGUST 30, 1918 FROM BOARD NO. 2

There were listed for entrainment the following :- Joseph Zaborowicz, Peter A. Johnson, Jos. Petak, Benny Ryskiewicz, George Earl Gatfield, Ludwig Nissen, Harold T. Rosenquist.

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beds, rugs and other furniture and plenty were forthcoming immediately. The house was reno- vated from top to bottom, the furniture in- stalled, and within four days the place was opened as a hospital with 40 beds. Thirty- eight patients were installed at once. Three died there. Nursing service was also provided at twenty-five homes where no one remained untouched by the disease to care for others who were sick.

The Civilian Relief department had its be- ginnings through the untiring efforts of Mrs. Arthur Huguenin, who urged that preparations be made to assist in maintaining the morale of the army by assuring the men that in case of emergency their families would be cared for, and at the same time aid in keeping up the spirits of the folks at home by serving as a channel of communication between families and absent men. The first task could not be conducted as a public charity, but must be per- formed in a way to make the recipients of the service feel that they were in the care of friends. The second feature of the work was possible because the various branches and agents of the Red Cross throughout the world, in co-operation with government officials, as- sumed the job on a wide scale and local branch- es were given the benefit of the entire organi- zation's operations.

The importance of having some sort of in- formation bureau to which worried parents could go for advice can be realized only by those who remember the censored letters, the aggravating delays in mails, the "losing" of men due to transfers from one organization to another in France and the weeks and months of waiting before the government forwarded any definite news in regard to the whereabouts or fate of men reported sick, wounded or killed. In every hospital representatives of the Red Cross were furnished lists of the pa- tients, and from the American headquarters at Washington they received lists of men regard- ing whom information was wanted at home. In this way trace was often found of men whose mail, sent to old addresses, had been returned unopened, or who had failed to write for one reason or another.

Lt .- Col. H. C. Baker was chairman of this local section during the war. The advisory committee consisted of E. B. Hand, Dr. A. J. Williams, Miss Kate Mehder and Miss Rose Webers. After the war Mr. Baker resigned and J. H. Brannum acted as chairman. War- ren Walker was also added to the committee. Headquarters of the department were in the Postoffice building until the spring of 1919,

when they were moved to a suite of rooms in the Baker block.

With the return of the men from the army and navy, the nature of the work changed but it did not decrease. The department, re-named the Home Service section, accepted the respon- sibility of acting as adviser for returned sol- diers in solving problems relating to errors in pay, allotments, insurance and compensation for disability. The department was given in- structions as to the proper method of getting desired information, and by its efforts was able to relieve the government of much cor- respondence and confusion in settlement of claims.

Mrs. C. A. Hamilton acted as secretary of the Home Service section from March, 1918, through the rest of the war and then during the period of demobilization. Owing to the amount of work in the office, she was author- ized to employ several assistants.

There is no possible way in which well de- served credit can ever be given to the thou- sands of women who devoted their time to the Red Cross work. Many who served for an hour or two a day did so at a great sacrifice because this time was in addition to a long day's work in homes, factories or offices. Some whose sacrifice of time meant little in respect to other occupations, were gladly giving up pleasures and more congenial occupations which might have been theirs had they pre- ferred. Still others left remunerative positions to as great an extent as they possibly could in order to knit and sew for soldiers, and there- by sacrificed their own financial welfare. Many assumed labors which were distasteful to them, and trained themselves in unaccus- tomed work, because they felt that they must help where their help was most needed, regard- less of personal preferences.

It was taken for granted that everyone was willing to do all that could reasonably be ex- pected, and then more, and this faith in our women by the government and the Red Cross organization was justified beyond all prece- dent.

It was planned that some sort of record be kept of the time spent in Red Cross work by the various individuals, but it was soon agreed that time spent in keeping such records might be more profitably used in productive employ- ment. Also, it was realized, as previously stated, that to lots of women the giving up of a few hours each day or each week might be more of a sacrifice than the donating of all the waking hours of another.

However, in order to give some official recog-

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THROW YOUR

FOR

THE

3,41

GROUP OF MEMBERS OF RACINE COUNTY AUXILIARY LEGAL ADVISORY BOARD

The men who composed the auxiliary to the Legal Advisory Board had an arduous and trying task. They spent many hours each week, usually in the evenings, explaining ali features of the draft law ta registered men, and assisted them in preparing their question naires for filing with the local board. Offices for this purpose were opened at Racine, Burlington, Waterford, Rochester and elsewhere, and were manned almost continuously for months by these volunteers. Only a part of the personnel is shown here, but the names of other auxiliary board members appear elsewhere in this volume.

Top Row-Knute Holland, Edward Lewis, Otto Ahrens, C. V. Carter, W. F. Hood, Frank Haven, Curtis Washburn, W. C. Davis, Mr. Bohn, E. S. Craig, John Hoad, (Unidentified), J. F. Bickle, E. J. Harrington, (Unidentified), A. R. Laube, H. Goldsworthy, Jens Christensen, Elmer Gittins, Arthur Ehrlich.

Second-W. C. Palmer, Peter J. Myers, George Castyle, Fred W. Keuper, Richard Harvey, Harry Barnes, Max Heck, A. B. Welty, George Dana, Nels C. Nelson, Harald Mann, Louis Mogenson, A. R. Leigh, F. J. Hermes, C. J. Dickenson, Taylor Jelliffe, Guy A. Benson, Joseph Patrick, David Lewis, John Gemmill.

Third-Ernest F. Reitmeier, Arthur Jersted, Harry Nehoda, Fred Fair, Len Rowlands, B. J. Smollen, Charles Beach, Gearge Case, A. J. Riggs, T. S. Hegard, H. M. Jones, W. F. Kisow, Millard S. Edmonds, J. C. Breese, Martin Christensen, L. H. Fisher, A. E. Black, Ben Nield, Thorwald Beck, Adolph Janecky, O. R. Moyle.

Bottom-Sophus Nelson, Nels Christensen, Arthur Itaas, A. D. Hermes, James Spence, J. C. NeCallins, It. G. Cowles, Wallace Loomis, Emil Kraft, Milton Hughes, Fred Ahlgrimm, Thomas Kearney, Jr., E. B. Hand, Jerome Foley, Rev. J. M. Naughtin, Dr. C. F. Browne, Fulton Thompson, William Smieding, E. B. Belden.

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nition of service rendered it was decided that badges be given all who had 800 hours' service for the Red Cross, and a decorative bar be added for each additional 800 hours. Workers were asked to keep an account of their own time for this purpose. Those awarded the badges were:

Mrs. E. B. Adams, Mrs. Stanley Anderson, Mrs. John Barr, Maria A. Burns, Mrs. Louis L. Cahoon, Annie Catterall, Edith C. Chandler, Mrs. J. G. Chandler, Mrs. E. E. Cheesman, Mrs. L. C. Christensen, Mrs. Floyd Coling, Clara Copeland, Mrs. Wm. H. Crosby, Mrs. C. Ehlers, Mrs. R. Jones Evans, Grace S. Fish, Mrs. Christ Gabrielson, Mrs. Geo. Gallagher, Mrs. Wm. Garrett, Mrs. Theo. Godske, Jane B. Goldsworthy, Nellie L. Gorton, Mrs. O. P. Gra- ham, Mrs. Florence Grant, Mrs. Clara F. Grif- fith, Mrs. M. E. Hamilton, Mrs. Anna M. Han- sen, Mrs. Kirsten, Mrs. C. W. H'Doubler, Mrs. Chas. Horner, Mrs. Petrea Jensen, Miss Anna Johnson, Mrs. Marie Johnson, Mrs. O. W. Johnson, Mrs. Walter E. Jones, Bertha C. Kel- ley, Mrs. E. L. King, Mrs. Mamie Laper, Mrs. W. La Venture, Mrs. Ollie Leichtweihs, Alta J. Lewis, Mrs. H. W. Lewis, Jessie Stage L' Heureux, Mrs. F. W. Logan, Mrs. J. H. Lutz, Mrs. Cathryn McKivett, Mrs. John G. Meach- em, Mrs. L. K. Merell, Minnie W. Miller, Mrs. Henry G. Mitchell, Mrs. Louis P. Munroe, Mrs. J. N. NeCollins, May E. Nelson, Mrs. Thos. Olle, Mrs. Wm. Osborne, Mrs. John V. Pearce, Mrs. F. G. Peehn, Mrs. Charles J. Pfost, Mrs. J. Prostrednik, Mrs. Ada Pultz, Miss Mayme Rademacher, Mrs. Wm. Rimhardt, Mrs. Annie E. Roberts, Miss Mary C. Roberts, Mrs. Henry D. Robinson, Mrs. Geo. E. Rodgers, Mrs. W. R. Rowley, Mrs. R. Salm, Helen Sargent, Alma M. Schaefer, Bertha Schroeder, Mrs. A. M. Sewell, Mrs. Bernice Sherman, Mrs. S. Sorenson, Mrs. A. P. Speer, Mrs. Walter H. Stearns, Caroline B. Stebbins, Mrs. Geo. Van Wie, Sarah Vetter, Mrs. D. M. Walker, Mrs. Sam Walker, Mrs. Stuart Webster, Mrs. A. Darlington, Mrs. S. F. Harcus, Mrs. W. F. Hansche.

Miss Bertha C. Kelley had the remarkable record of having donated 5,652 hours to the Red Cross. Others who gave more than 2,000 hours were Mrs. J. G. Chandler, Miss Edith Chandler, Mrs. Grace S. Fish, Mrs. Charles Horner, Alma M. Schaeffer, Mrs. Bertha Schroeder, Mrs. S. B. Walker and Mrs. Stuart Webster.

Like all other wartime organizations which were suddenly called upon to assume tremen- dous responsibilities without time for adequate preparations or selection of personnel, the

American Red Cross was occasionally sub- jected to criticism for certain minor policies, but this criticism was never directed against its local organizations in Racine county.

One of the aggravating features of all war work was the occasional necessity of deciding between two or more conflicting orders, or of interpreting orders which were not entirely clear.

There are few women who worked for the Red Cross who do not remember the piles of neatly finished pajamas, or socks or surgical dressings which were returned as "disap- proved" by some overly conscientious inspector at Chicago or Washington. Probably every article passed by the local inspectors was en- tirely suitable for the purpose intended, but very frequently some "higher up" would decide that a seam was turned the wrong way, or a surgical dressing was not an exact rectangle, or a sock was possessed of a casting which would not allow it to stretch easily to a 14 inch circumference at the top. Protests and arguments were useless; everyone was under voluntary discipline in war time and was not supposed to question any order or ask the reasons why. Then it became the sad duty of the local inspectors and advisors to explain to the proud and willing donors of work and sup- plies that their efforts had been of no use, and the garments must be reduced to their original elements and then reconstructed in accordance with the exact rules laid down.

The difficulty arose from the fact that gen- cral rules at national headquarters to guide the workers were interpreted too literally by divisional inspectors who did not understand the uses to which the articles were to be put finally. For instance, there was a general im- pression that the socks knit at home were to go to the men in the trenches to keep them warm in winter, and that therefore the least irregularity in knitting might chafe the feet of marching men or cause a blister on a man standing at his post. In actual practice, com- bat troops in the American army received socks of the regular issue of heavy, machine-made type, and the home knitted articles went to men in hospitals. Often they were merely bed garments. In the course of hasty issuing and haphazard laundering there, no patient ever received the same pair of socks twice and was fortunate if he drew two socks of the same size.

In the case of surgical dressings, women workers were urged to prepare these in exact sizes, some of the inspectors going to such lengths as to require the pulling of a thread

RACINE COUNTY IN THE WORLD WAR

129

SMALL DRAFT CONTINGENT READY FOR DEPARTURE

in the rush of sending men away some of the photo groups were not properly identified. The above was one of them.

A PLEASANT DIVERSION FOR A WINTER EVENING

Identifying members of the draft group, which the Local Buard and photographer failed to enumerate on the copy, will be easy for those who are part of it, but rather difficult for persons who are not familiar with the faces.

LAST OF THE UNIDENTIFIED GROUPS

Neither the names of the members of the quota nor the destination of the group could be obtained from the photo-print. Those shown in the picture will recugnize, no doubt, names and dates,

SOME OF THE SAME MEN AFTER REACHING FRANCE

The passion for running away from food was characteristic of the A. E. F. Here are a number of men in the act of breaking out through the windows of the mess half in the barracks at (it is believed) Is-Sur-Tille, France.

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to make them perfect, or sewing the edges over again to make them the proper shape. In the hospitals they were cut and slashed to make them some convenient size to cover wounds, regardless of any exact measurements. Had the facts been understood the surgical dress- ing classes could have made many times the number of dressings they actually turned out.

The same is true of pajamas and similar articles. Stress was placed upon the impor- tance of making the garments with a certain shaped collar band, and a misplaced pocket was deemed cause for rejection at Chicago. The chapters were not allowed to use their odds and ends of cloth to make pajamas which had a coat of one color and pants of another. In hospitals, such garments did not return from the laundry to the men who had sent them, but were issued promiscuously as need- ed. Often a patient would have a blue striped coat made for a man twice his size and a pink lower garment which barely reached his ankles. This was no cause for worry to men who had been sleeping in their uniforms in mud for weeks at a time, and who asked only for fairly clean clothing at the hospitals without regard for appearances.

It undoubtedly was the original intent of the national directors of this work to ask care- ful workmanship, and nothing more, but at times the regulations were carried to extremes

In this connection it may prove interesting to record a copy of rules issued to knitters by a chapter of the Red Cross in connection with directions for knitting the various garments wanted:

"Don't Cast on Tightly-In setting up a sock the casting on should never be done tightly. An otherwise well knitted sock may become useless by a tight cord at the top. The tcp of a sock should be large enough to stretch over a cardhoard seven inches long. .

"Don't Knot Your Wool-Join the ends by running one end into the other with a darning needle for about six inches. Finish off threads on wrong side by running thread with darning needle through a bias run of stitches in two or more opposite directions.

"Don't Make a Heel With a Seam on the Sole-Remember, a man may not have a chance to change his socks for many days, and a lump or knot brings a blister. If the blister breaks blood poisoning may set in and result in the loss of a foot or even a life. We cannot afford to lose our men through negligence or ignorance.

"Don't Fail to Make the Kitchener Toe --

This has been proved to be the best toe for men in service.

"Don't Use Needles too Fine for Wool-The knitting should be elastic and loose, but not too loose; if too tightly knitted the sock becomes hard and felt-like from bad washing and steri- lizing.

"Don't Make Double Heels-Bad washing and sterilizing shrink them in a hard, felt-like lump.

"Don't Make a Foot Less Than Eleven Inches Long-The average sizes of 11 to 111/2 are best. Use judgment in making proportions of sock correct-a leg suitable for size of foot, and vice versa. People do not seem to realize that making a foot size 12 with a leg and ankle suitable for a size 9 shows lack of judg- ment.

"Don't Knit Bands of Color into Top of Sock without first boiling the wool for ten minutes in salted water and rinsing. This is to set the color and prevent blood poisoning from color running. One can save much wool by using up odd bits of contrasting color in this way. The men love it, as it helps them to match up their socks when washing, and they have a superstition that it is lucky and keeps them from being wounded.

"Cast on loosely and count rows so that socks will mate when finished.

"Wash socks before turning them in. This should be done in warm water, and the rinsing should be in a light suds. Ironing is not neces- sary. Lay them on a flat radiator top and pat into shape, and you will be surprised to find your sock looks 50 per cent better and feels softer.

"Darn sock lightly at point of gusset, if there is a hole there caused by needles not being held tightly together while narrowing. Also darn lightly any other place that the sock is thin or stitches separate.

"A soldier who had been unable to change his socks for several days felt that a blister was coming on one of his toes. On removing the sock he found a little roll of paper which had heen rubbing his toe. On it was written, 'God bless your poor tired feet!'

"All garments made from yarn purchased or given out at Red Cross Knitting Headquarters must be returned there."

Mrs. Arthur Huguenin was appointed chair- man of the department of instruction for women in the autumn of 1916, and in the fol- lowing January several First Aid classes were formed. These were followed by classes in home nursing, diatetics and surgical dressings. Mrs. L. A. Schnetz was appointed secretary

RACINE COUNTY IN THE WORLD WAR

I31

OFFICIALS OF DRAFT BOARD NO. 2

Reading from left to right they are :- Ward Gittings, I. O. Mann, George Porter, W. W. Storms (chairman), W. S. McCaughey (secretary), Dr. E. A. Taylor, C. H. Krogh, Jaines Peterson.

OFFICIALS OF DRAFT BOARD NO 1

Reading from left to right they are :- Upper Row-E. R. Burgess, F. H. Schulz, Dr. Thackeray, J. C. Hamta. Lower Row-J. B. Simmons, H. J. Smith, (Chairman), E. W. Leach, (Secretary).

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of classes, and Mrs. Fanny Botsford and Mrs. F. H. Pope were added to the committee. Rooms were given the committee in the Racine public library. About 200 students took les- sons in First Aid.

The following physicians patriotically do- nated their services as instructors: Drs. E. Von Buddenbrock, W. W. Johnston, J. H. Ho- gan, C. F. Browne, F. C. Christensen and S. Sorenson. Dr. Susan Jones gave her services as examiner for all the classes.

About 85 women attended the classes in home nursing which began in May, 1917. Red Cross nurses who directed these classes were the Misses Edna McGovern of Milwaukee; Amanda Schmidt, E. Fees and Gertrude Davis of Ra- cine. All of these nurses were later in serv- ice.

The Misses Bessie C. Nevin, Elizabeth Hood, Verna Gillen and Mabel Wilton were made Red Cross dietitians and instructed seventy- five high school girls. During the vacation period the school board donated the use of the domestic science kitchen in the high school and Miss Gillen donated her services as in- structor there.

Miss Elizabeth Greene of Milwaukee in- structed several classes in surgical dressings and later a number of her graduates were made instructors in this work. Mrs. Percival Fuller opened her home and fitted out several rooms in the required manner. Here several thou- sand dressings were made by volunteer work- ers.

In October, 1918, under the chairmanship of Mrs. LaVenture, the department conducted several classes in home nursing and first aid work.

The junior auxiliaries of the Red Cross were organized in the public and parochial schools in 1918. Children were asked to take mem- berships at 25 cents each, or else the school must qualify as an auxiliary by subscribing an amount which would average 25 cents per pupil, even though each individual did not contribute. St. Patrick's Catholic school on Douglas avenue was the first one to qualify with a 100 per cent subscription.

All Red Cross supplies sent from Racine were carried to Chicago by the Goodrich Transit Company without charge, and all ship- ments reached their destinations safely.

SAM

BONOS

15. 415

BOND

. .

K. MAISER

WHELMBON

BOND

SNC.

CHAPTER XVI

SAVING FOOD TO WIN THE WAR

T HERE was no more interesting feature of civilian war work than the almost unanimous efforts of American citizens to conserve the food supply of the nation, so our army abroad and the inhabitants of Allied nations could be fed. "Saving Food Will Win the War," was one of the earliest of war-time slogans, and while it could not be termed the sole cause of winning the war it unquestion- ably proved one of the important factors in the ultimate victory. Soldiers can and often do fight without adequate arms and ammunition; patriots will "carry on" while clad in rags and tatters, but no army can fight and no nation can support its armed forces if starvation stalks in its midst.

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Racine county in the world war, Part 14

Author: Haight, Walter L Publication date: c1920] Publisher: [Racine, Western Prtg. & Lithographing Co. Number of Pages: 612

Author: Haight, Walter L
Publication date: c1920]
Publisher: [Racine, Western Prtg. & Lithographing Co.
Number of Pages: 612