Fairdale, Illinois, Celebrates End of WW I With Burning of Kaiser in Effigy

From the December 5, 2018, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"Fairdale celebrated peace in the appropriate manner Monday by a community service at the school house.

"Music by the band, speaking, singing and the burning of the kaiser in effigy, were features of the affair."

War's Over, Man.  --Cooter

Students Raising Money For Lincoln's Original Gettysburg Address in 1943

From the November 28, 2018, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1943, 75 Years Ago.

"Mrs. Marjorie B. Leinauer, county superintendent of schools reports that a total of $128.99 has been contributed so far by the school students of the county for the fund to be used by the state to purchase the original manuscript of Lincoln's Gettysburg address, which will be placed in the state historical library."

--CootAbe

Nut Shells and Pits Collected for Gas Masks in 1918

From the November 28, 2018, MidWeek  (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"Over 617 pounds of nut shells and pits were sent recently from DeKalb to the government for the making of gas masks.

"What disposition shall be made of them now, no one  knows.  Barrels are standing on the corners yet being filled."

The War Was Over By This Date.  --Cooter

"Flu Masks" On the Train in Nov. 1918: Was This the Spanish Flu Pandemic

From the November 21, 2018, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"There is always a first time for everything, and passengers on the 7:40 this morning saw DeKalb people board the train wearing 'Flu' masks.

"This is the spirit of cooperation here in the city of DeKalb that is going to keep a serious epidemic from getting a foothold here."

Was this the Spanish Flu Pandemic near its beginning, or just a regular winter onset flu?  Sources say the first observed case took place in Haskell County, Kansas, in January 1918.  The first recorded victim of the flu was Army cook Albert Gitchell at Fort Riley, Kansas, on March 4, 1918.

If this "Flu" mask incident in DeKalb was the Spanish Flu it was way in advance of the bad breakout in 1919.

--Cooter

The Factory Goes to the Farm For the War Effort

From the August 8, 2018, MidWeek "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"As another way of showing their patriotism, a crowd of the American Steel & Wire company fellows went out to the farm of L.H. Hopkins last night after work and put in two or three hours in the field.

"A more patriotic aggregation in the city than the steel fellows cannot be found.  They have always gone over the top in any drive that has been instituted here and are now willing to take up labor on a farm after working hours, if it will help win the war."

A serious manpower shortage in agriculture because of World War I.

--Cooter

Working the Oats in the Field in 1918

From the August 15, 2018, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"The employees of the Fourth street bank, Robert McCormick, Frank Fordham and George Hanrahan, put their Thursday half-holiday to the best possible use yesterday when they went to the farm of Martin Mihm, a former employee of the bank, and shocked oats until dark.

"The fellows stated that they had several engagements from now on, and that many chicken suppers, etc., had been offered if they would only put in an appearance for work in the oat field."

Of course, with so many young men at war, there was a big need for help in the fields.

Will Work for Food.  --Cooteat

A Detasseling Tale, Part 2: Home Front 1943

From the August 1, 2018, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1943, 75 Years Ago.

"More than 100 theological students were scheduled to arrive in DeKalb late this afternoon or tonight from Chicago and will be employed as corn detasselers by the DeKalb Agricultural Association.

"The young men ranging in age from sixteen to 25 years of age were secured through the cooperation efforts of the Ag Association and the United States Employment agency."

A Corny Thing To Do.  --Cooter

Sugar Rationing in 1918

From the July 25, 2018, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"Hotels and restaurants in DeKalb received their sugar allowance cards from the food administration, taking care of their allowance for the next three months.

"The eating places of the city are allowed three pounds of sugar for every 90 meals served, and it is required that the next three months' supply be anticipated, and proper requisition made to the sugar department of the food administration."

Rationing During World War I.  --Cooter

World War I and Major League Baseball-- Military and War Plant Workers

From Baseball Reference.

World War I shut down the minor leagues of baseball one by one and caused Major League Baseball to shorten its 1918 season, ending it at Labor Day, Monday, September 2nd.

Notable players who missed playing time because of military service in World War I included Hall of Famers Grover Cleveland Alexander, Red Faber, Jud Wilson and Harry Heilmann.  A number of players also worked in wartime-related industries as War Plant Workers, particularly in steel mills and shipyards, and also missed playing time as a result.

War Plant Workers worked in industries supporting the war effort and were thus ineligible for the draft.

--Cooter

MLB Catcher Hank Gowdy Enters Military Service in WW I

June 27, 2018, Chicago Tribune  On This Date.

JUNE 27, 1917

Catch Hank Gowdy of the Boston Braves becomes the first major league player to enter military service in World War I.

Eight Major League Players Died during the war.

A total of 250 Major League Baseball players served in the military during the war.

--Cooter

Time to Pay Up Those Salvation Army World War I Pledges

From the July 11, 2018, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"Those people of the city who promised to pay a certain amount to the Salvation Army war fund are asked, appealed to and even requested to call at the First National bank and pay the pledges.

"The Salvation Army needs money at this time and badly."

Pay Up!  --Cooter

World War I Causing "Hurry Up" Weddings

From the July 11, 2018, MidWeek "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"War days are responsible for many 'hurry up' weddings these days, many couples who planned to be married this summer rearranging their plans to meet Uncle Sam's calls."

Going to the Chapel, Then to the Front.   --Cooter

German U-boat 1918 American Campaign-- Part 3: The Attack On Orleans, Mass.

A few of the U-cruisers also made long voyages south to the Azores and African coast, where they operated generally unmolested against shipping operating in the area.  But one exception was the U-154, which was torpedoed by British submarine HMS E35 off the coast of Portugal in May 1918.

In July 1918, there was an attack by the U-156 on Orleans, Massachusetts, off the coast of Cape Cod in which four barges and a tugboat were sunk.  The U-boat then fired on the town ineffectively for about an hour before it was driven off by two Navy planes.

It was the first attack involving a foreign power's artillery against U.S. soil since the Mexican War.

--Cooter

How Did World War I Affect Women's Suffrage?

From the June 2017 Smithsonian Magazine.

ASK SMITHSONIAN

Question: "How did women's service in uniform during World War I help the suffrage movement afterward? "  Lisa Kathleen Graddy, deputy chair and curator of the division of political history at e National Museum of American History Answered:

President Woodrow Wilson was no great friend of women's suffrage before the war.  But he began to change his mind after learning of the harsh treatment of imprisoned pro-vote demonstrators during the war, which included force-feeding of suffragists on a hunger strike.

The service of more than 10,000 women in the Navy and Marines -- plus thousands more on the home front in factories and offices -- gave Wilson a powerful argument as he lobbied for the 19th Amendment.

"We have made partners of the women in this war," he said.  "Shall we admit them only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice and toil and not to partnership of privilege and right?"

--CootVote

More U.S. Flags Than Ever in DeKalb Schools As Tensions Mount in 1917

From the March 8, 2017, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1917, 100 Years Ago.

"Mrs. James Dresser, patriotic instructor in the Women's Relief Corps has an interesting report to make.  She has visited the schools of DeKalb and some outside the city and has found more flags displayed than ever before."

As tensions between the United States and Germany ramp up.

he Women's Relief Corps was an auxiliary of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans formed after the Civil War.

--DaCoot

City of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Destroyed in 1917, During World War I

From the December 20, 2017, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1917, 100 Years Ago.

"The City of Halifax is destroyed by fire."

This would be the Halifax Explosion.  From Wikipedia.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.  December 6, 1917.  A Norwegian ship collided with the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship laden with high explosives.  Approximately 2,000 were killed and another 9,000 injured.  It was the largest man-made explosion before the advent of nuclear weapons.

Horrific.

Elva Red Cross and Afton Raise Money for WW I Effort

From the December 20, 2017, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois_  "Looking Back."

1917, 100 Years Ago.

"The Elva Red Cross held a very pleasant and profitable meeting in the Elva Hall.

"A large crowd was present and the balance of Afton's quota of the war fund was raised."

For the War Effort.  --Cooter

DeKalb Piano Factory Offered to World War I Effort

From the November 29, 2017,

1917, 100 Years Ago.

"For several days past rumors have circulated about the city to the effect that the government had taken over the Mellville Clark piano factory for the manufacture of war materials..  In an interview with Superintendent Ernest Clark it was learned that these rumors are entirely without foundation.

"Mr. Clark said that the company had tendered its services to the government when the war first started, sending all data as to what could be done here.  The local man said that his plant was at the disposal of the government at anytime the men higher up saw fit to take it, but thus far, nothing had been done."

Come And Get It.  --Cooter

Hemp Coming to DeKalb in 1942

December 6, 2017, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1942, 75 Years Ago.

"Farm advisors from northern Illinois met in DeKalb and made plans for the introduction of the crop of hemp in the area.

"The introduction of the crop to this locality is being urged by the government which plans the erection of about ten or twelve processing plants in this part of the state."

Probably part of the war effort, but isn't there some connection between hemp and that thing people illegally smoke in the state?

--GreGen

Making It Back to Fort Sheridan In Time in 1917

From the September 27, 2017, MidWeek  (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1917, 100 Years Ago.

"Tom Murray, looking hale and hearty, and in every sense a soldier, came out of Fort Sheridan for a visit with his wife and relatives.  The noon train wast on the North Western which Tom had planned to return to Fort Sheridan was several hours late and Frank Stevens of the fire department was induced to take the former fire chief to Aurora.

"In this manner, Mr. Murray was able to report at 4:30 thus obeying orders from the commanding officer at the training camp."

AWOL, You Know, But With An Excuse.  --Cooter