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WWI
Farmers in Heroic Work for Victory
McLean County, Illinois
(Transcribed by: Teri Moncelle Colglazier)

McLean county farmers have a record of vigorous war service. One phase of this is their subscription to the government war loans. The population of the two cities, Bloomington and Normal, is dis tinctly less than half that of the county; and the people living on farms number just about twice as many as all those in the vil lages and cities outside the two named. Com paring the amount of bonds bought in Bloom ington and Normal with the total amount bought in the county, it is seen that a very large proportion of the subscriptions came from the farm. This is made still more em phatic when it is noted that many people in the cities and smaller towns own land and derive a considerable part of their income from the farm, and yet their bond subscrip tions were credited to the city or town where they live. But still more important was the response in food production. This showed itself in two distinct ways, in labor and in increase of wheat and pork raising. Our farmers never worked so hard before or accomplished so much per man. Having furnished their full quota of soldier boys and having lost many other hands to city work, they were very short of farm help shorter than ever before in their farm ing. A great many farmers had little or no extra help during harvest. In many cases the one or two men on the farm had to shock all the wheat and oats. There was much risk of loss in this. The farmers made the tremendous attempt to increase their crops when their help was greatly reduced the greatest effort of their lives. They made an almost unbelievable success of it, and it was not done simply for the money; a supreme effort to help win the war and feed the Allies was the uppermost thought and very apparent to all who went among them. This was emphatically expressed by D. O. Thompson, the county farm adviser, who had intimate knowledge of their conviction and doings. A great many men who had retired from the farm or from most of its hard work went back into the fields and gave valuable service. Ab solutely every man went to work, and to the limit in the long days and intensity of his work. The usual wheat acreage was 6,000 or 7,000 acres, but under the government call for wheat to provide food and the systematic drive of Farm Adviser D. O. Thompson, this was increased to 40,000 or 50,000 acres of wheat. The government call for increased pork was also heeded, and a great many more pigs were raised, and this largely without regard to whether they would bring an extra profit. Probably its greatest effect was that a great number of farmers each added a few more sows. Much more pork was produced. The fact is the farmers changed their system of farming, omitted the usual clover so necessary for the soil, and did everything possible to increase the products so greatly needed to support the war. The response was complete. Nobody came over to new ways, community co operation and the every day doing of the heretofore impossible more than the farmer of McLean county. And nobody did what had to be done in quicker time or larger amount. The sum of the farmers' accomplishment is an enduring monument to their sense of citizenship and determination to win the war. The McLean County Better Farming Association suspended its usual activities and lent the services of the farm adviser, D. O. Thompson, to war work during practically the entire war period. It came to be recognized as representing the farmers and speaking for the farmers in whatever there was to be done, and far greater results w^ere secured thru this organization than could have been possible otherwise. [McLean County, Illinois, in the World War, 1917-1918; by Edward E. Pierson & Jacob Louis Hasbrouck c 1921]

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