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WWI
Women and Food Conservation
McLean County, Illinois
(Transcribed by: Teri Moncelle Colglazier)

To anyone who read the newspapers during the first few months of 1917, it was apparent that when the United States declared war on Germany, there would be some sort of organized campaign for food conservation in this country. The question of food had become critical for the warring nations and the United States would play a large part in supplying the armies and civilians of our associates with enough food to keep them in the fighting ranks. The prompt action of Bloomington and McLean county women in organizing to meet this need will always be one of the greatest matters of pride to this county. During the latter part of April, just after our declaration of war, Mrs. Spencer Ewing went before the officers of the McLean County Chapter Red Cross, and offered her services for any work in food conservation that might be taken up. The offer was at once accepted, and thereafter during the whole period of the war and reconstruction months that followed, Mrs. Ewing was county leader in food conservation. To her is due large credit for the enlistment of McLean county women in the army of housewives who fought in the trenches at home, against starvation abroad. The national food administration, with Herbert Hoover as its head, did not begin operations until July, 1917, so it may be seen that McLean county can justly claim the distinction of having been foresighted. The original Conservation' Committee of the Red Cross was composed of Mrs. Ewing, E. C. Baldwin, Ben Sumner, W. H. Cummings, Roy Costigan, H. W. Kelly, John G. Miller, Mrs. F. W. Benjamin, Miss Sallie Anthony, Mrs. Paul Beich, Mrs. J. C. Riley, Mrs. S. Noble King, Mrs. George Monroe, Mrs. J. B. McConkie and Mrs. Will Moore. Later, when the Woman's Committee, Council of Defense, was organized, a conservation committee was appointed as follows: Mrs. F. W. Benjamin, president of McLean County Household Science Club; Miss Nellie Parham, representing public library; Miss Alice Treganza, teacher of domestic science in public schools; Miss Olla Johnson, Wesleyan domestic science teacher; Mrs. E. J. Carroll of Holy Trinity Ladies Aid; Mrs. Maurice McCarthy of Daughters of Isabella; Mrs. G. H. Johnson of Grace Methodist church; Mrs. E. M. Hamilton of Second Presbyterian church; Mrs. F. C. Davison, Second United Brethren church; Mrs. John Coupe, Parent-Teacher Confederated Club; Mrs. Jennie C. Barlow, Mrs. Ross Breckenridge, Miss Laurastine Marquis and Miss Emma Wright. Thruout the emergency, the food conservation work of McLean county was done equally thru the Eed Cross committee and the Woman's Committee, C. N. D., and reports were made to both organizations. In May, 1917, forty-five groups for the study of new problems that confronted housewives, were organized. These included members and representatives from the Day Nursery Mothers' Club, Normal Sewing Society, Holy Trinity Ladies' Aid, several ladies' aid societies of Bloom- ington protestant churches, Y. W. C. A. group of young married women, Normal Improvement League, T. P. A. auxiliary, Home Welfare Club, Colored Churches, Normal Neighborhood group, North Clinton Neighborhood group, St. Patrick's Ladies' Aid, Thalia Circle, East Side Group, Heyworth Household Science Club, McLean County Household Science club, Country Club, West Oakland group, White Place group, Broadway group, Emerson school group, Spaulding school club, Price School Club, Washington street school club, and others. These groups came together during the summer and discussed the world food situation and the ways in which local women could help. The leader of each group attended lectures given weekly by Mrs. Jennie C. Barlow. A room for these meetings was opened in the new high school building. In July, when the national food administration began its work, pledges were sent out for the signatures of housewives. About 700 of these were signed. But the organization was still imperfect, and it was not until November when the general registration of women took place, that McLean county housewives in any large way signified their willingness to enter into the spirit of food conservation. When the matter was put before them in a detailed statement, 9000 out of a possible 11,000 housewives of McLean county signed the pledges. In July, Miss Naomi Newburn, of the University of Illinois, gave a week of canning demonstrations in Bloomington. She urged the necessity for preserving for winter use everything that could be preserved from the home garden. Her demonstrations were largely attended. During the late summer and early fall months, Miss Emma Wright, a McLean county girl with university training, gave weekly demonstrations in practical war-time cookery, in the high school domestic science room. It was during the fall of 1917 that agitation for employment of a home adviser was first begun here, Mrs. Ewing, Mrs. Frank W. Benjamin, and other leaders in household science work, initiating the movement. Under the Smith-Lever bill, the government had several years before offered funds to counties employing home advisers, on the same basis as farm advisers were employed. Up to this time there had been but one home adviser in Illinois in Kankakee county where the experiment was started in 1914. The government, in an effort to establish home advisers as trained leaders of conservation, increased the funds available during the war emergency, and it was to take advantage of this offer, and to get the assistance of such a leader that the McLean county women began their campaign for members of a Home Improvement Association. The Illinois Farmers' Institute held its annual meeting in Bloomington in February, 1918, and the exhibits for the Department of Household Science, were made by the McLean County Food Conservation Committee. The Normal high school arranged plates of meats and meat substitutes to illustrate lessons in meat saving; Bloomington high school had exhibits on sugar saving; Wesleyan classes showed wheat substitutes; the I. S. N. U. classes made exhibits of fat conservation. During the institute hundreds of the five-cent conservation cook books gotten out by the State Council of Defense, were sold. The message had gone forth from Washington early in 1918 that more food must be conserved than during the previous year; the situation abroad was more and more critical as our own troops were sent, over and had to be fed 3000 miles from the base of supplies. A spirit of downright seriousness began to prevail; no longer were complaints concerning the government regulations heard. Wheat, meat, fats and sugar were the foods upon which attention was concentrated. In March, 1918, a war kitchen was opened on North Main street. $25.00 for material and equipment being supplied by the Red Cross. Here Miss Naomi Newburn and Miss Olive Percival of the University of Illinois staff, gave two demonstrations daily for a week to large and enthusiastic audiences. Women were really eager to learn how to cook in order to use the least possible amount of the conservation foods, and yet to maintain the health of their families. Daily appeals for conservation were made by the women in charge. The uses of rice instead of potatoes; fish instead of meat; syrups instead of sugar; vegetable fats for animal fats; were all demonstrated. Perhaps the most largely attended of these demonstrations was that on "liberty" breads those in which flours other than wheat were used. Women were having poor success in using the wheat substitutes, and when it was announced that Misses Newburn and Percival would make several loaves from various flours, interest in the kitchen knew no bounds. The room was crowded to the limit, and women even stood out on the sidewalk. A permanent organization called the Home Improvement Association was formed in April, as the result of agitation previously mentioned, for a home adviser. It had a membership of 1500 women from all over the county, each paying $1 per year toward its support. The government likewise paid $1500 per year. There was a director in each township, who stood for food conservation in her community. In June the home adviser began work. She was Miss Clara R. Brian formerly of San Jose. Because McLean county is so large that one person could not give it adequate attention, the University of Illinois, sent Miss Grace D. Taylor to assist Miss Brian during the first two months she was here. Food conservation work was centered, thereafter, in Miss Brian, who gave lectures and demonstrations six days a week and traveled several thousand miles by train and automobile to towns and rural communities of the county. The Municipal Canning Kitchen was perhaps the most spectacular piece of conservation work done during 1918. It was opened in the Pantagraph builing on June 18 and closed on August 31 after 1128 cans of produce had been put up there. To the kitchen came women from all over McLean county and nearby towns in adjoining counties. It was estimated that 1200 housewives heard the lectures and demonstrations given twice weekly by Miss Taylor and Miss Mabel Sill of Normal, who was employed for this work after Miss Taylor left. In these demonstrations seasonable fruits and vegetables were canned and dried, the sorting of vegetables was shown, pickles and sauer kraut were made, and meat canning was illustrated. It was the purpose of the kitchen to so get before the people directions for canning and drying, that no garden produce should go to waste. There was a plan whereby persons having surplus garden products, donated these to the kitchen, and they were canned by volunteers, in jars donated by other people. At the end of the season 665 quarts of such stuff was distributed to philanthropic agencies in Bloomington and Normal, and it proved invaluable during the influenza epidemic of the winter. There was a plan whereby a woman could bring her own jars and produce to the center and can under expert direction, no charge being made for this. Or she might send produce and jars and have it canned, giving half to the center as payment for the work. After canning season was practically over, several demonstrations of war-time cookery were given in the kitchen. At one of these Miss Taylor made war breads. The room was larger than that in which the North Main street war kitchen had been located, but it was taxed to capacity and many women were turned away. On another occasion Miss Sill made sugarless, wheatless cakes and sugarless icings. This brought another large crowd, as families were loathe to give up cake, and yet wanted to be patriotic. The municipal kitchen was a community enterprise in which many organizations and individuals had a part the McLean County Household Science Club, the Home Improvement Association, Patriotic League girls, Boy Scouts, the Motor Emergency Corps, the Council of Defense, Food Conservation Department of the Red Cross, Bloomington Pantagraph and church societies. The financial support was given by a few individuals, the Council of Defense and the Pantagraph. School children were enlisted in the food conservation game early in its history. They participated in three essay contests which were designed to give publicity to some phase of conservation. The first was open to all pupils of the county. A prize was offered by Mrs. Ewing for the best short essay on the benefits of having a home adviser. The second was a similar contest in which three prizes were given to the children who wrote most convincingly on "Why and How Wheat Flour Should Be Conserved." The third was a potato essay contest, in which ward school domestic science classes participated. The winning paper contained a list of 435 ways in which potatoes may be prepared, and another named 410 recipes for potatoes. High school English classes, used potatoes as the subject for essays, stories and verses. During the time when potatoes were extremely scarce and high in price this cooperation in the schools helped materially in getting the Food Administration's program before the public. It is interesting to recall the first set of rules issued by the United States food administration and which were sent to Bloomington chapter of the Red Cross for promulgation among the women of this section. These rules were modified from time to time, but the first draft of them is as follows: Save the Wheat. One wheatless meal a day. Use corn, oatmeal, rye or barley bread and non-wheat breakfast foods. Order bread twenty-four hours in advance so your baker will not bake beyond his needs. Cut the loaf on the table and only as required. Use stale bread for cooking, toast, etc. Eat less cake and pastry. Save the Meat. Beef, mutton or pork not more than once daily. Use freely vegetables and fish. At the meat meal serve smaller portions, and stews instead of steaks. Make made-dishes of all left-overs. Do this and there will be meat enough for everyone at a reasonable price. Save the Milk. The children must have milk. Use every drop. Use buttermilk and sour milk for cooking and making cottage cheese. Use less cream. Save the Fats. We are the world's greatest fat wasters. Fat is food. Butter is essential for the growth and health of children. Use butter on the table as usual but not in cooking. Other fats are as good. Reduce use of fried foods. Save daily one-third ounce animal fats. Soap contains fats. Do not waste it. Make your own washing soap at home out of the saved fats. Save the Sugar Sugar is scarce. We use today three times as much per person as our allies. So there may be enough for all at reasonable price, use less candy and sweet drinks. Do not stint sugar in putting up fruit and jams. They will save butter. Save the Fuel. Coal comes from a distance and our railways are overburdened hauling war material. Help relieve them by burning fewer fires. Use wood when you can get it. Use the Perishable Foods. Fruits and vegetables we have in abun- dance. As a nation we eat too little green stuffs. Double their use and improve your health. Store potatoes and other roots properly and they will keep. Begin now to can or dry all surplus garden products. Use Local Supplies. Patronize your local producer. Distance means money. Buy perishable food from the neighborhood nearest you and thus save transportation. Buy less, serve smaller portions. Preach the "Gospel of the Clean Plate." Don't eat a fourth meal. Don't limit the plain food of growing children. Watch out for the wastes in the community. Full garbage pails in America mean empty dinner pails in America and Europe. For many months a person's patriotism was judged quite as much according to the food he ate, as according to the money contribution he made toward winning the war. The rules of the Food Administration were obeyed without question in McLean county. The consumption of sugar was cut to two pounds per person per month, except for canning, and that was limited. Bread made of all wheat flour was all but forgotten. There was no waste of fats. The people pulled together in wonderful team work for the husbanding of supplies for American soldiers and our associates in the war. With food regulations what they were, and a genuine desire on the part of country women to conform thereto, the problem of threshing dinners became acute, for war breads, especially could not be prepared in advance; pies were taboo in some communities; a great many women hesitated about making substitute cakes; and meat was almost out of the question. Various solutions were found in various communities, depending somewhat on the men for whom the threshing dinners were cooked. But it was found, (to the surprise of a great many cooks, be it admitted) that good meals, conforming to food administration rules and requests could be provided and the cooks be commended by the threshers for their patriotism. The fact that McLean county is one of the richest counties in the world might have accounted for failure to obey in letter and spirit the rules of the administration. But violations were so few that they were practically negligible, a fact of which McLean county people may always be proud. With the signing of the armistice, the urge for conservation was largely gone, but as a result of the work done during the war McLean county has a permanent Home Bureau (as the Home Improvement Asso- ciation was later called) which will carry on college extension work and lessons in the best for home and community life, thru many years to come. [McLean County, Illinois, in the World War, 1917-1918; by Edward E. Pierson & Jacob Louis Hasbrouck c 1921]

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