Women in WWI
When the United States decided to forego their neutrality to the first World War in 1917, thousands of American men were drafted into the armed forces. Although women were unable to enlist, their services were required and appreciated in Red Cross work either as nurses or as citizen volunteers simply rolling and packing bandages. Women of Concordia College were quick to participate in the Moorhead chapter of the Red Cross by rolling bandages and knitting sweaters, mittens, caps, and scarves.
During the United States’ involvement in the war, Cobber women dedicated their spare moments to assisting with the war effort. By December 1917, the women had finished the rolling and packing of two hundred bandages. [1] Concordia began actively participating in the surgical dressing department of the Moorhead Red Cross in January of 1918 by hosting classes at the college on Thursday nights. These courses, supervised by Mrs. Lynn Stambaugh, were in high demand. The surgical dressing department of the Moorhead Red Cross grew rapidly thanks to volunteers from Concordia and the community. [2]
The Moorhead Daily News featured a column, “Moorhead Red Cross Work,” which provided the community with tallies of work completed by the members of the Moorhead chapter. The surgical dressings and knitted clothing articles completed by Concordia women were frequently mentioned in the column. On February 7, 1918 the newspaper reported that Concordia women had submitted seventy-five abdominal bandages; a few weeks later, on March 6, they provided fourteen knitted sweaters. [3] Concordia’s service to the Red Cross was unfortunately put on hold when the local board of health prohibited public meetings due to an influenza outbreak in May. [4] By the time the ban was lifted in November the war was nearly over, and Concordia’s direct contributions to the Moorhead chapter of the Red Cross ceased. [5]
Along with Red Cross work, Concordia participated in the war effort through the purchase of thrift stamps. By late January 1918, students at Concordia had raised money to purchase $1700 worth of stamps. When they became payable the money was donated to the college library fund. [6] A service flag to commemorate the Concordia students, staff, and alumni who were in the armed forces was dedicated during chapel in March of 1918. Stars on the flag, one commemorating each of the Cobbers enlisted, were added as additional men left for service. [7]
Concordia shared a similar outlook on the war with other Minnesota colleges. Much like at Concordia, the women of St. Olaf College made surgical dressings, knitted articles of clothing, and participated in Red Cross courses. [8] At Gustavus Adolphus College, the women took it upon themselves to edit the College Breezes, an early Gustavus newspaper, a task previously reserved for males. [9]
After the war, enrollment at Concordia increased during the academic year 1919-20, as veterans returned to finish their education. [10] Student life returned to its academic focus, but the College did not forget the war. As Germany rose as a world terror at the dawn of World War II, again causing Concordia ‘s men to leave for war, the college’s women assumed similar roles in the war effort. Yet, the women of World War II would be capable of challenging and defying the stereotypical gender roles they were assigned.
Author: Layne Cole
Footnotes
[1] Concordia College, Crescent, Dec. 1917, 10.
[2] “Surgical Dressings Classes,” Moorhead Daily News, (Moorhead, MN) [hereafter MDN], Jan. 14, 1918.
[3] “Moorhead Red Cross News,” MDN, Feb. 7, 1918; “Moorhead Red Cross News,” MDN, Mar. 6, 1918.
[4] “Postponed,” MDN, May 17, 1918.
[5] “Flu Ban off Wednesday,” MDN Nov. 4, 1918.
[6] “C.C. Students Raise $1,700,” MDN, Jan. 31, 1918.
[7] “A Service Flag,” MDN, Mar. 7, 1918.
[8] Joseph M. Shaw, History of St. Olaf College 1874-1974 (Northfield, MN: St. Olaf College Press, 1974), 204.
[9] Conrad Peterson, Remember Thy Past: A History of Gustavus Adolphus College, 1862-1952 (St. Peter, MN: Gustavus Adolphus College Press, 1953), 80.
[10] Concordia College Archives, “Concordia Quick Facts – ‘Enrollment’,” concordiacollegearchives.weebly.com, accessed May 17, 2016.