WWI Navy Poster

CJ Trussoni

Catalog Number: 1989.032.01

The question on this poster is relatively simple: “Will YOU supply EYES for the NAVY?”

Copyright La Crosse County Historical Society

At first glance this may appear to be a recruiting poster. Instead, it is encouraging people to turn in their binoculars and spy glasses for use in the Navy.

One dollar per accepted item — which in 1918 would have the buying power that $17 has today — and a promise to return the borrowed items at the end of the war. Which war you might ask? The Great War.

While World War I had started in 1914, the U.S. did not enter the war until 1917. Until then, the national policy had been one of relative isolationism.

However, ties to Britain, anti-German propaganda and the sinking of ships by German U-boats propelled the country to enter the conflict. The U.S. declared war on April 6, 1917.

And the country’s anti-German sentiment wasn’t just directed at a foreign power. Wisconsin came under a critical eye from the rest of the country due to its large German-American population, active Socialist party and the anti-war sentiments of U.S. Sen. and former Gov. Robert La Follette. These factors caused Wisconsin to earn the nickname of the “traitor state.”

These suspicions didn’t stop its citizens from pitching in and doing their part for the war effort, as the poster suggests they should do. A local newspaper in June 1918 reported that manufacturers in La Crosse, Monroe and the surrounding counties organized to “increase and expedite production for war purposes, in accordance with the plan laid down for the war industries board.”

Wisconsin was also the first state to implement meatless and wheatless days to help make supplies stretch during food rationing.

Wisconsin contributions to the Great War didn’t end at the homefront. The 32nd National Guard Division, known as the Red Arrow Division, was composed entirely of Wisconsin and Michigan troops. It had the distinction of providing the first U.S. troops to set foot on enemy soil in World War I. The division’s shoulder patch, a line shot through with a red arrow, symbolizes the fact that the 32nd Division penetrated every German line of defense that it faced.

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on September 8, 2018.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.

WWI Food Conservation Pamphlets

Emily Patwell

In 1914, talk of war began bubbling to the surface in the U.S.

Copyright La Crosse County Historical Society

On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson called on Congress for a special joint session regarding involvement in the ongoing war in Europe. Congress voted upon whether to join the Allies, and while many Congressmen such as John Esch of La Crosse voted against the resolution, it nonetheless passed on April 6, 1917. Thus began the rallying for the war and the conservation of valuable wartime resources.

One of the most rationed resources was food, especially fresh produce and animal products. In March 1917, Charles Lathrop Pack organized the U. S. War Garden Commission, launching the first war garden, or “victory garden,” campaign. The public was encouraged to grow crops in private gardens and public parks in order to reduce the strain on the public food supply, and more than 5 million gardens were constructed to aid the war effort. In La Crosse, 378 student from Hamilton Elementary School used their victory gardens to grow and harvest bushels of beans and potatoes. Two students, Amy Rundhough and Eddie Balzer, even won prizes for their victory gardens.

As well as promoting the implementation of victory gardens, The U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Emergency Food Garden Commission, State Councils of Defense, and other organizations began educating the public on how to efficiently preserve food grown in victory gardens at home.

The NEFGC called preserving vegetables and fruits a “patriotic duty,” as America was “responsible for the food supply of her European Allies.” In its pamphlet for home canning, the NEFGC emphasized that elimination of food waste was an imperative part of supporting the war, and that crops easily available in the summer could be conserved at home for later use without waste. It also teaches the reader not only how to can efficiently at home, but how to do it safely by sterilizing equipment.

Wheat substitution helped conserve the grain for soldier rations in 1917, and during wartime the Agricultural Extension Service of the University of Wisconsin distributed pamphlets labeled “Other Kinds of Bread.” This informative pamphlet detailed how to use potatoes, barley, rye or other alternatives in recipes for bread and even desserts.

Another UW pamphlet shows how to preserve eggs. Waterglassing eggs, or preserving them in a solution of sodium silicate, was a common method. The pamphlet also showed the reader how to determine whether an egg was fresh via candling, as only fresh eggs were suitable for preservation.

Food preservation during the war helped assure victory for the Allies during WWI.

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on September 1, 2018.

John Esch's House of Representatives Chair

Emily Patwell

Catalog Number: 2001.031.01

Copyright La Crosse County Historical Society

The Great War, known now as World War I, was a tumultuous time for many in Wisconsin. Founded in large part by German immigrants and their descendants, the state found itself torn between its country and its people. Almost unanimously anti-war, Wisconsinites worried over how fighting against Germany would affect their treatment during and after the war, as well as neutral rights and war taxes.

John Jacob Esch, a Wisconsin congressman from the La Crosse area, sympathized with the concerns of his fellow Wisconsinites. The son of a German immigrant himself, he listened to the pleas of his constituents to stay out of the war, reading and even keeping many of their letters to him. Esch himself had concerns about President Woodrow Wilson’s eagerness for war, and according to his constituents’ wishes, voted against the 1917 war resolution.

Though the war resolution passed, Esch remained a patriot. He directed his efforts as congressman to quickly end the war, voting to initiate a draft to swiftly built an army and for other legislation to aid the war effort, such as the public use of railroads for the war.

Before his 22-year tenure in Congress, Esch was a local Wisconsinite like many of his constituents. Born in Norwalk in 1861, his family moved to Milwaukee in 1865, and then to Sparta in 1871. He attended the University of Wisconsin, earning his law degree and passing the bar in 1887 before settling in La Crosse to practice law with the firm Winter, Morris, Esch, and Holmes.

Esch was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1898, and held his position as congressman until he was succeeded by Joseph Beck on March 3, 1921. At the time, he was one of the first Wisconsin congressmen to serve for more than 20 years, and both Democrats and Republicans cheered for him as he retired from the House. His interest in his constituents’ concerns, hard work and patriotism were well-reflected in his work as a congressman and his later work with the Interstate Commerce Commission and American Peace Society.

This wooden swivel chair with leather padding is believed to be one of the chairs Esch used during his career as a congressman. He later took the chair with him, likely after a remodel, and kept it until his death in 1941. Esch’s granddaughter, Ann Cline, bequeathed the chair to the La Crosse County Historical Society in 2001. Accompanying the chair was a letter from the Architect of the Capitol, George M. White. White validated that this chair came from the House of Representatives.

John and Anna Esch are going to be portrayed in this year’s Discover the Silent City: “1918: The Great War and La Crosse.”

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on August 25, 2018.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.