I shared a photo of my grandmother Eveline Coates’ high school graduating class in Mystic, Iowa a few weeks (now months!) ago. Along with the photo and her diploma, a couple of other mementos were saved. One is the program for the Junior-Senior Banquet in honor of the graduating Seniors. It was interesting to see how World War I seemed to be the overarching theme of the festivities. I decided to take a deeper look at what her life may have been like during the 1917-1918 school year. There was a lot going on, a war and the beginning of an influenza pandemic to name the two biggies. The list of related posts is getting long, so I’ll link them at the bottom.
Stahr, Paul, Be Patriotic (United States: United States Food Administration, 1918).
Readers of the local newspapers published in Appanoose County had read about the national food campaign since before the U. S. joined the war in the spring of 1917. Once the U.S. went to war, the food campaign intensified. Herbert Hoover, who headed the U. S. Food Administration, didn’t hold back, telling Americans to stop eating so much!
1917 Jun 4, Centerville Daily Iowegian and Citizen, Centerville, Iowa
On October 15th, local readers might have seen a sample pledge card in preparation for the upcoming food pledge week later in October (immediately following a Liberty Bond campaign).
1917 Oct 15, Semi Weekly Iowegian, Centerville, Iowa
Although the food pledge campaign was not exactly new at this point, a couple of days before the above, the paper published an article providing the back story to the food pledge campaign, hoping to encourage a majority of families to join the effort to save food to help the war effort. Most of the publicity was directed to women, who were told that their domestic duties were needed to win the war. They would be Kitchen Soldiers. One of their first assignments: sign the food pledge.
11 Oct 1917 Centerville Daily Iowegian and Citizen, Centerville, Iowa All of the thread below are part of the same article.
Women of Iowa were asked to sign the pledge, which would allow the government to create a mailing list to communicate directly with them.
The campaign started six weeks earlier, but hit some snags, so the government wanted to quash any misunderstandings and make a further appeal to the housewives of Iowa. Those who didn’t sign on, well, they would represent a new class of “slackers.”
Readers were told that college girls, fraternal organizations, and churches had joined the movement..
School children would be assigned a special essay on October 15th, to be titled: “Why Every American Family Should Sign the Food Pledge Card.”
The final pitch.
Just as it would have been nearly impossible to avoid the Red Cross membership and fundraising drives, it would have been equally difficult to miss the call to join the food campaign. I think I can safely assume that a canvas worker knocked on the door of the Coates family home; the working men were approached at work; and the school children heard their teachers talk about the need to conserve food. Eveline must have written an essay about the importance of signing the food pledge. If Eveline’s mother, or Eveline herself, signed the pledge, they may have hung one of these cards in the window of their home.
National Archives at College Park, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
No one was too young to help win the war. Eat no wheat for breakfast and clean your plate.
Cushman Parker, Little Americans, Do Your Bit (United States: United States Food Administration, 1917).
This is my very late contribution to Sepia Saturday, where a child with a similar hairstyle stands tall on a chair, ready to do her bit.
I shared a photo of my grandmother Eveline Coates’ high school graduating class in Mystic, Iowa a few weeks (now months!) ago. Along with the photo and her diploma, a couple of other mementos were saved. One is the program for the Junior-Senior Banquet in honor of the graduating Seniors. It was interesting to see how World War I seemed to be the overarching theme of the festivities. I decided to take a deeper look at what her life may have been like during the 1917-1918 school year. There was a lot going on, a war and the beginning of an influenza pandemic to name the two biggies. The list of related posts is getting long, so I’ll link them at the bottom.
Three Faces In Search Of A Back Story : Edited Detail of Third Party Print (See 2013.09W.12) Sepia Saturday 634 Theme Image
Alan’s prompt photo and title provided the perfect words to describe this series: “Three Faces In Search Of A Back Story.” This series about my grandmother during her senior year of high school has been a search for the back story to the military-themed senior reception her class celebrated in May 1918. I dived in deeper than I initially planned or expected and I have certainly learned a lot. Not so much about Eveline and her family in particular, but the family in the context of their time and place. I think today is a good time for me to look back at what I have learned so far. I have read a lot and searched so many news items, that I think I need a mini refresher as I begin to close the series.
I expected to read about the influenza epidemic hitting Eveline’s home town. I didn’t find cases of influenza. Instead, the prominent infectious disease was smallpox. Eveline had it in November 1917.
Eveline’s older brothers, Carl and John, were required to register for the draft in June 1917. As a married man with a child expected any day, Carl was exempt from service. John awaited his draft number being called.
Eveline became an aunt for the first time when Carl’s daughter, Pauline, was born in late June 1917.
Eveline hosted her classmates for a party in July at the covered bridge.
I learned a little more about the town of Mystic. The population was about 2700, the streets were unpaved, and it was experiencing a boom due to the increased production of coal. A large percentage of the population were immigrants, as were Eveline’s parents. I located photos of several of the buildings in town and learned more about the Interurban, which ran between Mystic and the county seat, Centerville. And I learned about some of the entertainment and community gatherings of the time.
I had always wondered what mines Eveline’s family worked in, where the mines were located, and where their home was located. I was able to map their locations. Carl and John worked mine #12, which was pretty close to their home. Brother Joe worked at Twin Mines. I was not able to determine where her father worked, but I would guess the #12. I learned that the town ran on “mine time,” arising and eating and ending the day according to the mine whistles – the last one of the work day indicating if there would be work the following day. I could not find lists of union membership, but the miners had an active union, there were walkouts during this time, and I was surprised to learn that Mother Jones came to speak to the miners.
Some of the political issues of the time were enforcement of the “blue law” in the county, the national push for suffrage, and the temperance movement. Once the United States joined the war, things changed for everyone. The young men enlisted and the people of Mystic watched their “boys” leave for training and for France. Although I assume there was already a fairly strong commitment to civic life, once the nation joined the war, people were called upon to show their patriotism and support in new and numerous ways: through financial and volunteer support of the Red Cross, the Y.M.C.A., Liberty Bonds, War Stamps … And some immigrant populations, especially German immigrants, came under suspicion as possible supporters of the enemy.
There remains another likely influence on Eveline’s life during her senior year that I have yet to write about – the politics of food.
I’ll close with a postcard I recently acquired of Walnut Creek in Mystic.
I have a couple of undated photos taken at Walnut Creek, several years later than Eveline’s senior year of high school, I think.
Eveline Coates Wading in Walnut Creek, Mystic, Iowa
The cursive handwriting is Eveline’s. The printed handwriting is my mother’s.
And this one of Alice Tingle. Alice is next to Eveline in the class photo at the top. Alice married Eveline”s brother Joe.
Alice Tingle Coates at Walnut Creek, Mystic, Iowa
Please visit other Sepia Saturday participants here: Sepia Saturday.
I shared a photo of my grandmother Eveline Coates’ high school graduating class in Mystic, Iowa a few weeks (now months!) ago. Along with the photo and her diploma, a couple of other mementos were saved. One is the program for the Junior-Senior Banquet in honor of the graduating Seniors. It was interesting to see how World War I seemed to be the overarching theme of the festivities. I decided to take a deeper look at what her life may have been like during the 1917-1918 school year. There was a lot going on, a war and the beginning of an influenza pandemic to name the two biggies. The list of related posts is getting long, so I’ll link them at the bottom.
The prompt photo from Sepia Saturday made me think of social gatherings – and gossip. Be forewarned – I’ll be galloping all over the place in this post. I’ve gleaned so many little tidbits from old newspapers and it’s a shame not to use them after all those hours of reading. But I’d also like to finish this series before my hair turns completely gray, so the chase is on!
Like most local newspapers at the time, the papers that served Appanoose County had columns devoted to the comings and goings of the townspeople. Who had callers, who went shopping in another town, who is sick, weddings, funerals … There are mentions of parties and picnics and ice cream socials, and if a researcher is lucky, names are named. Unfortunately, Eveline’s family rarely made mention in the newspaper. I suppose the names that show up frequently belong to the families of professionals, business owners and mine owners – not so much the families of the mine workers.
I did find that one mention of Eveline having a party at the bridge during the summer before her senior year. What might Eveline and her friends have talked about? If the party was just her girl friends, I’d guess cute boys, “mean” teachers, movies and movie stars, who has smallpox, and whose older brother might be called up for duty next. But the newspaper says she entertained her class for the party, so maybe there were some cute boys there to talk to rather than talk about – looking a bit like the smiling young woman in the prompt photo? Eveline had just become an aunt, so she may have bragged about her niece.
A story the young people may have enjoyed involved the day marshal losing his pants.
03 July 1917 Centerville Daily Iowegian and Citizen, Centerville, Iowa
Would a group of teenagers have talked about the scoundrel who fleeced an elderly woman by pretending to be an eye doctor? The news hit the local paper just days before Eveline’s party.
14 Jul 1917 Centerville Daily Iowegian and Citizen, Centerville, Iowa
Did any of them plan to attend the special feature at the Strand Theater about the war in France?
25 Jul 1917 Centerville Daily Iowegian and Citizen, Centerville, Iowa
I wonder what food Eveline served at her party. Sandwiches? Homemade root beer? Apple slices? Cookies? Cake?
There were several recipes in the newspaper that summer and I decided to try one. Two that sounded good (because I have a sweet tooth) and easy are a recipe for gingersnaps and spice cake. I decided to bake the cake because it is just too hot to keep opening the oven for cookies. (Day 42 of triple digit temperatures this summer. Ugh!) I even made it without using an electric mixer. I think this cake would have made a fine addition to Eveline’s party, or any social gathering.
The recipe said it is good warm, and it is!
A big event in September was Mystic’s Fall Institute.
Although referred to as the fourth annual farmers’ institute, this event was not just of interest to farmers. Thursday was miners’ day, and with notable speakers. It appears that John P. White, although scheduled to attend, was not there. But “Mother” Jones was. That was a surprise to me.
Here is how the day was described in the local newspaper. (I’ve divided the article into sections.)
Mother Jones looks matronly and perhaps motherly in the photo below, taken after a visit to the White House in 1924. She certainly aged well.
Mother Jones and Theo. Roosevelt, Jr. United States, 1924. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/94508005/.
The video below is a reenactment of a speech Mother Jones gave in West Virginia in 1920. Although it is not her speaking, you can get a sense of her fiery style. Mother Jones was 86 in 1917 and gave the speech below in 1920. I didn’t know much about Mother Jones before I started working on this post. She was quite a woman.
Mother Jones’ maiden and given name was Mary Harris – the same name as Eveline’s mother. I wonder if that added even more incentive for the Coates family to hear her speak. The paper reported that the crowd packed the Strand Theater.
Even if Eveline wasn’t interested in the speeches, she may have wandered the displays, listened to the band, and watched the parade. I’ll bet people talked about the Fourth Annual Farmers’ Institute for weeks.
In October, local high school girls prepared Christmas bags for soldiers in France. Eveline’s brother John had registered for the draft and was awaiting his call to service. I can imagine that Eveline would be interested in helping with this effort. The assembly of the bags would have necessitated a few gatherings of the girls and they planned to make an additional fifty. I had to look up what kind of fabric cretonne is: a strong cotton or linen cloth used especially for curtains and upholstery.
22 Oct 1917 Semi Weekly Iowegian, Centerville, Iowa
The temperance movement was active in Appanoose County. A plan for a county campaign was made in September. An important part of that plan was to involve all of the churches in the county.
There was no alcohol in adult Eveline’s home. An aunt told me that my grandfather brought home beer one time and Grandma poured it down the sink. I guess the prohibition movement had a lasting impact on her. As a teenager, what were her thoughts on a woman’s right to vote? We never talked about it, nor do I know if and how regularly she voted. Her parents never became naturalized citizens, so they never voted, but her brothers would be able to vote. The autobiography she wrote when she was sixteen showed me that she had some spunk, a competitive streak, and that she sometimes got a little riled up over perceived injustice. But I can’t know her opinion. I also wonder if and how these issues were talked about in school.
November brought a short-lived walk-out at nine of the mines in Mystic. I didn’t fully research the ins and outs of the wage dispute, but the local union leaders were in talks by mid October. Perhaps Mother Jones set a fire under them. Walk outs and strikes affect everyone in a mining community, so it must have been on many a mind and tongue.
06 Nov 1917 Marshalltown Evening Times, Marshalltown, Iowa
Another political issue that had tongues wagging and letters to the editor being written was enforcement of the “blue laws” that had evidently not been strictly enforced previously.
During the winter months, there was a blizzard that shut things down for a few days – including trains and pay checks. In an effort to save fuel, the Methodist Church offered to host other congregations in their building.
28 Jan 1918 Semi Weekly Iowegian, Centerville, Iowa
The local law enforcement made several raids and arrests for gambling and drunkenness during the spring. All fodder for gossip.
18 Mar 1918 Semi Weekly Iowegian, Centerville, Iowa
I’ll end on a positive note.
11. Feb 1918 Semi Weekly Iowegian, Centerville, Iowa
Shortly after graduation, Eveline took a course to be eligible to teach. I’m sure that this commendation gave her a sense of pride in her school and teachers.
Thank you for sticking with me on the hunt for news and gossip. I have more! But not for today.
