When war was declared upon Germany by the United States, the people of Wooster and Wayne County had only a vague and hazy idea of The American Red Cross, the greatest of all the War charity organizations. It was known, in a general way, that the Red Cross had done wonders on the battlefields of Europe in the care of wounded soldiers, in the hospitals where the maimed men were given medical and surgical treatment, and in war-devastated areas, where civilian relief work was carried on. America's entrance into the war meant, ultimately, the sending of thousands of men into battle, and the Red Cross, true to its principles, sought expansion in every state in the union on a scale sufficiently large to do for Uncle Sam's soldiers at least as much as overseas Red Cross workers had accomplished for the fighting men of all belligerent nations, and the distressed portion of the civilian population. The development of the Red Cross work in Wayne County was taken up promptly, and on May 29th, 1917, less than two months after the declaration of war, authority was granted to a temporary organization effected in Wooster to form a Chapter of the American National Red Cross, to be known as the Wayne County Chapter, and to embrace in its jurisdiction all territory in the county except such parts as were designated for organization in a different Chapter. Upon its final assignment of territory, the Wayne County Chapter included all of the territory in the county, save Chippewa Township and Milton Township, which were included in the Wadsworth district. The authoriza tion to form a chapter here was granted on the express condition, as stated on the official form "that the proposed Chapter shall conform to the regulations and policies of the American National Red Cross; that the central committee reserves the right to cancel it for any reason regarded by that committee as sufficient; that the right to change the territorial jurisdiction of a Chapter by enlargement or division is at all times vested in the central committee; and that the proposed chapter shall be organized within two months after receipt of this authorization." State Director F. E. Abbott signed the authorization. The persons authorized as a temporary committee on organization were: Mrs. G. W. Orcutt, Edith G. Yocum, Mrs. W. B. Slutz, Dr. L. A. Yocum, Mrs. Harry Newman, Prof. Chas. E. Thorne, Arletta Warren, Dr. Geo. N. Luccock, Dr. Jean Douglass, Jane Warner, Dr. G. W. Orcutt and Mrs. C. G. Williams. All were residents of Wooster. The preliminary work, which brought about this authorization to form a Chapter here, was begun on the very day that war was declared. The Daughters of the American Revolution, at a meeting held on April 6th, decided in response to President Wilson's request that Red Cross work be begun in every community, to send letters of inquiry to Washington and to Cleveland, the latter city being the nearest point at which Red Cross organization had been attempted. On April 12th a reply from Washington stated that this county was included in the territory under the jurisdiction of the Central Division, with headquarters at Chicago, where J. J. O'Connor was Director. On April 21st a letter came from Mr. O'Connor, giving methods of procedure and a blauk petition. This petition was properly filled out and forwarded to Chicago, together with the required fee of $10. Meanwhile a Red Cross confer ence was held in Chicago, the territory was subdivided and Ohio was placed under the direction of Mr. Abbott, of Cleveland, who, on May 29th, delegated to the committee named above the authority to elect local officers and a Board of Directors. This committee held its first meeting June 2nd at the home of Mrs. Orcutt, where the following officers were elected: Chairman-Dr. Geo. W. Ryall. Vice Chairman-Mrs. G. W. Orcutt. Board of Directors-Mahlon Rouch, Dr. Geo. N. Luccock, Prof. C. G. Williams, Mrs. O. A. Hills, Mrs. Walter G. Whitaker, Mrs. Andrew Reiman, Mrs. John Wright, Mrs. William Jolliff, Mrs. W. D. Tyler, Mrs. Lucien Lautzenheiser, Mrs. H. N. Mateer, Mrs. G. C. Maurer, Miss Mildred Clark, Mrs. L. A. Woodard, Mrs. F. E. Boigegrain, Mrs. Joseph Reinicke, Mrs. James B. Taylor, Dr. Jean Douglass, Dr. L. A. Yocum, Dr. Elias Compton, Joseph G. Sanborn, Mrs. Samuel Bell, Mrs. D. J. Foss, Mrs. John Myers, Mrs. Herman Freedlander, Mrs. John D. Overholt, Mrs. Albert Shupe, Mrs. E. C. Dix, Dr. David A. Heron, J. W. Hooke, W. A. Weygandt, Miss Myrtle Weber, Mrs. Geo. W. Ryall, Mrs. W. B. Slutz. Members Ex-Officio-Dr. J. Campbell White, Prof. G. C. Maurer, Mayor Forbes Alcock, Judge C. A. Weiser, Prof. Chas. E. Thorne. The newly organized Chapter held its first large meeting on the afternoon of June 5th at the Methodist Church. It was attended by several hundred women, and about fifteen men, and was presided over by Mrs. Orcutt. Mrs. W. D. Tyler urged the ladies to purchase Liberty Bonds. Miss Elizabeth Mateer gave a brief history of the American Red Cross, and Miss Edith Yocum told what had been done locally. About eighty new members were added to the organization, making the total considerably over one hundred. Mrs. David Metzler sang "America", fininshing with the new war-time verse, this being the first time it was sung in Wooster publicly. The words were: God Bless our splendid men Make them victorious They are so dear to us- A county-wide interest in Red Cross was almost immediately manifested and within a few weeks Auxiliaries to the County Chapter were being formed in the different communities. The Red Cross activities soon attained such proportions that it was found necessary to divide the work into different sections in order that it could be adequately and properly superintendent and directed. The task of carrying on the knitting, the sewing and the making of surgical dressings was assigned exclusively to the ladies and became known as the Women's Work Department. The mission of securing subscriptions of cash and pledges for the county's share of the National Red Cross War Fund was delegated to the War Fund Department. The Women's Work Department was still further divided. Mrs. G. W. Orcutt was made the general Chairman, and Supervisor of Sewing; Mrs. Johnson Sweeney was made Supervisor of the production of Surgical Dressings; and Mrs. H. B. Swartz was made Supervisor of Knitting. These ladies had jurisdiction over the Branches and Auxiliaries of the county, as well as the work in Wooster city. Miss Yocum felt unable to continue her work as Secretary and Mrs. Don J. Foss was elected to the position December 4, 1917. She served until July when it was decided to have the Secretary of the Home Service act also as Chapter Secretary. Early in 1918 the County Chapter decided to have a paid secretary for the Home Service and Miss Elizabeth Maize was selected for this place. Offices were opened on the second floor of the city hall and maintained there throughout the period of the war, and afterwards. All of the records of the organization were placed in charge of the Secretary, and the general work of the organization was done through this office after the Home Service and Chapter Secretaryships were combined. The men of the county were enrolled principally in two departments, The Home Service Section, of which Mr. L. A. Woodard was Chairman, and the War Fund Department, presided over by County Chairman Ryall, who selected men to conduct each of several drives for funds. HOW THE MONEY WAS RAISED The task of raising the money needed to carry on the work of the Red Cross was a gigantic one, but effective organization, a host of willing workers, and a patriotic community which responded nobly to every call enabled Wayne County to exceed each quota assigned. June 18th, which On June 25th, 1917, the first drive was launched. The goal was $15,000, this being Wayne County's quota. The nation-wide drive had been started some two weeks previously, and an educational campaign had been in progress in Wayne County. Dr. M. J. Lichleiter, of Cleveland, addressed a meeting at the city opera house on stirred up patriotism. On the following evening Roberts, who had served in the armies of England in gave a war talk before the men of the Country Club. soldier who had seen actual front-line service, to give an address in Wooster. Lieut. Roberts' description of battlefield scenes, and his plea for funds for the Red Cross brought forth subscriptions amounting to $4,300, deemed, at that time, remarkable. There was some confusion in the conduct of this first campaign in the matter of Red Cross donations, and Red Cross membership. The sum of $1 per year made one a member of the organization. Donations to the war fund were outright gifts, carrying no membership privileges with them. In the campaign in Wooster Herman Freedlander was at the helm, having been appointed by Chairman Ryall to conduct the drive. Campaign headquarters was The Wooster Business Men's Association. Mr. Freedlander's sister, Mrs. H. E. Newman, was in charge of the office. The teams which worked in Wooster were as follows: No. 1-Dr. W. Nold Hoelzel and Henry Boigegrain. No. 2-S. H. Dawson and Judge R. L. Adair. No. 4 George Lautzenheiser and C. L. Pippitt. No. 6-George C. Palmer and W. G. Whitaker. No. 7-George Quinby and Jacob Fredrick. No. 8-W. R. Curry (chairman) and Factory committee. The largest donors during this drive were The Kelly-Springfield Tire Co., with $1,500, and The Medina Gas & Fuel Co., with $1,000. These organizations, it will be noted, were both controlled outside of Wooster. Their main offices were in New York City. The nation's metropolis and cities in the east had absorbed the war spirit much more thoroughly than had Wayne County at this time. Later on the generosity of our home people and our home concerns easily equalled the best efforts of the East, but it must be admitted that in this initial Red Cross campaign the East was in the lead. Mr. Freedlander pressed the campaign here with his customary energy and brought it to a successful conclusion. Wooster and vicinity contributed $10,000. In other parts of the county the campaign was much slower than in Wooster in getting under way, and in some townships, the work was not completed until midsummer. Final reports showed that the total contribution from Wayne County reached $16,200, or $1,200 more than the quota. The office of the War Fund Department after the intensive cam. paign, was moved to the office of County School Superintendent G. U. Baumgardner, and later on to an upstairs room in the Court House, Mrs. Newman remaining in charge, with Miss Edith Yocum the Secretary, on duty a portion of the time. In October the War Fund office was moved to the northeast corner of the public square and merged with that of other Red Cross Departments. The first Christmas drive for members was conducted in December, 1917, with Postmaster Wesley H. Zaugg at the helm. In Wooster city Mrs. W. B. Slutz was chairman of a committee of 100 ladies, who made a house to house canvass, enrolling a very large number of new mem |