A recruiting station opened in Mankato on March, 27 1917. Thirty days later 47 young men from Blue Earth County had signed up to fight and by July 1st, over 300 men had enlisted.
While these brave soldiers went to fight, the people at home did their part. A Red Cross chapter was organized on April 16-17 1917. These women knitted sweaters and socks and sent care packages, which included hospital supplies, to soldiers who were camped or in trenches in Europe.
Mankato citizens, like citizens all across the United States, were also on rations during the war. Each citizen had to apply for a ration book that was issued by the federal government. These books told clerks at grocery stores how much of each type of food that person was allowed. Food was rationed because there was less of it as farmers went off to war and much of the food was shipped to soldiers fighting in Europe. The government stepped in and rationed the remaining food so that all Americans would have the basic staples (sugar, flour, etc.). At one point during the War, a customer in a Mankato grocery store would have been able to buy:
6 pounds of flour per week and was required to buy flour substitutes such as cornmeal, buckwheat flour, rolled oats, etc.
3 pounds of sugar per month
1 pound of coffee per month
Gasoline, tires, tin cans, and typewriters were among other items rationed during the war. All tin cans used in homes had to be turned in to the grocer to be recycled into either more tin cans or some kind of machinery. Mankato citizens also donated large amounts of aluminum pans to the War effort. This aluminum was then melted down and used to make airplanes and other machinery.
World War I ended on November 11, 1918 when an armistice was signed. Of those who had enlisted or been drafted, 50 young men from Blue Earth County had been wounded or gassed in battle in France. The first casualty from Blue Earth County was Glenn Campbell. Thirty-two soldiers died in Europe from pneumonia brought on by the Spanish Influenza. Nineteen young men were killed in action between August 1, 1918 and the end of war during the expulsion of the Germans from France.
The city of Mankato rejoiced at the end of the War and held a huge celebration on July 4, 1919 for the returned soldiers. A parade was held and over 500 people marched through the city streets rejoicing.
Learn more about World War I:
World War I : Trenches on the
Web
Source:
In the World War 1917-1918-1919. The Free Press Company. Mankato, MN. 1920.
Free Press Articles published 1917-1919.
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