By Mick Woodcock

During World War I, home front war work was an important part of the effort to win the war. From the very beginning, national organizations were asked to participate in various ways.  This would trickle down to local communities such as Prescott and other towns in Arizona.

One of the organizations was the Boy Scouts of America. It was incorporated nationally in 1910 and chartered by Congress in 1916.  It proved immediately popular in the Arizona Territory with the first two troops organized in Prescott in 1910 and another in Tombstone shortly thereafter. The Tombstone troop had the foresight to make Territorial Historian Sharlot M. Hall an honorary member.

An April 25, 1917, headline in Prescott’s newspaper, the Weekly Journal-Miner stated:  “APPEAL TO SCOUTS TO FEED SOLDIERS.”   It went on to explain that the national head of the Boy Scouts, James E. West, had wired Prescott’s scoutmaster to ask his scouts to raise crops.

The editor of the paper observed:  “It is unlikely that Prescott vacant and back lots can be turned into vegetable gardens with profit, on account of the high cost of water.  It is possible, however, to double or nearly treble the acreage in crops in Yavapai County, by taking up once more thousands of acres of lands abandoned since the advent of the ‘air-tight’ form of food made it unnecessary for pioneers to raise their own foodstuffs.  Boy Scouts, it is thought, can best assist this work by missionary work among their elders, bringing home to the old chaps the absolute necessity of utilizing every scrap of arable land for the production of foods.”  Thus, the scouts’ contribution was focused on encouraging anyone who could farm to do more.

Beyond the Boy Scouts, Prescott’s Salvation Army and Y.W.C.A. did some war-support work.  Ultimately, though, the most visible and influential organization was the American Red Cross, in spite of the fact that the Red Cross was small, understaffed and underfunded as a national organization when the U.S. entered the war in 1917.

The Weekly Journal-Miner reported on April 11, 1917, that the women of Prescott had formed three Red Cross Divisions with Division 1 being made up of unmarried women, Division 2 married women with no children and Division 3 married women with children.  These were organized in numerical order and training started with Division 1.  Initial training was of a medical nature with instruction sessions by local doctors and nurses.

Local fraternal organizations such as the I.O.O.F. and the Elks Lodge voluntarily earmarked funds that they raised to go to the local Red Cross Divisions to buy supplies. According to the April 25, 1917, Weekly Journal-Miner, fund raising extended out into the county.  “Clearing about a thousand dollars for the Red Cross, the series of entertainments given last week by the ladies of Humboldt stand out as the most effective means yet employed in Arizona for raising funds for this worthy cause.  A combination of a bazaar, amateur theatricals and dance Friday and Saturday nights proved a winner, and the net proceeds were of generous proportions.”

It turned out that fund raising was the easiest part of the work.  Chapters in Camp Verde, Ash Fork, Mayer, Humboldt and Prescott conducted almost continual fundraisers.  Money was raised by the thousands of dollars, including the proceeds of a benefit show by Tom Mix, to buy and make items for soldiers.

By December 1917 the Prescott Red Cross workers had made so many items that they had no place to store them at the room given them at the High School.  Christmas boxes had been sent and comfort kits distributed, but still the collection of surgical dressings, knitted goods including sweaters and socks, and pajamas for soldiers was too much.  Finally, in May of 1918 the local Red Cross got workrooms in the courthouse.

The Armistice of November 11, 1918, did not stop local Red Cross work.  An article in the December 18, 1918, Weekly Journal-Miner stated, “The Red Cross has decided to conduct no more war fund drives.  Activity will center entirely on this Christmas Roll Call.  In this campaign, the ‘greatest mother in the world’ does not ask for money.  She asks only for co-operation. ‘All you need is a heart and a dollar.’  Remember to join the Red Cross before the end of the week.”

“Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.sharlothallmuseum.org/library-archives/days-past. The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles to dayspastshmcourier@gmail.com. Please contact SHM Library & Archives reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at dayspastshmcourier@gmail.com for information.