Richmond’s Commercial Club wanted the city to be involved in the war effort beyond buying war bonds and planting gardens. A unique opportunity presented itself in May of 1918. Automobiles…
This week marks the anniversary of the Battle of Midway, which was the turning point of World War II in the Pacific theater. One of Richmond’s earliest casualties in the…
Many people are at least familiar with the Victory Gardens of World War II, but a generation earlier, the federal government, in a nearly identical program, urged citizens to plant…
After several cancellations due to inclement weather, Richmond finally unfurled its Community Service Flag on February 4, 1918. The ceremony was part of a day-long war conference staged by the…
In this season of Christmas shopping, I want to share what patriotic gift giving looked like in December 1917. It’s pretty jarring by today’s standards, but there it is, Monday, December…
In the Summer of 1917 the War Department asked the American Library Association to head up efforts to provide libraries to army training camps. The first step was to raise…
Richmond held another parade on September 3, 1917 for the purpose of sending off the first Army enlistees the next day. This one started at Fourth and Main Streets and…
One hundred years ago the people of East Germantown thought it would be a good idea to change the name of their town, but that decision came with a…
During a recent Master Naturalist class at the Cope Environmental Center, respected herpetologist John Iverson of Earlham College was asked about rattlesnakes in Wayne County. Judging from the nodding heads…
As anyone who has viewed the recent PBS American Experience documentary “The Great War” knows, the Harlem Hellfighters was the nickname of the 369th Infantry Regiment. It was an African-American…