World War I in La Plata County
The Red Cross
The Red Cross
Red Cross workers in the Colorado-New Mexico Fair on September 25, 1918. Photo by W.R. Rowland. Plate XXII of Little Pieces of Time
When the “Great War” started in Europe in 1914, the American Red Cross was still a small organization. With existing resources, there was little they could do to provide the medical supplies and personnel they knew Europe needed. They began fundraising and recruiting.
At first there was little support in the U.S. for the “European War.” But before the United States entered the war, the American Red Cross sent one ship, the SS Red Cross, to Europe. It was filled with medical personnel, supplies and equipment. Later known as the “Mercy Ship”, she bore a red banner down her side to indicate that this was a ship of peace.
By 1917, when the U.S. entered the War and the level of devastation in Europe became clear, U.S. citizens stepped up to support “our” Red Cross. What had been 107 U.S. chapters in 1914 grew to 3,864 chapters in 1918. Animas City, Durango, Bayfield, Ignacio, and rural granges all had very active groups. Red Cross volunteers made bandages, operating room gowns, pajamas, cold weather gear and comfort items for soldiers. During the summer, school children in Junior Red Cross Chapters made ambulance robes, bandages, and gun wipes for the troops.
In November 1917, the Durango Red Cross assembled “comfort kits” to send to local soldiers. The kits contained handkerchiefs, toiletries, pencils, and gum. The fundraising pitch urged the community to “show the boys…the home folks are thinking of them.” The Red Cross also offered support for local soldier’s families.
Members in all branches were urged to “subscribe,” committing to a monthly donation, for which they received the Red Cross pin for that year. The Ignacio Chieftain asked if readers were wearing their Red Cross buttons, noting, “If not, you are way out of style.”
Fundraising was also critical for Red Cross chapters. Fundraising dances and auctions were important parts of the community’s wartime social life. Local newspapers actively publicized these events, urging membership, and encouraging support for Red Cross activities.
In September 1918, the Durango Democrat reported the first Red Cross nurse to go overseas. “Miss Anna Lechner, daughter of Mrs. Mary Lechner of North Durango is first Red Cross nurse to leave Durango for duty ‘over there’. She is a graduate of Mercy School of Nursing of Denver and a volunteer for duty.”
In the fall of 1918 the Red Cross expanded their mission. Between the flu epidemic raging in the United States and the belief that wounded and ill troops would soon be returning home, the War Department and the U.S. Surgeon General turned to the American Red Cross. They recruited volunteer nurses and Durango opened an emergency hospital in downtown’s Durango Exchange building. Additionally, they organized a clothing drive for Belgium, devastated by years of war and facing harsh winter weather.
The generosity of the local community and the hard work of dedicated La Plata County Red Cross volunteers combined to provide critical humanitarian aid during the unprecedented crisis of a World War and global pandemic.
