The war work of the Public Library began on the day that
Germany invaded Belgium. From that day, newspapers,
books, magazines, maps and pamphlet material played an important
part in informing our people of the true situation, and in preparing
them for our entry into the War.
The first call for books for the camps was made through the
home papers on August 29, 1917. Three days later, 95
books and 850 magazines had been received at the Library
for immediate shipment. Owing to the shortage of transportation
facilities, the Library soon received orders not to ship any
more magazines, but the collection and forwarding of books went
on as long as the war lasted. The books given were nearly all
of excellent quality and good condition. Among them were several
entire sets of standard works, and the majority were valued books,
selected from our homes, and given in the finest possible spirit.
Those volumes needing repairs were mended and put in good
condition at the Library. The books were listed, sorted
and classified, and prepared with pockets, date slips and
book cards, all ready for circulation, before leaving our Library.
Students from the High School helped faithfully with this work,
and also with the careful wrapping and packing of the books for
shipment. Nine boxes, containing 565 selected books, were shipped
overseas.
770 books went to Camps in our own country, making 1,225
in all, that were sent out from the Brodhead Library.
The Boy Scouts collected many of the books, and innumerable
magazines, and helped in every way in the most reliable
manner. Some of the magazines were sold, with the permission
of the donors, to help defray shipping expenses, and others were
used in making scrapbooks for the Camp Hospitals. The Library
bought one hundred blank scrapbooks and furnished them at cost,
together with the old magazines, to citizens who made up attractive
scrapbooks for hospital use. Many of these were packed and shipped
by the Library.
Interesting letters were received from officers and men in
camps in the various parts of the United States, on ships on
the
high seas, and with the A.E.F. in England and France, telling
of the pleasure given by books sent into the service from Brodhead,
through the Library.
In helping to finance the Camp Libraries, our community did
its part from the beginning. The Library trustees were asked
by the War Department to collect and forward $150 for this
purpose, in September, 1917. Mr. W. H. Fleek, secretary of the
Library Board, with the assistance of Rev. E. W. Hale, promptly
secured and forwarded subscriptions for this amount.
In the spring of 1918, an exhibit of war bread was held at
the Library, lasting two weeks. The domestic science
department of the high school opened the exhibit, with sample
loaves of barley, rice, potato, corn, oatmeal and "Liberty"
bread, war-time Boston brown bread, and corn and potato muffins.
The local bakery sent over loaves of bread made with war flour,
and as the exhibit grew in interest, samples of war breads and
cakes were brought in from homes in town and from several of
the farm neighborhoods in Spring Valley [Rock County], Spring
Grove, Decatur and Avon [Rock County]. Women in every home were
experimenting with substitute flours, fats and sweets, and successful
recipes were eagerly sought. Hundreds of copies were typewritten
at the Library and given away during this exhibit. Printed recipes
furnished by the State were also given out.
The Government printed-matter in regard to canning and drying
fruit and vegetables, canning and curing meat, and the
preparation of meatless, wheatless and sugarless food and
the economical use of fuel were distributed through the Library.
Gardening books and pamphlets, instructions for spraying fruits
and vegetables, and for the care of eggs and poultry were furnished
to town and country borrowers.
During the war a special table was reserved for the display
of war books and pamphlets. Every effort was made to keep
at hand reliable books, maps, magazines and newspapers, in
order that citizens might have free access to the best authorities
on the war situation. Mrs. Martha Van Antwerp, a former citizen
of Brodhead, made a gift to the Library of the New York Times'
weekly pictorial issue, and also the large wall map of the Western
Front, published by the same paper. This map was given a prominent
place and the position of the armies was marked with colored
pins every day, as the news was received, attracting a great
deal of interest.
Patriotic material was furnished to speakers in this and
neighboring communities. Country schools as well as local
schools drew freely upon the resources of our Library.
One of the important services was the preservation and filing
for future use of pictures, maps and information of historic
value. Files of the local newspapers were preserved, and
in addition duplicate files were procured for clipping. With
the help of high school students and other interested citizens,
every item of local interest bearing on the war was clipped and
pasted on dated manila pages, thus making a complete local record
of war events in loose-leaf form, available for ready reference.
The historic value of such a record will increase as the years
go by, and it has already been of great service in compiling
this volume.
To Miss Jessie E. Sprague, our Librarian, great credit should
be given for the good work done by our Library all