HISTORY OF OAKLAND BRANCH OF BURT COUNTY
CHAPTER, AMERICAN RED CROSS SOCIETY

THE Oakland Branch of Burt County Chapter, American Red Cross Society was organized April 23, 1917. Its geographical limits, at the time of organizing, were Oakland City, north in the country three miles, east in the country to Bertha and south and west to the county lines, excepting that part of Craig township belonging to the Craig branch. Later a branch was organized at Bertha and several school districts were taken from the Oakland territory.

Chairman, W. W. Roberts; first vice chairman, Ethel Hopkins; second vice chairman, C. O. Stauffer; secretary, Mrs. W. E. Minier; treasurer, W. E. Minier.

Chairman, Mrs. Jennie Palmquist (resigned) succeeded by Oscar Johnson, November 3, 1918; first vice chairman, W. W. Roberts; second vice chairman, A. B. Peden; secretary, Mrs. W. E. Minier; treasurer, W. E. Minier.

W. W. Roberts, Ethel Hopkins, C. O. Stauffer, W. E. Minier, Mrs. W. E. Minier, Mrs. A. F. Wickstrom, Mrs. Oscar Samson, J. E. Wallace, S. A. Swenson.

Mrs. Jennie Palmquist, Oscar F. Johnson, W. W. Roberts, A. B. Peden, W. E. Minier, Mrs. W. E. Minier, C. O. Larson, Mrs. C. O. Larson, C. G. Carlton, Mrs. E. J. Askwig, E. J. Askwig, Mrs. John Kruse, Mrs. Gust W. Nelson, Mrs. Walter Sundell, Miss Nora Nelson, Dr. Packard, Mrs. A. F. Wickstrom, W. C. Osterberg.

Knitting - Mrs. W. W. Roberts, June 24, 1917 to January 31, 1918; Mrs. John Kruse, January 31, 1918. Garment making - Mrs. A. C. Holmquist, June 24, 1917 to November 10, 1917; Mrs. Jennie Palmquist, November 10, 1917. Surgical dressings - Miss Nora Nelson, February, 1918. Comfort kit - Mrs. W. E. Minier, May, 1917 to September, 1917; Mrs. E. J. Askwig, September, 1917. Finance - C. O. Stauffer, June 24, 1917. Canteen - A. B. Peden, September 25, 1917 to November 3, 1918; W. C. Osterberg, November 3, 1918. Civilian relief - Doctor R. M. Packard, December 13, 1917. School committee, Junior Red Cross - E. M. Short, May 4, 1918. Home nursing - Mrs. A. F. Wickstrom, November 3, 1918. Press committee - C. G. Carlton, April 23, 1917.

  Old ladies and ladies who were obliged to be at home almost all the time for one reason or another, chose knitting as their Red Cross work. Knitting at parties, at club meetings, on trains, etc., became a common spectacle. Garment making was done at the school house in a room set apart as the Red Cross room. Five committees in the country met regularly and did fine work. Surgical dressings was done three times a week in the rear of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank, and later at the school house. All work was done in caps and aprons for sanitary reasons.

  Comfort kits were cut out and distributed to ladies who were willing to make them up; this was done until Red Cross Headquarters ordered kits sent in and not distributed to home boys. Because Oakland wanted to furnish her boys on their

departure with comfort kits, the Eastern Star took over this work and the two Masonic orders here financed it.

  Finance committee was organized to devise ways and means of bringing money into the Red Cross treasury. These affairs were planned and carried out successfully.

	Red Cross activities at County Fair brought in .... $ 488.34
	Home Talent at Swedish Lutheran ...................   148.75
	Lecture by Rev. Stromberg .........................   120.50
	Lecture by Ross Hammond ...........................   119.00
	First drive for Red Cross Funds ................... 8,491.00
	Red Cross Auction sale ............................25,627.61
	Memberships ....................................... 2,636.25
	Interest, donations and small sales ............... 6,461.33
         	Grand total ......................................$44,092.78

  The grand total will probably be augmented by payments not yet made and interest. More funds could have been raised if there had been calls for them. Of the grand total raised, about $19,500.00 remains in the treasury, and is being used for Red Cross work, and $500.00 per month is being remitted to headquarters.

  Civilian relief committee was appointed to see to it that provision was made for the physical, material and human needs of families of absent soldiers.

  School committee for Junior Red Cross saw fit to organize this work on a limited scale, and in conjunction with the work of the adult Red Cross. Children from the fifth grade up came to belong to the Red Cross by virtue of working for it.

  Knitting done by 165 women aggregate: - 530 sweaters, 143 mufflers, 466 pairs socks, 139 pairs wristlets, 97 helmets, 25 washrags. Garment making done by 216 workers aggregate: - 1,965 garments, 1,893 hospital supplies, 713 refugee garments, 706 layette garments. Surgical dressings made by 51 workers aggregate: - 3,730 swipes, 2,820 compresses, 1,760 cotton pads, 120 five yard rolls, 125 three-yard rolls. Comfort kits made and given out aggregate 73. (Order of Eastern Star made others.)

  Civilian relief committee gave relief in a financial way to several families, and as advisors gave relief to many families and soldiers.

  Junior Red Cross has this record to submit: - The Camp Fire Girls made layettes for Belgian babies during summer of 1918. Girls of 7th and 8th grades made quilts and hemmed towels. Boys of 7th grade wrote letters to Oakland soldiers. Children from 5th to 8th grades inclusive collected addresses of all the Oakland soldiers and sailors in November, 1918, and then sent a Christmas letter and local Red Cross greetings to each one of them. The upper grade children in December, 1918, made one hundred neatly bound booklets for convalescent soldiers. The Domestic Art classes have hemmed pillow slips and also worked in connection with the Woman's Club on Belgian layettes.

  During the "Flu" epidemic at Camp Dodge when the request was sent out for nurses, the Oakland Red Cross financed our own Mrs. Burns, a registered nurse, who served there for two weeks. Mrs. Burns left her two small children to serve and risk her life for her country. The Oakland Red Cross ladies never failed to make their regular quota and previous to quotas being assigned, they made considerable more than their quota. The reason there was not more work done and more money raised, was that it was not needed.

OAKLAND BRANCH AMERICAN RED CROSS OFFICIALS

CHAMPION KNITTERS OF BURT COUNTY, NEBRASKA

TO the noble band of women who threw their whole energy into the great work of providing knitted garments for the soldiers, much honor is due. To these women who made records in knitting, no urging was needed, they began the work soon after this country entered the war. They knew that the patriotic women played a great part in the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865; the needs of the army in this world war appealed to them as requiring their greatest effort.

  In both Oakland and Lyons the contest was so close that each sent in two for me to decide. I gave it to Mrs. B. W. Everett, at Lyons. She is 79 years young, a pioneer lady who came here with her husband in 1866, they were one of the first settlers in the Logan valley at Lyons, where she experienced the privations on the frontier, and dispensed true hearted hospitality and neighborly kindness to the new settlers as they came in later.

  Mrs. N. P. Erikson of Oakland, age 77 years, won with a record of 58 sweaters, 11 pairs socks, 2 helmets and 1 pair wristlets. Mrs. R. H. Thurber, chairman of the knitting committee at Craig was awarded the honor of being the champion knitter in the Craig branch of the American Red Cross. Mrs. Thurber was also active in all other Red Cross work. She majored in socks, 125 pairs, besides 16 pairs children's stockings, mufflers, helmets, wristlets and caps.

  Mrs. F. F. Parker, chairman of the knitting committee in the Decatur branch of the American Red Cross was also awarded the honor of being the champion knitter. Besides exceeding all others in the number of new articles made and turned in to her credit, she did an immense amount of work as inspector in correcting the mistakes of others, which earned her the distinction of receiving commendation from headquarters on the perfection of the work she inspected.

  Mrs. O. N. Remington, the champion knitter of the Tekamah Chapter, was an easy winner, with no close competitor. Mrs. Remington is the mother of Mrs. George McGuire, secretary of the Burt County Chapter of the American Red Cross. Like her daughter, she entered heart and soul in Red Cross war work, it was anything to lend comfort to the boys who were at the front or in the camp, her only thought was to do what she could to win the war.