Roscoe History: The Roscoe Red Cross
The Roscoe Red Cross was formed in June 1917.
The roots of the International Committee of the Red Cross date back to 1859, and Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross in 1881. It wouldn't be until June 1917, however, before Roscoe would organize its own branch of the Red Cross, shortly after the U.S. entered World War I in April 1917.
The Roscoe Red Cross was originally formed as a sewing and knitting group. This group consisted mostly of women, but a few men had joined as well. By September 1917, there were 90 members. These members furnished 15 scarves, 9 pairs of wristlets, 24 surgical shirts, 17 pairs of pajamas, 5 pairs of socks, 2 sweaters, 87 fracture pillows, 26 bandages, and 14 day shirts to the Rockford Red Cross. By February 1918, they were supplying at least four times more products. In addition, money was being raised through dinners, pageants, and picnics. Each of these events raised $175 on average. In July 1918, we first hear of the Roscoe Junior Red Cross. The children of the town provided 7,200 gun wipes, 45 wash cloths, 10 dresses, 2 skirts, 6 hospital bags, and 1 scrapbook.
The Roscoe Red Cross remained active at least until World War II. In 1939, 28 women from Roscoe completed a 3 month course in hygiene, becoming the second group in the county to complete these studies. In August 1940, three women, Helen McCall, Marie Stoll, and Edith Buchanan, received Red Cross awards for completing 200 hours of work, either sewing or knitting for war refugees. The U.S. military itself did not enter the war until Dec. 8, 1941.
The Red Cross began forming in the middle 1800s. In 1859, after witnessing the horrific aftermath of the Battle of Solferino in Italy, Henry Dunant, a Swiss businessman, began advocating for humanitarian aid. In 1863, he and 5 others founded The International Committee for Relief of the Wounded. This newly formed organization focused on providing medical aid to soldiers on the battlefield and prisoners of war. This humanitarian group later became known as The International Committee of the Red Cross.
In 1869, Civil War nurse Clarissa Harlowe Barton, who preferred to be called Clara, traveled to Europe for a much needed vacation. While there, she learned about the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland. Clara Barton thought that the United States would greatly benefit from such an organization. However, she faced considerable backlash when her plans were announced. The reasons for the backlash were many, but included negative attitudes towards women being in leadership roles, the majority of Americans failing to understand the need for a large national charity, the financial aspects of such a large organization and the unfamiliarity of providing neutral aid to all soldiers regardless of political affiliation or nationality. Nevertheless, in 1881, at the age of 60, Clara founded the American Red Cross.
Today, the American Red Cross continues to provide aid for disaster relief, health education, blood donations, and support for military families.
For more information on Roscoe history and its people, please visit roscoehistory.org or their Facebook pages, Roscoe Township Historical Society Group or Roscoe Township Historical Society.
