Almost 100 years ago the United States joined allied nations in entering World War I. Thousands of Kansans went off to fight while those left behind took their part in supporting the war effort as well.
A Kansas State Council of Defense was formed by Governor Capper in 1917 and took the lead in mobilizing all the resource of the state in support of the War. Among the publications issued by the Council were a series of circulars covering a broad range of topics for those on the home front .
The Kansas Government Information (KGI) Online Library has recently added these circulars to our online collection, along with a history of the Kansas State Council of Defense. This material is an interesting look into the activities at home during a war that forever altered the world views of many of those who lived through it.
Two of the booklets consist of recipes. Much of the wheat crop was being sent overseas so people were encouraged to substitute other grains in place of wheat in their recipes. Another publication gave instruction to teachers on introducing "city boys" to farm life. A couple of the booklets deal with canning and drying fruits/vegetables.
All of the circulars are available online within a
KGI collection.
The titles within the collection are:
No. 1
Plant only tested seed
No. 2 and No. 11
Seed List
(Two booklets, one published in 1917 and the other in 1918 containing a list of those having seeds for sale submitted to the Council and the State Agricultural College)
No. 3
Canning Instructions
No. 4
Home-Made Apparatus For Drying Fruits and Vegetables
No. 5
List of Inspected Seed Wheat
No. 6
How to Prepare Ground For Wheat and Time to Sew
No. 7
Suggestions For Teachers Giving Practical Instruction to City Boys in (a) Care and Handling of Work Horses (b) Care, Adjustment, and Use of Farm Machinery (c) Care and Handling of Dairy Cows and Milk
No. 8 and No. 13
Speakers' Handbook
(Two volumes offering information and encouragement for those giving public speeches on promoting the war effort)
No. 9
Use of Wheat Saving Cereals
(A booklet full of recipes using corn meal, corn flour and kafir in place of wheat)
No. 10
One Dish Meals
(A booklet with recipes and meal plans for conserving the use of food and using food alternatives)
No. 12
Suggestions for greater efficiency of motive power in increasing agricultural production
No. 14
Silos in Wartime
No. 15
County War Organization in Kansas
Also available for viewing on KGI is a
History of the Kansas Council of Defense, written at the end of the War.
For those of you interested in more information on Kansas in World War I check out the following links:
World War I Military Records and
other resources on the War (Kansas Historical Society)
World War I at Kansas Memory (Kansas Historical Society)
A treasure trove of digitized items on World War I
The National WWI Museum and Memorial
Located in Kansas City, Missouri