Thursday, March 07, 2019

Fundraising for the French Red Cross in Vancouver, 1918


Two recipes from the Patriotic Cook Book.
Two recipes from the Patriotic Cook Book. Mon, Sep 30, 1918, p. 8 · The Province (Vancouver, BC, Canada) · Newspapers.com

In recent years, I’ve saved many WW I wartime recipes and household tips while researching. This is not about those very practical recipes, but it’s a look back at how people coped during wartime – making the best of things.

I've been extracting British Columbia names from documents and newspapers for years. I'll post another article next week with more of the names (mostly women) of those involved in this event.

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The French Red Cross bazaar to be held at Lester Court in Vancouver, 7th May 1918 apparently featured a chorus of girls in ‘Kitchen Soldiers on Home Service’, “each girl takes the part of one ingredient of a wartime cake”. This entertainment idea caught my attention!

The girls’ names aren’t given. I wish I knew who they were. Did anyone take a photo, I wonder?

Those mentioned as participating in the entertainments were: “Mrs. Ivan Barber, soprano, Mrs. Railton, contralto, and Mr. E. V. Young of North Vancouver” - they were to sing in the evening. During the day, these “young people” were to form an orchestra:  “Miss Ethel Letson, piano, Miss Marjorie Stevens and Lieut. Kennedy, violin, and Mr. Lon Hunter, drum”.1

Mrs. Sillitoe had donated a cameo brooch to the cause – the design “a winged cherub playing with a butterfly”.  Miss Alcorn donated two Japanese vases.

And a petticoat made by Mrs. Cunningham was to be raffled. “No lovelier article of its kind has ever appeared in Vancouver. The flounce of finest white organdie is lace trimmed and embroidered in most beautiful pastel shades.” 2

Two squares of French crochet depicting La Peinture and La Sculpture “mounted and framed into two salvers” were donated by Mrs. T. Stevens of Shaughnessy Heights. And money towards bazaar expenses was donated by Mrs. J. W. Stewart.3

The Bazaar activities included a shooting contest; a few returned soldiers were to assist Mrs. Dawson with the scoring. She had donated a “silver loving cup ten and a half inches high” as a prize for this contest.4

Vancouver supported the French Red Cross with funds from donations, sales, tag days and many events and appeals during the Great War.

And a number of Canadian women had connections to the French Red Cross, including the journalist, socialite, and adventurer, Julia Henshaw, who worked as “directeuse” of a French Red Cross ambulance unit in France, March to November 1918.5 


References

1. The Province, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 27 Apr 1918, Saturday, p. 14. ‘News and Notes about Music and Musicians’.
2. Vancouver Daily World, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 20 Apr 1918, Saturday, p. 6. ‘Women’s War Time Activities’.
3. Vancouver Daily World, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 16 Apr 1918, Tuesday, p. 6. ‘Women’s War Time Activities’.
4. The Vancouver Sun, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 3 May 1918, Friday, p. 4.

5. Faces of War – “Julia Henshaw: A unique woman of the war” by Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun, (first  published, September 8, 2014), The Great War 1914 – 1918, Canada.com: http://ww1.canada.com/faces-of-war/julia-henshaw-a-unique-woman-of-the-war

3 comments:

DiAnn Iamarino Ohama said...

Sugar and lard cake! Desperate times call for desperate measures.

M. Diane Rogers said...

Indeed, DiAnn, and sometimes the sugar was in short supply!

Diane said...

Great article, Diane! You don't hear very much about the war efforts at home. I like the descriptions that you gave of all the items. It makes you feel like you were right there.