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…