Kewaunee County 102 Years Later: Toilet Paper & Flour. Something in Common

 

Toilet paper was the name of the game during the spring of 2020. There were shortages galore as the U.S. dealt with COVID-19 and the shutdowns. In a dark time, it seemed as if toilet paper provided our only humor. Toilet paper jokes and cartoons made the rounds, but comedy didn’t make up for being caught without. It had to be toilet paper that prompted more than a few laughing shoppers to stop in front of empty shelves. Why else would somebody stand in front of empty shelves bursting out in laughter?

Throughout the 1918 pandemic known as the Spanish Flu, it was flour., and folks weren’t laughing. During 2020, shoppers were limited to one pack of toilet paper, sanitary wipes, and spray cleaners. Quite often, shoppers finding empty shelves in one store drove around town hoping to find the necessary supplies. In 1918, flour came in large bags or barrels and there were no apps telling shoppers where to go to get it. For those living in a one-horse town, there was only one place to get flour.

Hoarding was in the news in 2020. In 1918 there were no radio or TV reporters to reprimand hoarders. Still, Wisconsin folks were cautioned against hoarding and Wisconsin was the state that was abolishing it. Did the state do it? What do you think? Through newspapers, the state said there was abundant food for residents, the troops and those in foreign countries only if there was no hoarding. Hoarding violated federal law, but were the violations those of carelessness, ignorance, or fear?

Wisconsin residents were asked to inventory their supplies and determine what would be a reasonable stock for 30 days. If people had more than 30 days’ worth of food, the surplus was to be returned. Wisconsin residents were told returning surplus was a patriotic duty. Did anyone return food supplies as their duty.? As it was, war time food regulations were in place before the pandemic.

County Food and Drug Administrations were directed to immediately take inventories of flour and sugar sales and then use the lists to give stores credit for supplies exceeding the needs for 30 days. Magnus Swenson was Wisconsin’s food administrator while Algoma attorney James McGowan served as Kewaunee County’s. It was Swenson’s plan to report to Washington – thus beating every other state - saying Wisconsin was in compliance without one prosecution. Prosecution? There was a fine of $5,000 and two years in prison for hoarding violators. Swenson believed Wisconsin people were loyal, but it was the disloyal that would be prosecuted. Swenson told Wisconsinites to begin in their own homes and then insist their neighborhoods, cities, and counties follow suit.

McGowan hit the ground running and immediately after his appointment to the new office, he toured the county to meet with businessmen, discussing foodstuff handling in the light of the new federal rules.

Sugar sales were limited to two to five pounds per customer at a time, however if customers were country folk, they were eligible for five to ten pounds. Rural residents weren’t given more to eat. It was travel that made the difference. Flour was limited to 1/8^th barrel for city residents, however rural customers could get one-time quantities not exceeding 1/4-1/2 barrel. In either case, customers were required to purchase an equal amount of flour substitutes.

Regulations called for flour sales to be made in proportion of one pound of wheat flour to one pound of other cereals. Among the substitutes were corn meal, corn starch, corn flour, hominy, corn grits, barley flour, rice and rice flour, potato flour, soybean flour and a few more. Rye flour could not be lawfully substituted, however if one purchased rye flour, it was not necessary to buy a substitute.

Rules were specific. When potato flour was the substitute, the proportions called for 4 pounds of potato flour to 1 pound of wheat flour.  Whole wheat and graham flours were in a class by themselves. In a direct quote found in a February 1918 Algoma Record Herald, it was noted that “For every pound of graham or whole wheat flour containing 95% of the entire wheat sold, six-tenths of a pound of wheat flour substitutes must be purchased by the consumer.” Figure that one out! Local farmers made the news and got positive press when they took wheat to Bruemmer's mill. 

Bruemmer Roller Mills at Bruemmerville, 1909 postcard

After a few weeks short of a year following the COVID-19 shutdown, stores are still limiting purchase of some products. Shortages of sanitizing sprays have brought the advantages of white vinegar to the fore. Vinegar is no longer something your mother used for canning and salad dressings. But substitutes for toilet paper? The old Sears-Roebuck, Spiegel’s and Montgomery Ward catalogues worked in the outhouses when most didn’t even think of a commercial product. The old catalogues served a purpose in the waste-not-want-not world of 100 years ago. While the catalogue pages worked in an outhouse, they’d raise havoc with today’s sanitation systems.

Humorists who kept us laughing about toilet paper last spring sure thought the fed would come up with a toilet paper board. Fast forwarding to fall, some high school kids did a little tee-peeing around school to mark the virtual homecomings. A little normality.

Sources: Algoma Record Herald; Wikipedia. Graphics from Algoma Record Herald; postcard from the blogger's collection.