Kewaunee County's Milkweed Pods: 1944 and World War ll

 

Milkweed Floss

It’s summer, and as fast as it goes in Wisconsin, it means it will not be long before milkweeds are growing along the by-ways and in fields. On clear fall days, we’ll see pods splitting and the floss, or silk, drifting in the breeze. Despite the plant’s name, milkweed is far from a nuisance. The plant that attracts monarch butterflies, bees, and other pollinators also provides food for immigrating birds and overwintering birds. But there is more.

Although few are aware of it, milkweed plants saved lives, and Wisconsin’s kids played a huge role in the lifesaving. It was during the depths of World War ll – 1944 - that Uncle Sam asked the nation’s children to collect 1 ½ million pounds of milkweed floss to replace kapok. What’s Kapok?

Kapok was the waterproof filling used in life jackets when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Java’s Kapok was the United States’ best source, however when Japan captured South Pacific Islands, Kapok was impossible to get. Milkweed – found throughout Wisconsin – was discovered to have about the same flotation ratio and suddenly what was once a pesky weed became a treasure. Milkweed floss turned out to be vital as it was the only buoyant substitute for Kapok, and it was found to be even better. 

In August 1944, the Door County Advocate was on the bandwagon touting the potential value of milkweed seed in exterior paints, enamels, and baked finishes. It was thought new uses for waste products of floss collection would encourage permanent milkweed cultivation after the war. So valuable in preventing soil erosion, the hardy plant required little attention after the first year. Optimum collection was when the pods were turning brown, the stage that made the best floss. The remainder of the versatile plant had other purposes. Oil and rosin came from the pods, and livestock could eat the residue.

As it was, milkweed floss had been used for making pillows and, in 1944, a 50-year-old milkweed floss pillow was on display at a Petoskey, Michigan, floss processing plant, the plant to which collected floss was sent a few months later. War Hemp Industries, Inc., Petosky, Michigan, was the agent for Commodity Credit Corp. of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or the WHI, CCC, and USDA  as the alphabet soup of the era referred to such agencies.

With that, the lowly milkweed plant earned a place in the war effort when Algoma Record Herald, in 1944, reported the War Food Administration (WFA) asked for the  collection of at least 1,500,000 pounds of milkweed floss to fill urgent war needs. Since time was of the essence, it did not permit developing such seed crops while the wild plants were just about all over. Commodity Credit Corp. said highway rights-of-way were one of the largest potential production areas. Prohibiting mowing of rights-of-way until pods were harvested in 1944 was a boon to floss collection.

The WFA said milkweed was easily controlled in pastures, though mostly found in roadsides, and advised farmers not to cut patches of milkweed. Kewaunee County Road Commissioner Griese sent out the information to county roadmen. No mowing. The highway department and county agent’s office cooperated in the effort to collect, cure, and dispose of milkweed pods.

Sturgeon Bay Advocate reported in July 1944 that life jackets would be provided for armed service members while getting rid of obnoxious weeds at the same time, although milkweeds were far from obnoxious that summer. Door County’s plans included listing patches of milkweed so volunteer groups could be assigned to pick at the right time. Those aware of milkweed patches were asked to call County Agent Mullendore’s office, the county home agent, school superintendent or conservation chairman.

Wisconsin’s milkweed goal was 300,000 pounds according to H.W. MacKenzie, former director of Wisconsin Conservation Department. MacKenzie immediately mobilized school children and others to collect the floss sorely needed for airmen and sailors. Kewaunee County’s milkweed collection was organized by County Agent V.W. Peroutky. Assisting Agent Peroutky were the Mrs. Nona Bartel, May Smithwick, and Florence Bodwin, Herman Griese, Eugene Nemetz, and George Gregor. The committee felt that many patches would not be reached until the groups were given adequate collection bags. In September, Kewaunee Enterprise told readers that government officials claimed over two million kids were mobilized to collect milkweed seed pods for Navy life jackets and other purposes.

Just after school started in September, the Advocate published the Door County’s goal - a bag of milkweed for each man in service. Merchandise prizes were to be offered for the best individual and group records, and in December it was announced that East Maplewood school was doing its share in winning the war when it collected 244 bags of milkweed pods. Astounding was that Harold Fortemps collected 204 of the bags by himself.

At the September 1944 Kewaunee County teachers’ institute, Eugene Nemetz, the county farm labor assistant, hosted a milkweed collection discussion. Materials were distributed and teachers received their bags. A few days later, the Record Herald told readership that county schools would be out picking in full force, although 4-H clubs, and church and civic groups were encouraged to help. The paper again pointed out that instructions came from County Agent Peroutky who said pickers needed to pick up sacks.

Across Wisconsin, local authorities, county war boards, county agents, and others oversaw supplying information and distributing the clean, dry, mesh onion bags, which were also available at school offices.

It was suggested pods be picked in pails or baskets and then dumped into the mesh onion bags. Each picker was requested to hang his sack over a wire fence for about 3 weeks for drying. Although pods in burlap sacks were known to mold, even rain did not affect those in onion sacks. It was stressed that collectors should not use closed containers.

The one-bushel mesh onion sacks held about one bushel of pods, which meant 50-pound onion sacks held about 800 green pods. County Agent Peroutky said plants averaged between 2 and 3 pods each although some had up to 15. They were found in fertile, moist areas and were to be picked when pods were mostly brown.

School children were encouraged to pick milkweed pods as it was a “real war job” that would help their older siblings who were serving in the military. The WFA said the kids would be the chief collectors of the floss used in manufacturing “Mae West” life jackets. Wikipedia says the vests were called Mae Wests  because those wearing them appeared to be large buxom women, and actress Mae West was the most popular. Just how did the FWA explain that to grade school kids?

Payment was 20 cents per full bag. Bags of green pods brought 15 cents. Teachers were asked to keep records for payment that was far from simple. Union State Bank of Kewaunee was in receipt of funds from the War Food Administration. The bank paid for the work through the county agent’s office, which paid the children via the teacher. Children were encouraged to use their money to buy more war savings stamps or add their earnings to the school funds. Non-students were paid directly and could accept payment or donate it to the school fund. The website retirementsimulation.com says that 20 cents in 1944 has the same purchasing power as $3.41 cents in 2023, thus one who picked several bags of pods might have been supporting the war effort while saving money for a special purpose. 

The Enterprise pointed out that rural grade and high school students did most of the milkweed seed pod collecting. Kewaunee County had 2,300 sacks to fill and each two sacks held enough floss to fill a life jacket. That prompted a Record Herald headline screaming,  “County Filling Many Life Jackets; More Milkweed Than Anticipated.”

Some Kewaunee County schools filled over 100 sacks when the county reached a peak of 3,300 onion sacks. At least 400 more sacks were asked to be delivered. With a shortage of onion sacks, Wisconsin turned to flour sacks and burlap bags, however care had to be exercised to make sure air circulated efficiently to prevent mold. Moldy pods were worthless.

Kewaunee and Door Counties, and all of Wisconsin, gave generous support to the milkweed drive, however it seemed as if the State of Wisconsin was overwhelmed by the all-out effort that came about. Michigan had ideal soil and climate so it was thought that state would outdo Wisconsin. It did.

When Ag Agent Peroutky reported to the Kewaunee County Board in December, he included milkweed statistics  just as he did dairy, cropping, farm institutes and more. Door County Board was also given a milkweed pod collection in annual report of Agricultural County Agent.

In November, the Record Herald  gave a shout-out and tip-of-the-hat to the kids when it said it was primarily rural, graded, and parochial schools that collected 2,100 bags  with an average of 800 pods a sack, which made 1,050 life jackets. Agent Peroutky said if 1,050 life jackets could save that many lives, the children had shown what their patriotism and all-out effort meant. Twenty cents a sack did not reflect labor costs, but it did reflect cooperation.

Red River Township’s San Sauveur school kids collected 40 bags, however the highest-ranking number of sacks per student was 5.5 at Red River Graded. Ryan school had 5.4 with 4.7 at Hawthorn. Sandy Bay, Garfield, LaFollette, St. Paul’s Lutheran at Ellisville, Jefferson, Luxemburg Graded, and Phillips stood at 2.5.  Peroutky said the heaviest pod yields were in the towns of Red River, Luxemburg, and Montpelier, though medium in Carlton, Lincoln, Casco, Franklin, and Pierce. There was not much in Ahnapee which, Peroutky said, was not a milkweed production township.

Sacks were collected on Monday October 30 via county highway dump trucks, overseen by the rural, graded, high and parochial schools. Families with sacks were to have them at the schools by 8 AM. If seeds were in burlap bags, the onion sacks would be available for transfer, and families were asked to turn in any unused bag. Peroutky said seeds had to fit comfortably in the bag. Crowding would cause shriveling. 

Kewaunee Enterprise reported Wisconsin’s children gathered 350,000 bags of milkweed to rank second in the nation. Door and Kewaunee Counties shipped five carloads to the Michigan processing plant while Shawano County was Wisconsin’s 1^st place county with 35,000 bags. Peroutky pointed out counties collecting more than Kewaunee were far larger, while proudly saying Wisconsin’s boys and girls gathered 350,000 bags of milkweed to rank so highly and do so much for the war effort.

All that milkweed pod picking meant clothing stains. Edna Baumann, assistant state 4-H leader, said to remove fresh milkweed stains, the garment had to be soaked for 2 or 3 hours in cool water, rubbing frequently to loosen the stain, followed by laundering. Gummy residue could be removed with carbon tetrachloride cleaner. If the brown stains set in, the item was to be soaked in cool water before applying glycerin, acetic acid or strong vinegar, and bleaching agents. Acids and bleach affected color so testing the garment was a necessity. Milkweed stains are nearly invisible at first but if not removed, they turn rusty or light brown in time, or with ironing heat or alkali soap, and are then difficult to remove.

In August 1945, it was reported that there would be no milkweed collection because of the amount collected in 1944 and the recapture of islands held by the Japanese. Supplies of life jacket material was meeting needs, and the war was coming to an end.

A little over two years later, it seemed as if the milkweed collection program was coming full circle on the peninsula with the appointment of Charles F. Swingle PhD as research horticulturist at what is now the Peninsula Experiment Station. Dr. Swingle’s extensive professional work history earned an earlier appointment as assistant director of the milkweed life jacket project at Petosky, Michigan, although Dr. Swingle’s Door County work would focus on fruits. Swingle had a tie to Door County and knew something about it as Dr. Ben Birdsall of East Maplewood was in charge of the Peruvian station where Swingle worked for the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture teaching farming methods. Dr. Birdsall attended East Maplewood school years earlier and it was at East Maplewood school where Harold Fortemps single-handedly collected the whopping 204 bags of pods.

How many World War ll airmen and sailors owed their lives to roadside weeds?

Sources: Algoma Record Herald, Kewaunee Enterprise, Oconto Falls Herald, Wikipedia, www.retirementsimulation.com; Picture from https://gracegritsgarden.com/2020/10/milkweed-world-war-ii.html