Kentucky native Mollie Mason was no stranger to
volunteer work. While in the midst of
the Civil War her mother taught her how to knit, and she remained a knitter up until
her death. During an interview in 1917 with Elizabeth Hagan of the Ladies Home Journal,
Mason claimed, "I've knitted my way through a lot of national crises since
[the Civil War]." In attempts to keep soldiers warm with a little comfort
from home, Mason joined forces with the Red Cross to knit cozy sweaters,
numerous pairs of mittens and more.
In World War I (and still to this day) an important
initiative to the Red Cross was knitting because it was something that was relatively
easy to pick up and accessible to all ages. When Americans asked how they could
help on the war effort on the home front the most common answer was
"knit!" Thousands of citizens grabbed their knitting needles and made socks and sweaters to send to troops overseas.
"This was is going to end suddenly like the last one,
but in the meantime I'm trying to keep our boys supplied with knitted
things," Miss Mason said.
If you would like to find out more about joining the Red Cross as a volunteer, please visit www.redcross.org/volunteer
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