Blount Library Blog

Treasures from the Averett Archives: Knitting for the Cause

Following on from yesterday's focus on the post-war matriculation of World War II veterans, we would be remiss not to call attention to the efforts of the Averett women on the home front.

Although Averett's students and staff participated in the war effort in numerous ways, one of the most proactive was the work of the Volunteer Knitters.  Led by Bible and Sociology teacher Louise Bryan (pictured to the right), numerous Averett staff and students knitted sweaters, scarves, and various other items for the Red Cross to distribute to soldiers and civilians overseas.  In the first year of work, the 1941-42 school year, they reported having made 115 sweaters ("Averett to Further Red Cross Program," Chanticleer, Jan. 1943: 1), with approximately 85 more being made during the 1942-43 school year ("College Fights on Home Front," Chanticleer, Oct. 1943: 4).

Ten staff members are known to have participated in the program: Minta Beck [position unknown], Louise Bryan, Martha Knight [house mother], Frances Legge [piano teacher], Edna McIndoe [dietician],  Reba Robertson [organ teacher], Dorothy Shipman [librarian], Virginia Smith [commercial education teacher], Madie Lee Walker [Vice President and Dean of Women], and Caroline Winston [English and Spanish teacher]).  The following ten students are also known to have joined the cause: Janet Cutler, Nancy Davis, Ruth Figgatt, Betty Jane Gooding, Helen Hallas, Marion Houchins, Maude King, Ann Seitz, Ruth Smith, and Donna Zimmerli.  (All listed in the Chanticleer article from February 1943.)

By April 1946, the Averett volunteer knitters were officially recognized by the American Red Cross for "meritorious personal service performed in behalf of the nation, her armed forces, and suffering humanity in the Second World War."

The Red Cross commendation is currently on display in the small case on the main floor of Blount Library, in honor of the wartime efforts of the women whose war work took place outside the confines of the enlisted military.

The names of the women in this photo are currently unknown.  If any of our readers recognize one of the participants, please feel free to leave a comment.  I believe the student at the far right (wearing a white blouse) to be Ruth Smith, and the woman third from the right (wearing a top with a large 'M') to be Ruth Figgatt.  I cannot hazard a guess on the others.