The Christmas Season is one of sharing and giving. During the Second World War the generosity of the Corinth community in Saratoga County, NY was much like that of small towns around the country. Children as well as adults were active participants in supporting activities on the home front.
Soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, students and teachers in the Corinth schools began purchasing war bonds. Within a year they raised $975. By Christmas of 1943 $1,726 was invested by the Corinth students according to Supervising Principal Ralph F. Pyle.
The community also supported the war effort by collecting scrap, including metals and newspapers. The Corinth High School faculty in late 1942 conducted a scrap drive. Those who donated material were asked to place it at the curbside and display their S card in the front window. In 1943 Corinth collected 801,850 pounds of scrap.
Troop 1, Corinth Girl Scouts collected salvage grease. The girls were going door to door and asking each household to have the grease ready in a tin can. This grease drive took place in December 1943 during an influenza outbreak that closed the schools. While grease may not sound like a desirable commodity, the US Government actively collected it to produce glycerin-based explosives.
Packages being sent to anyone in the armed forces had to be sent out by late October in order to be delivered by Christmas. Articles had to be wrapped securely and contain no intoxicants, matches, or lighter fluid. Parcels sent to the army or navy men were not to exceed six pounds while other branches of service allowed up to 11 pounds.
In Greenfield Center the Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokols No. 265, a local athletic organization, sent Christmas boxes to more than 40 Slovak men overseas who came from Corinth, Greenfield, and the Saratoga Springs area. Mrs. Joseph Bruchac headed up the committee of women.
The Saratoga Branch of Bundles for America, a part of the authorized government agency known as American Parcels for Prisoners of War Association of Buffalo sent packages to all the prisoners of war from Saratoga County who were being held in Germany. The parcels were packed with food and clothing items requested by the prisoner or his family.
This article was written by by Rachael Clothier, Corinth Village Historian and is presented by the Saratoga County History Roundtable and the Saratoga County History Center. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook.
Photo: The Town of Corinth World War II Roll of Honor which stood at Schoolhouse Hill on Palmer Avenue and was later removed, stored for some time, and then disposed of.
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