Ash Grove Township

Ash Grove Township

formerly Cochran's Grove, south of Windsor. This church was organized in 1832 by Elder Storm. Her trials and success were similar to those of pioneer days. This church has enjoyed the preaching of some of the ablest men in the r.rotherhood. The present church was built at the cost of $2,500. and will seat 600 people. Her l)resent mendiership is over 300. This is a wealthy and s])lendidly situated community, and if the liberality and zeal of her members are equal to her ability and opportunity, a much larger \.ork will yet be accomplished in the name and for the honor of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Saxd Creek

This congregation was organized by Elder Storm in 1834. The entire enrollment of the church since its organization has been about 1.000. Her members have been the nucleus of several other congregations. Her present mem¬ bership is 100. Edder (mider was her regular minister for 44 years, and Elder B. B. Warren has been associated with him for 34 years. The church has reared out of its own members the following preachers : Isaac Miller, Xathan Rice, B. B. Warren. H. Loomis and L. B. B. Bhillips. The most familiar among these is Elder Warren, who is still a veteran of the cross among the country churches of Shelby county.

The present brick building was erected in 1874. at a cost of $1,200 and seats 30a people. This church has remarkably withstood the changes of time, and if she is true to her Master a much larger extension of the kingdom is pos¬ sible.

Source changes here: from Shelby County in the World War, by Shelby County War Historians, published 1919; 5,581 words in this source stream.

Ash Grove Township

Intensive, aggressive work marked the progress of the campaign, and by the 15th of October more than a million dollars worth of bonds had been purchased. In one instance a revival meeting was suspended to give the Liberty Loan the right of way. The telephone operators at the Shelbyville switchboard subscribed for $600 worth of bonds. Notable sacrifices were made here and there in a patriotic fervor to meet the government's need; yet with practically $300,000 more to raise before the close of the drive, the officials sent out an urgent request for persons who already had purchased bonds to double their subscriptions. With this plan followed by 100 persons who already had subscribed for $1,000 worth, 200 who had taken $500, 200 who had loaned $100 each and 200 who had subscribed $50 each, $230,000 of the amount was provided for and personal solicitors were to obtain the remaining $70,000.

Shelby County acquitted herself nobly. With a quota of $1,373,600, the county subscribed $1,393,450, while in actuality subscriptions amounting practically to $80,000 additional were taken in this county but accredited to adjoining counties because the subscribers did their banking business in those counties and the subscriptions passed through their banks. In this manner Shelby County lost $67,100 to Christian County and $12,500 to Moultrie County.

That the Fourth Liberty Loan was supported by the people in general in Shelby County is indicated by the fact that the number of individual subscribers was 6,985, or about 23 per cent, of the county's population. As to townships 22 of the 24 raised their quotas. The delinquents were Cold Spring and Penn. The official report of quotas, subscriptions and number of subscribers accredited to the banks of the county, is as follows:

The Victory Liberty Loan

With the war over but still facing the big and expensive task of bringing the boys home, as well as the need of further extension of credit to the allied governments, the United States government called for a Victory Liberty Loan in the spring of 1919. The sum of $4,500,000.000 was asked of the Xation. and Shelby County's share was placed at $1,066,950, or three per cent, of the net worth of its population.

O. W. Walker, president of the Shelby County State Bank, was appointed county chairman of the Victory Liberty Loan, and completed the organization by the following appointments:

Automobile Flying Squadron

The organization also extended into the townships and every school district of the county, the township chairmen, vice chairmen and chairmen of the advisory committee being as follows, the names appearing in the same order as the offices named in this paragraph:

Moweaqua - W. K. Andrews, J. T. Haslam, J. H. Cozad. Messrs. S. S. Clapper and E. V. Young also were vice chairman and chairman of the advisory committee, respectively, sharing the duties with Messrs. Haslam and Cozad.

The women's organization, under the chairmanship of Mrs. Q. W. Walker, was as thoroughly organized and efficient as that of the men. It is treated in a separate chapter.

One of the first tasks Chairman Walker and his assistants set their hands to was the determining of the allotment of the several townships of the county, and the further monumental labor of figuring the individual responsibility of every citizen, under the three per cent, net valuation plan. This determined, a letter was mailed to each taxpayer, apprising such person of the amount of the subscription expected.

Features of the campaign, which went forward with ever increasing momentum until its splendid consummation in a heavy oversubscription, included a big county mass meeting at the court house in Shelbyville on Wednesday, April the 16th, at which the district chairman, Mrs. Guy T. Lewis of Decatur, Madame Guerin, an eloquent French woman fresh from battle-ravaged France, and Lieutenant Frank McGlinn of Chicago, one of "Reilley's Bucks," were the speakers; community meetings at various points throughout the county, where returned soldiers told their stories of the war, adding their word to the appeal of the regular speakers; the visit of two aeroplanes from Chanute Field, primarily for recruiting purposes but "bombing" the city from the air with Victory Liberty Loan literature; a big demonstra- tion for returned soldiers, Thursday, April 24, on which date a delegation of noted Victory Loan speakers, with a war relic train and big military hand, visited the city and boomed the local campaign for bond-selling. These and other means were used by Chairman Walker and his organization with telling effect.

Saturday, April 26, was designated as "Allotment Day," on which an earnest effort was made to put the county "over the top" with its full quota. The day failed of its largest purpose, but great inroads were made on the huge allotment asked of the county and two townships, Shelbyville and Prairie, were found to have reached their goal - the former with 138 and the latter with 100 per cent, of its quota. \Yhile cheered by these results, the officials nevertheless were disappointed at the net results of the day's work; yet did not feel so downcast when they learned officially that Shelby county, with 60 per cent, of her quota raised, was leading not only the other seven counties of the district, but the state of Illinois and the Xation at large in the percentage of quotas subscribed. Illinois had but 22 per cent, of its quota, and the United States as a whole but 20 per cent.

Daily meetings of the committees with Chairman Walker at the Shelby County State Bank did much to keep up the morale of the great working body, and to inspire the individuals with greater zeal to finish the big job right. And they did it.

Victory was proclaimed by Chairman Walker when he appeared before his committees on the morning of Monday, May 12, in the final meeting of that body. Popular subscriptions, he announced, reached within $100,000 of the county's quota, while the banks guaranteed the balance and the campaign closed with an oversubscription of more than $100,- 000, or a total of $1,173,600.

Following are shown the Shelby County banks, with the quotas allotted by the Federal Reserve District authorities, which in fact formed the basis of the county's liability, and the amount subscribed by each:

In the Victory Liberty Loan campaign the old plan of "drives" from the county seat, employed in every other campaign for the sale of bonds or the raising of funds, was eliminated, and the results justified the action, for while perhaps the county would have reached its goal a little more readily than by the new system, the county did go "over the top" splendidly and accomplished it with absolutely no friction and no coercion, and with no sores to be healed.

In the final session of the Victory Loan committee, the members formally expressed their appreciation of the wise and effective work that had been done by the chairmen of both the men's and women's organizations, Mr. O. W. Walker and his wife, Mrs. Maude Trower Walker. The expression took concrete form in a motion authorizing a florist to place bouquets of forget-me-nots on the desk of Mr. Walker at the bank on three days of the current week, and on alternate days to convey similar tributes to Mrs. Walker at her home on North Broadway.

Companies C of Sullivan and D of Paris stretched their legs in Shelbyville on Monday, May 6, 1918, and were "at ease" for an hour while the guests of the Shelbyville Commercial Club at an informal reception tendered them on the streets. These troops, with other units of the 130th U. S. Infantry, were en route from Camp Logan, Houston, Tex., to the seaboard for embarkation, and were routed over the Big Four from St. Louis eastward. Captain Vance Courtright of Shelbyville, in command of Company D, and Lieutenant Chas. L. Twiss and Lieutenant Harry Downs, other Shelbyville officers who were with these companies, arranged for a brief stop.

The soldiers detrained and marched through several of the business streets, then came to rest on Main street, where they were given an ovation by the big crowd that quickly gathered and a "set up" of cigars, apples and other knicknacks.

H Company, Shelbyville's old National Guardsmen, also a part of the moving troops, was routed by way of Decatur, to which many of their relatives and friends motored to give them a word of greeting as they passed on their long journey to warstricken Europe.

With patriotism 100 per cent., and determined to show the spirit as well as the letter of loyalty to the Nation, St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran church of Shelbyville officially and without a dissenting voice banished the German language from all services of the church. This was done, notwithstanding some of the older members could understand the English language imperfectly or not at all. This congregation in its entirety was very active in responding to all demands of the government and beneficent institutions.

The initials of one Shelby County service man spelled what the boys went over - the "top." This was T. O. Pea of Henton, who went to Decatur and enlisted on the 17th of May, 1918, as a sailor.

Part Of Shelbyville Liberty Loan Glee Club

Sacrifice, zeal, intelligence and effectiveness characterized the work of Shelby County women in the several Liberty Loans, which became a very potent force in carrying on the task of meeting the quotas allotted to this county from time to time.

The women of the county were not organized for this work until the Second Liberty Loan drive. Then Mrs. O. W. Walker of Shelbyville was appointed County Chairman, and because of her fine qualities of leadership was retained in that post until the close of the Victory Liberty Loan.

Immediately upon her induction into the work she appointed her township chairmen, a list of whom appears below, and who for the most part served through all the loans. Unless otherwise indicated, their service was given in the Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth loans. Where figures appear after a name, they indicate the loans in which such person served as township chairman. The list follows:

The work of selling bonds was new to the women, and a great many were reluctant to enter upon that work. However, they cast their fears aside for the sake of the "boys" and their country, and their united effort resulted in the sale of $116,750.00 in bonds of the Second issue.

The Third Loan

In the Third drive the women had more confidence in themselves, and the people in general began to realize that women could really sell bonds. The organization was extended to school district committees and by solicitation and house-to-house canvass $329,850.00 worth of bonds were sold.

In this drive, in addition to the above organization, Miss Clare Shoaff and Mrs. W. C. Kelley were made treasurer and chairman of the Speakers' committee, respectively, and Mrs. J. T. Knox of Mode,

Having to overcome a little natural prejudice against the participation of women in the selling of bonds, the feminine forces had a little harder work than otherwise would have been the case, but nevertheless immediate results were forthcoming and early in the campaign Chairman Walker was notified from district headquarters that among the counties of the district Shelby was in second place, Champaign alone leading her. Determined not to be displaced, unless to move to the head of the column, the women permitted no other county to excel them and closed the campaign with the second high subscription and serving as an important factor in placing the district second only to Chicago and Cook County.

That the women were thoroughly imbued with the spirit of service was strikingly illustrated in this drive by the fact that with weather and roads so bad that neither horse-drawn nor motor-propelled vehicle could be used, the women toured their territory on foot in order that the work be not neglected. The results of such devotion show in the $329,850.00 total of sales.

The Fourth Loan

When the Fourth Liberty Loan was launched, the plans for selling the bonds were changed. The first day of the drive was designated as Volunteer Day. Committees of men and women met in the polling places, but the men of the county were so busy in their fields and places of business that practically three-fourths of the volunteer work was done by women. Volunteer Day bringing the sale of only half of the quota, a house-to-house canvass was made and resulted in the sale of $113,000.00 additional bonds, a total of $696.700.00 for the women's committee. The men's committee completed the work and the county reached its quota and went over the top with its full quota, $1,373,600, and an additional $19,850.

An interesting incident of this drive 'is seen in the fact that in Holland township one woman canvassed the forty-nine families in her territory and procured forty-nine subscriptions - a 100 per cent, canvass.

The woman's organization for the Victory Loan campaign was as thorough and effective as that of the men. It extended from the central office in Shelbyville into every township, school district and neighborhood of the county, with 500 women actively engaged in soliciting subscriptions, creating sentiment, strengthening the hands of the men and in every way possible throwing their influence to the support of the campaign. The organization was as follows:

Ward No. 4

Without the blare of trumpets, the woman's organization went to work early, perfected plans and put them into such splendid execution that the women were an important factor in the success that attended the campaign. The influence of the organization was felt in the remotest corners of the county, where letters and literature were sent in abundance and every assistance desired was given. The wom- en's committee was charged with the distribution of all literature in this campaign, and virtually a substation of the local post office was established in the home of the county chairman, who with her assistants worked indefatigably and with wonderful effectiveness. At one time alone, eleven mail sacks of Victory Loan publicity matter was dispatched to the outlying points of the county.

A Psalm Of Thanksgiving

Only at the urgent request of Mrs. Walker, who declares it to have been a potent factor in the success of the Victory Liberty Loan campaign, is mention made here of "A Psalm of Thanksgiving," written by the chairman of the publicity committee and used extensively not only in Shelby County but by the district, state and national organizations, as well. Mrs. Walker used three editions of the poster, and sent copies of it to state and national headquarters, which upon its receipt asked permission to use it. This was granted. Mrs. Walker states that hundreds of these posters, each accompanied by a subscription blank, were sent to Shelby County people who were known to have bought no bonds, and that in nearly every instance the application came back with a generous subscription. The "Psalm of Thanksgiving" is reproduced on another page, also at Mrs. Walker's request.

In the official report of the Illinois Woman's Liberty Loan Committee, favorable mention was made of the splendid work of Mrs. Walker and her organization, of Miss Bertha Reiss, director of the Foreign Language committee, of Miss Lydia Faster of Strasburg, who sold $11,000 worth of bonds among people of a foreign tongue, and of the "Psalm of Thanksgiving," which was mentioned as "a very appealing piece of propaganda."

The women of the county worked with such devotion that at the end of the campaign $566,440 of the county's quota of $1,066,950, all of which was subscribed, was directly attributable to their solicitation.

One incident illustrative of the sacrifice and earnest service of the women, was in the action of two young girls in the northern part of the county, who walked a distance of ten miles in distributing bills, urging people to come to their school house on allotment day and buy bonds.

The highest individual bond purchase recorded was by one certain woman, who evaded the treasury department's rule of only $10,000 to a person, and bought four blocks of $10,000 each.

Also, the highest individual bond sale recorded in the county was made by a Moweaqua woman, who interviewed a farmer before he got to the bank with the money he had just received in the sale of a farm. and sold him $50,000 worth of bonds.

Woman'S Glee Club

Notable in the Victory Loan campaign, as it had been in other war work drives, was the work of the Woman's Glee Club. It was composed for the most part of working women and girls and a few students, who responded cheerfully to calls from all parts of the county, and sang the spirit of giving into the hearts of the public. Though many of them had to be up and at work or study early in the morning, they faltered not in their whole-hearted service. Three nights in succession they drove a distance of more

Mrs. Walker has the distinction of being one of only seven women chairmen in the entire state of Illinois who "carried on" through the four loans to the finish, and great credit is due her for the fearlessness, enthusiasm, inspiration and effectiveness of her work and methods. In signal recognition of her splendid service, she .received the following communication from Carter Glass, Secretary of the Treasury:

"The service given by the women of the United States to the work of the Liberty Loans has constituted one of the great factors in the winning of the war. To this service, made possible by the earnest, continuous and self-sacrificing labor of the local chairmen, the Treasury Department owes inestimable gratitude: and, although no words of mine will adequately compensate for tasks so well and unselfishly performed, it is my pleasure and privilege, in behalf of the Department, to offer you appreciation of your service as well as congratulations upon the success of your efforts in the crisis of our national life.

The five hundred women of the organization did their work cheerfully and gladly, and with no desire for credit or honor. It was done as a Thank Offering to the Shelby County boys who went "over there" and by their courage and bravery and selfsacrifice helped to bring the war to a speedy close, thus saving the lives of our children and protecting our homes.

The mettle of American women and the fine spirit of co-operation with which they assumed the burdens of their men are strikingly and concretely illustrated by the activities of a Shelbyville girl, Miss Ethel Headley, of whom brief mention is made that she may be taken as an example of myriads of other women in Shelby County and throughout the nation. During the summer of 1918 Miss Headley, in addition to household duties, mowed 25 acres of hay. When it was properly cured she raked it into windrows and put it in cocks. When it was ready to store, she loaded the entire crop on the wagon, and operated the hayfork which carried it to the mow. Later she helped cut and shock a large field of oats. Furthermore, Miss Headley gave considerable time to direct war work in various departments of service, and had several thousand dollars of War Savings Stamp sales to her credit.

The patriotic women of Windsor and Ash Grove drew favorable attention to themselves by their splendid co-operation in the beneficent work of the Canteen, established at Mattoon and conducted there for many months in the interest of the "boys" who passed through that city. Regular donations of articles of food for distribution to the soldiers went forward from the Windsor and Ash Grove women, and their service was deeply appreciated by every person concerned.

C. E. Bouncer J. J. Ward

Among the first of the many "drives" for the raising of war funds was that of the Y. M. C. A. Initial steps for the first campaign of this department of the war work were taken Sunday, Nov. 4, 1917, in a conference of Decatur, Moweaqua and Shelbyville men. Judge A. J. Steidley and D. Leslie Davis were temporary chairman and temporary secretary, respectively.

Permanent organization was effected at a conference and banquet on Friday evening, Nov. 9, when 65 representative men of Shelbyville and the county at large participated in the preliminary work and threw themselves definitely into the campaign. Rev. Ira Allen of LaGrange unfolded the purpose of the nation-wide "Y" drive, declaring it to be to give the American soldier boys a chance to be clean and to be happy - to do for them in the field what we would like to do for them at home - furnish them clean, healthful amusement and recreation. Mr. G. H. Cokendolpher of Mattoon and Mr. R. C. Augustine of Decatur also delivered brief addresses.

Mr. H. S. Hotton of Chicago, business manager of the campaign in Illinois, gave valuable counsel in the organization work, in which Mr. L. F. Akenhead was elected county chairman and Mr. C. T. DeMonbrun county secretary.

It was decided to prosecute the work in Shelby County through community auxiliaries, rather than through township organizations, and in line with this plan the following chairmen were named:

Each chairman selected a committee of several members for his community, to cover the immediate and contiguous territory, and the work was carried on by personal solicitation and through public meetings, in which "flying squadrons" of speakers who were drafted for the work delivered addresses nightly during the week of the intensive drive - Nov. 11-18. The first speaking campaign was on Sunday, Nov. 11, when speakers from the organization spoke from practically every pulpit in Shelby County.

During the week churches, school houses and other public buildings were thrown open, and men from the county seat and elsewhere used their best endeavors to inspire the people with the spirit of giving, to the end that the county's quota of $7,500 of the Nation's $35,000,000 be raised. Some men spoke as often as three times in one evening, hurrying from one point to another while local chairmen remained behind to reap where the speakers had sown.

The Woman's Glee Club of Shelbyville, which did heroic work throughout the war period, threw itself into the "Y" campaign with singular devotion, and sang at many points in the county. The Strasburg band did good service in helping Chairman Faster put Richland township "over the top," playing nightly during the week at the school houses, and even serving at two different points on some of the evenings.

Chairman Akenhead brought the campaign to a successful finish in a big jubilee at the First Methodist church in Shelbyville on Monday evening, Nov. 19, when the happy consummation of putting Shelby County "over the top" with an exceess subscription of several thousand dollars was celebrated in a Jubilee service. The Shelbyville orchestra, the Big Four Quartet and the Woman's Glee Club furnished inspiring music, R. C. Augustine and two or three other business men of Decatur delivered addresses, the audience was given another opportunity to contribute to the fund, and everyone was in a happy mood.

It was announced by Chairman Akenhead that the county's quota had been oversubscribed, the total donations at that time being $9,700.68. Later subscriptions brought the grand total to about $11,000, an oversubscription of about 33J/3 per cent. Notable excess subscriptions were in Moweaqua, where with a quota of $426, the sum of $2,004 was given, and in Shelby ville, where with a quota of $1,000, a total of $2,223 was subscribed.

Publicity

Just after the campaign closed, Windsor sent in nearly $1,000, and $126 came from St. Mary's church, north of Shelbyville, where a group of Moweaqua men held a meeting on the night of the jubilee meeting in Shelbyville, thus bringing the grand total well up toward $11,000.

In the fall of 1918 a movement was started to raise a fund of $112,000,000 as a Second Y. M. C. A. War Fund, and a district of five counties, of which Shelby was one, was assigned $135,000 of this amount. However, before the date of the drive, which was designed to follow the Fourth Liberty Loan, was determined and its machinery perfected, the leaders of the several organizations that were giving support to war work conceived the idea of uniting the funds and going before the people of the country with a request for a huge sum, amounting to $170.500,000, to be distributed among the various organizations, as follows:

The plan of amalgamation struck the popular fancy and the Xation set itself to the task of donating nearly two hundred million dollars for beneficent and humanitarian work in and about the mobolization camps in this country and among the soldiers overseas. In fact, just a little later the amount desired was increased fifty per cent., and the public cheerfully took on the additional burden.

In Shelby County, of which $28,502 originally was asked, and later $42,900, the first steps in organizing for the campaign were taken Tuesday evening, Sept. 17, when the following officers were elected:

General Executive Committee

Shortly thereafter the organization was extended by naming an executive committee, representatives of the several organizations benefiting by the campaign and the township chairmen, both men and women. These are as follows, namely: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE L. F. Akenhead P. Leslie Davis

Representatives Of United Societies

REPRESENTATIVES OF UNITED SOCIETIES Y M C. A. - L. F. Akenhead. Y. W. C. A. - Mrs. C. E. Walker. National Catholic War Council - V: E. Mullins. Salvation Army - L. C. Westervelt. Jewish Welfare Board - E. R. Goldstein.

The co-chairmen immediately organized their school districts and the campaign machinery was well oiled and working nicely before the date of the great nation-wide drive - Nov. 11-18 - in which the largest amount of money that any people has ever been asked to raise in the form of a free will offering for any cause in the history of the world, was asked.

In preparation for the active campaign and to engender enthusiasm and the spirit of giving, a big mass meeting was held in the county seat on the afternoon of Sunday, Nov. 3. The speaker was Dr. W. C. Sinsabaugh, an eloquent Chicago Jew, who caught the attention and interest of his audience at once, when in calling for wholehearted co-operation he said:

"Now that we have taken the 'bull' out of Bulgaria and the 'turk' out of Turkey, we must not stop until we have knocked the 'dam' out of Potsdam and 'hell' out of Wilhelm."

Dr. Sinsabaugh sounded the keynote for the campaign, into which the workers entered with an enthusiasm and singleness of purpose that amounted almost to an obsession, and which carried Shelby County far beyond its original goal and well on to the attainment of the increased quota. Business and professional men gave days of their time: Chairman Bolinger worked far into each night; the Women's Glee Club rode all over the county and splendidly performed their service of song; men unaccustomed to public speaking but becoming eloquent under the spell of the righteous cause, moved audiences here and there to generous donations; men. women and children gave of their little or much, happy in deny-

With the original quota all townships except Penn, Flat Branch, Pickaway, Todd's Point, Cold Spring and Herrick were "over the top," though with the increased quota only Shelbyville, Rural, Rose, Richland and Sigel were able to reach that plane. These ranged from an oversubscription of $5.00 in Richland to $4.196.33 in Shelbyville.

Local officials of the campaign were advised after the drive that the head office of the United War Work Campaign in Illinois would not take the increased quota into account, but make its report on the basis of the original quota alone. On this basis Shelby County's report was as follows:

Considering the fact that of the final quota of something like $255,750,000 in the country at large, only about $202.000,000 was subscribed, Shelby County's achievement in raising all but a trifle more than $3,000 of her increased quota, $42,900, is a notable record and one for which the leaders responsible for the splendid success were complimented by the high officials. Coming immediately on the heels. of the Fourth Liberty Loan campaign in which Shelby County was asked to and did loan the government more than a million and a quarter of dollars, the free gift of nearly $40,000 for the allied causes was no small thing to accomplish; but with a consciousness of the great need and the justness of the cause the men who took the matter thoroughly upon their hearts gloriously succeeded.

C. E. Bolinger, reluctantly acceding to the demands of those who believed they saw in him elements of leadership that were required to put the big job over, accepted the chairmanship and threw himself, body and soul, into the work. From that time until the drive ended he was busy day and night, giving himself to the campaign with a singleness of purpose that augured ill for his private interests but well for the United War Work cause.

His right hand man was the secretary-treasurer, John J. Ward, whose experience in the former Y. M. C. A. drive and systematic handling of the details of the work were valuable assets. Both men worked heroically, and were given valiant assistance by scores of men and women in Shelbyville and throughout the county, to the end that Shelby went far beyond her minimum quota and sustained splendidly her reputation for generous giving.

Patriotically loyal and instant in their response to calls for aid, the Lutherans of Shelby County did a tine piece of work in putting the county "over the top" in the week's intensive campaign, Feb. 18-26, 1918, to raise their quota of the $750,000 asked for one year war-time spiritual service to soldiers and sailors. The people of this religious denomination rallied magnificently to the call.

In Shelbyville the quota was $250, and the campaign was managed by the Rev. J. K. Kiefifer, pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran church, who appointed the following assistants:

With a quota of $250, the church raised $405, while the Nation's call for $750,000 was increased by subscriptions totaling more than a million dollars. While the appeal primarily was for aid for Lutheran soldiers and sailors, the ministry made possible by the generous donations of the people was extended to service men of other denominations, as well.

George W. Wade of Shelbyville. a veteran of the Civil War and a patriot still, derived great satisfaction from the fact that the patriotic loyalty which prompted his bearing of arms in the 60's was instilled so deeply into his posterity that no less than five of his grandsons served Uncle Sam in the military department throughout the World War. Three of these, Frank Wade, Elmer Flowers and Delbert Flowers, went from Shelby County, while the other two, Walter Smith and Oscar Smith of Burbank, S. D., were members of a company of engineers of the Seventh South Dakota regiment. Elmer Flowers is credited with being the first Shelby County man to reach France after war was declared. He enlisted April 3, 1917, anticipating the President's declaration of war by several days, and accompanied General Pershing to France when he was sent there at the head of the American Expeditionary Force.

Charles S. Engel of Stewardson displayed true patriotism and proved himself really eager to get into the fray with the enemy, when after having been rejected after being sent to Camp Dix, because of physical disability, submitted himself to treatment that remedied the defect and then wrote the Local Board as follows:

Engel got the examination, and when a selected man asked for deferred induction, was given his chance by being substituted and given immediate induction.

This spirit also pervaded other men. particularly in the summer and fall of 1918. and there always was a waiting list with the Local Board, of men who desired preference in call to service.

The parent committee, out of which grew the County Neighborhood Committees through which it was intended to co-ordinate the war work of the county, and the County Executive Committee of the State Council of Defense, was the Counties Auxiliary Committee, appointed late in 1917 and composed of the following named persons:

Organization of the Shelby County Neighborhood Committees of the State Council of Defense was perfected in a meeting held in the circuit court room at the court house in Shelbyville on Wednesday, March 6, 1918, when as a feature of the meeting which called more than 120 representative men from all parts of the county together to lend further aid to war work, Ex-Governor Richard Yates of Springfield delivered a patriotic address.

At the assembling of the meeting at 1 o'clock. Temporary Chairman Geo. B. Rhoads introduced Mrs. Josephine Clement, organizer for the State Council of Defense, who clearly and succinctly stated the purpose of the Neighborhood Committees, declaring it to be for the purpose of diffusing patriotism, combatting disloyalty and aiding the government in any project that it desires carried to the people.

With the approval of the members of the local units, Hon. John W. Yantis and Chas. E. Keller, both of Shelbyville, were made permanent chairman and secretary, respectively, of the Neighborhood Committees. Mr. Yates was then introduced and delivered his address.

Following discussion of plans and purposes and arranging for community meetings in various parts of the county, the body named the following executive committee: