I still have several posts sitting in my “to publish” queue that were to begin my blog by defining the intent of my search and then meandering through the last several months of work chronologically. But, it has become quite apparent that I need to relax my editorial rigor mortis and step well out of my tent.
NBC Comforts Committee of the Navy League during WWI. May Egan is in the middle row, 2nd from right. (Click any image to view larger.)
My reason for looking into this organization is the image at left, which is a portion of a National Biscuit Company newsletter my grandmother, May Egan, saved from her time working there in the 1910s.
In addition to working on this committee, she also met her future husband, John Tierney there. (Hmm, that name sounds familiar.) The caption on the photo is:
“This group of girls employed in the Egg and Fruit Departments of Tenth Avenue Factory, New York, are proud of the fact – and justly so – that they have become an organized unit (No. 128) of the Comforts Committee of the Navy League. They have been appointed to fit out the men of one of Uncle Sam’s submarines with sleeveless jackets, mufflers and wristlets. The picture shows a complete set made by the girls.”
Knit a Bit Poster on Flickr.
The NBC building they worked in is still around and when refurbished as the Chelsea Market the architects kept quite a bit of the original building in place, which is very interesting to see.
In fact, the upper floors contain standard office space and several months ago, before I realized that my grandparents had worked there, I had reason to attend a meeting in the building and found it fun to walk through.
The 1918 book American Women and the World War by Ida Clyde Clarke and the November, 1917 issue of Popular Mechanics both provide some more insight into the Comforts Committee as excerpted below.
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