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Troy's Victory Garden's: A Home Front Effort By Mike Esposito Tom Brokaw's recent best seller, The Greatest Generation, and the success this year of the films Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line bring to mind the sacrifices and hardships endured by people especially during times of war. On the home front each community made an effort to contribute in some way to the members of our Armed Forces. One such effort involving people of all ages was planting victory gardens. During the war years victory gardening was not a hobby; it was an important need in the nations war effort. "The transportation system was strained by demands on it to carry war materials. Labor and machinery shortages and the curtailment of other supplies added to the difficulty of food production. Over fifty percent of the nations canned foods were used by the Armed Forces." Everyone who could find a good row of ground to hoe was bound to grow something for their nourishment and their country's good. The rallying cry was "Garden for Victory!" Back yard gardens were credited with the production of 41 % of the nation's vegetables. Photos in a 1943 issue of Life magazine show families tending to vegetable gardens formerly planted with flowers in suburban areas and prisoners working at plots near county jails. At a New York City home for the aged, nuns grew vegetables for their residents. Victory gardens were planted at the plaza in front of the San Francisco City Hall, at Chicago's Arlington Race Track, at Boston's Copley Square, at the Portland (Oregon) Zoo, and the back grounds of the White House. The Life article referred to wartime gardening as "the greatest amateur harvest in American history". Depending on the climate and time of year, the most popular items were squash, beans, cabbage, peppers, egg plant, corn, kale, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, other standard and reliable vegetables. Those who had any doubts about setting up a victory garden remembered the rationing programs. The U. S. Department of Agriculture printed tens of thousands of copies of pamphlets such as the "Working Manual for Victory Gardens" and "Food Preservation: How to Preserve Foods by Canning, Drying and Brining". Locally, the forty member Nutrition Committee in Troy, chaired by Mrs. John DeLee, sponsored a weekly radio broadcast, the Victory Garden Program on WGY on Saturdays and coordinated the distribution of 7,000 leaflets on gardening in 1943. Along with planting and harvesting vegetables, canning was an important component of the overall program. Forty-five canning demonstrations attracting hundreds of residents were held at various sites around the city and county from a "Victory Van". The most popular exhibit at the 1943 Schaghticoke Fair was the canned food exhibit sponsored by the County 4-H Club. Lewis V. Griffin was the Director of the local Office of Civilian Protection. The Chair of the Volunteer Office was Matilda Mallison. County Victory Garden Councils helped finance the programs. The Council, coordinated by Samuel B. Dorrance, Rensselaer County 4-H Club agent, was organized with eighteen members. In some parts of the country real estate boards cooperated in locating vacant lots for community plots. The Lansingburgh Victory Garden Club tilled fifteen acres at the Knickerbocker Playground during the summer of 1943 and held a Harvest Supper in September attended by 250 people. The Troy Boys Club summer victory garden was on the Sambrook Estate on Oakwood Avenue. Prizes were awarded to the youngsters for the most productive garden and the best-kept garden. According to William Tempel, Assistant County agent and 4-H Club President during the 1940's, the local effort in Troy and Rensselaer County was primarily individual gardens on private land. Mr. Tempel would advise people on how to establish victory gardens, provide information on insect control and visit the gardens once established. Residents would register to participate and follow guidelines set by the Council. Experienced gardeners volunteered to help novices. Mr. Tempel was a judge for the Victory Garden Contest sponsored by The Troy Record Newspapers. Once the gardens were planted and growing, if pilfering were a problem residents were told to enlist the aid of the Air Warden organization to keep an eye on the community gardens. By 1943 there were 18 to 20 million-victory gardens in America. 200,000 bushels were harvested in the 12,986 Rensselear County Victory Gardens that year. Three million quarts of vegetables were canned and 100,000 bushels were stored. The World War I victory garden effort in Troy was documented in an article in the April 20, 1917 issue of the Troy Record. 1,500 gardens in the city were cultivated by school children and hundreds more by adults. "The children throughout the heat of the summer have kept their enthusiasm and hoed their gardens. They have been led carefully, of course, and given reasons and prompted in rivalry to keep at it. The article further reported that "to protect the gardens that will be cultivated by the children of the city it has been suggested that an American flag be placed at each of the four comers of lots where work is going on, together with the notice: "This garden work has been ordered by the United States government." The National League for Woman's Service volunteered to help and appointed a woman in every ward to assist the young gardeners. Home and school gardens in the city provided 2,000 families with their supply of vegetables in the summer of 1917. Potatoes and other crops to be harvested later would furnish some food for the winter. The success of the World War I home and school gardens in Troy received national attention when officials at Cornell University and federal agricultural officials and state education officials recognized the effort. That year Troy's program, which became a model for other areas, was second only to San Francisco in its home garden program. As we begin to prepare our home vegetable gardens this spring let us remember and acknowledge with pride the past accomplishments of all those who were active in this remarkable home front effort during the World Wars. In a sense, the spirit and the memory of wartime gardens is kept alive by the efforts of Capital District Community Gardens, which maintains over a dozen vegetable gardens throughout the city providing fresh food for many city residents and for local food pantries. Community Gardens is located at 295 Eighth Street, Troy and can be reached at 274-8685. Volunteers are always welcomed! Note: Sources used in preparing this article were documents from the NYS War Council available at the NYS Archives, and articles from the microfilm edition of the Troy Record and periodicals and reference books available at the Troy Public Library. In cooperation with Troy United Ink Corp., a not-for-profit corporation 
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