.jpg)
Pages of History
The first killing frost arrived in mid October of 1944 and the corn harvest was soon underway.
“We’ve got about the best corn crop in history,“ said Laurel Advocate Editor Allison, “and now we don’t know what to do with it.“ How to get it harvested was a major concern. As mechanical pickers were scarce in 1944, most corn was harvested by hand. This was very labor-intensive work and extra help was needed. “Manpower is shorter than ever,” said Allison. “The ladies are going to be in the fields in greater numbers than ever.“ Kids, too. Several area schools closed for a week so farm kids could help with the harvest. Coleridge and Randolph closed. Laurel and Hartington did not. In many cases, it was found that town kids were more trouble than they were worth.
The Cedar County Labor Wage Board recommended that $.10-$.12 a bushel was an appropriate wage for hand pickers and $3.00-$4.50 per acre for mechanical pickers. Ten cents, incidentally, was 10 percent of the government- regulated price of $1.00 a bushel. In those days, corn generally averaged between 30 and 50 bushels per acre.
In a number of places, German prisoners of war were used to take the place of farm boys who were in the service.
POWs were used on several farms near Dixon. The Cedar County Labor Committee looked into using German prisoners but decided against it.
After considering the problems of building a camp to house the prisoners and their guards, transporting them from the camp to and from the fields where they were needed, and furnishing wagons and teams of horses, the committee decided POW labor was not worth the trouble and expense.
Had they been used, German prisoners would have to be paid 35 cents a day. That way it could not be charged that America was using “slave labor.“ Farmers were not the only ones affected by the labor shortage.
Edward V. Jones, who had been operating the Laurel Creamery and Lockers for several years, sold the locker business to Pete Christensen and Jens Jensen. Jones said he disposed of the lockers because he could not find help. Jensen would continue to operate the lockers until 1959 when it was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Mel Olson of Bloomfield.
Creamery butter became more expensive in October. Due to shortages and military demands, the government decreed consumers would now have to use 20 ration points to purchase a pound of creamery butter. By contrast, only two points were needed for a pound of margarine.
The Nebraska Highway Patrol advised motorists due to a shortage of yellow paint, dangerous “no passing” zones would no longer be marked with solid yellow lines. The white center lines would continue to be marked, but motorists were advised not to drive on them to avoid harming the paint.
Another fund drive kicked off, Oct. 9. ,This one was to fund a variety of projects including some 3000 USO stations operating in the country; furnishing athletic and recreational activities for soldiers in rest camps; furnishing food, medical supplies, books and magazines to service men in German and Japanese prison camps; and sending food and medicine to civilians in countries devastated by the war.
Cedar County’s quota in this drive was $7130. Laurel’s share was $829. By the end of the month, Laurel had “gone over the top.” This was due in part to Andrew Sohler who donated his Nash auto. Sohler’s car was sold at a combination sale on Oct. 28 and the proceeds were donated to the drive.
Pvt. Walter Meyer Jr. was killed in a Jeep accident in France. His father Walter Meyer Sr. ran a pool hall at 116 E. Second from about 1941 to 1943. Meyer’s body was returned in 1948 and buried in Wayne.
Cpl. Glen Reimers was wounded in action in Italy. He was a member of the 133rd Regiment of the Fifth Army and was attached to the famous Red Bull Division which claimed to have received more decorations and citations than any other outfit overseas.
Eldo “Lucky” Weseloh, a tail gunner on a B-24 bomber, who had been missing since Feb. 11, turned up in France. Weseloh‘s plane was badly damaged in a bombing raid on Frankfurt, Germany, but made it back to Occupied France where the crew bailed out.
