When knitting was the rage

Who says you can’t knit and smoke at the same time? This unlabeled photo from the Cornell College archives appears to document male students, with a female instructor, knitting in order to “do their part” on the homefront during World War II. 

In 1941 the American Red Cross launched a massive knitting effort to make sleeveless sweaters for the Army and Navy. By November the Linn County chairperson told The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette the number of volunteers in Linn County had doubled that year, specifically mentioning Cornell students as being part of the effort. 

Mount Vernon’s Red Cross chairwoman in charge of knitting, Dessie Sommerville, received the first Linn County Service pin for knitting 100 pieces, eventually completing more than 200 of the largest and heaviest sweaters called for.

War effort knitting in Mount Vernon and on campus began during World War I after a Red Cross chapter was formed with Cornell Vice President James Harlan as chairman. Membership surpassed 600 in the small town. According to “A Centennial History of Mount Vernon, Iowa (1847-1947)” knitting for the Red Cross war effort was all the rage: 

“Women carried their knitting to lectures, clubs, concerts, and other gatherings. College girls found time to add a row or two of stitches between class periods. Everyone knitted. On one occasion needles clicked during the morning services of the Methodist Church. Such enthusiasm was not looked upon with much favor and the procedure was not repeated.”