One hundred years ago today (April 6) the United States entered World War I by declaring war on Germany. A number of men from Orange went into the Army because their unique skills were needed. They were lumbermen.
“Sending lumber to Europe was expensive and time consuming. With lumber supplies low, the US allies asked for experienced lumbermen. The 20th Engineer Regiment formed in 1917 to cut down trees and mill them in France,” reads a display in the Stark House.
The W.H. Stark House in downtown Orange now has an exhibit on Orange and the Stark family during World War I. The display is in the third floor turret room and opens on Saturday, the same day as Art in the Park next door in Stark Park.
The museum staff will be celebrating the 1920s on Saturday with the theme “Return to Normalcy” used as a campaign slogan by Warren G. Harding after the war. Curator Jeff Harris said visitors will be able to make a hair fascinator or a bow tie. They will also learn 1920s economics like how much workers earned and how much a car cost. “We have a lot of fun things,” he said.
Harris said the museum’s staff learned about the 20th Engineers while researching the Lutcher and Stark collections for the exhibit.
The display explains “Ads for volunteers ran in magazines like Southern Lumberman. By the end of the war, this regiment was the largest in the army. Forty-nine companies worked around the clock producint over two million board feet of lumber a day. At least twenty-nine local soldiers served in the 20th Engineers. Many of the men from Orange had worked in lumber mills. They used their experience and skills to further the war effort over there.”
William H. Stark and his wife, Miriam Lutcher Stark, built the Stark House and played prominent roles in Orange. During World War I, Stark ran the Lutcher and Moore Lumber Co., one of the largest lumber companies in the South. Their son, H.J. Lutcher Stark, was in charge of the Red Cross in Orange during the war.
Harris said the blue star and gold star designations for soldiers began during the war. The Lutcher and Moore company had at least 158 employees serving in the military. The exhibit reports “The company proudly displayed a service flag at is office with a star for each employee in the military.”
The lumber company also provided a resource for the war effort. The shipbuilding industry in Orange thrived during the war as the country needed ships to send troops and supplies to Europe. The town grew from a population from about 5,500 people in 1910 to more than 9,000 in 1920.
The ships built here were made of wood and the lumber company supplied the milled boards for construction.
The exhibit says more than 700 local men served in the military during the war. They included men who were sons of the Stark’s household staff. In addition, lumber company employee and family friend Douglas Pruter served in the 20th Engineers. His photograph standing tall in his uniform is on display.
Stark Foundation board member Larry David provided letters from his relative on the Dullahan side of his family.
Frances Ann Lutcher, Miriam Stark’s mother, gained the nickname of “The Orchid Lady” during the war. She was famous for her orchid collection and she would go to the Southern Pacific railroad depot and hand out the exotic flowers to soldiers passing through on trains. She even sent orchids to the wife of President Woodrow Wilson. Edith Bolling Wilson mailed a handwritten note of thanks.
The exhibit also aims to show people a bit of pop culture. A display includes buttons to press to play original recordings of popular songs at the time: “Over There,” “We Don’t Want the Bacon,” “Let’s Bury the Hatchet,” “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary,” “Keep the Home Fires Burning,” and “Oh! Frenchy.” The buttons are surrounded by replicas of sheet music covers of patriotic songs people would have played and sung in their parlors.
Pieces of intricate Belgian lace are on display. Harris said Mrs. Stark loved lace and bought several pieces, even before the U.S. entered the war, as part of the Belgium relief effort. The Germans invaded and destroyed the country early in the war. The Belgian women made their famous lace to sell through the Commission for the Relief of Belgium. The sales helped feed the people in the country.
The Rev. Henri Anet, a famous Belgian minister, traveled America after the war raising money to help rebuild the country. Mr. and Mrs. Stark hosted him at their home. A copy of the invitation is shown in the exhibit. Harris said Rev. Anet also went to the home of Andrew Carnegie. The fun-fact shows the level of influence the Stark family had nationwide.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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