World War II in Culver Jul - Sep 1944  

July 5

Collects over Five Tons of Scrape Paper

July 12

Stephen McGregot Killed on D-Day - ... was killed in action on D-day June 6 in France wile commanding an amphibian tractor company...

July 26

Philip Tasch Died In France June 15

Aug 2

Wennerstom Wounded - ... Kinght Leo Wennersteom...has been wounded. No further details...

Nany News Release Tepps S{eyers of Son's Activity Against Japs - Although the navy's squadron VB-106 of Liberator bombers flew 1,262 sorties, sunk43 Jap ships, downed 15 Janpanese places, spotted targets for task forces which shelled Rabaul and hung up a brilliant record for itsel during its seven months of tour of duty in the Pacific war zone... Donald was bdly burned and one arm gfractured in the elbow when the plane on which he was a radioman crashed...He was still in the hospital in New Guinea...

Aug 16

Set Sept 15 to Oct 15 for Christmas Gifts To Overseas Personnel

All of County Except Plymouth Went Over Fifth War Load Quoata - ...Union township and Culver, quota $100,000 sakes $118,256...

Is Prisoner of War...S. Sgt. Robert A Squires... who was previously reported missing in action, is a German prisoner of war

Manpower Shortage In War Plants Is Threat To Military Success

Donald Burkett ... is a mechanic on a B-24 Liberattor...is first from the left on the back row

Sep 13

Bill Oberlin wounded - ... in the Europen Theater of war. No detailes have been learned...

1944 - Sep 13 - Local School Children to Collect Milkweed Floss

The collection of milkweed floss as a vital contribution to the war effort will start soon by students of the Culver grade and high schools.

Students will Organize into groups and pool their harvest of milkweed pods in standard 100 pound mesh bags.

The War Food Adminstration, in cooperation with the U. S. Office of Education, is appealing to the school chiidren of America to help collect milkweed floss to make life belts for sailors and soldiers.

The allied supply of kapok was suddenly cut off when Japan captured the East Indies.

Milkweed floss is the best material sufficiently waterproof and buoyant to use in life vests.

Picking of the pods may be done any time after the seeds begin to turn brown and until the pods have opened, but not after the floss is blowing away. Immediately after picking the pods should be hung in the open air to dry. The government will pay 25 cents when the bags are properly filled.

The floss in two bags may save some fighting man's life.

Farmers interested in collecting milkweed pods may deliver them to the school or call at the home of J. W. Furnas, vocational agriculture teacher, for mesh bags.

1944 - Oct 11 - School Students Gather Milkweed Floss For 15 Life Preservers

About 165 men in service will be able to protect their lives with life preservers while crossing the ocean as the result of the collection of milkweed pods in the Culver High school under the supervision of Joseph Furnas, vocational agriculture instructor.

The collection ended last week with about 325 bags full of pods collected.

Approximately 75 of this amount was gathered by the six high schoel grades. No school time was used for the collection of pods, students volunteering to help with the war effort outside of school hours.

Although this large quantity of milkweed pods has been brought to the school, Mr. Furnas estimates that not over 10 per cent of the pods in Union township were gathered.

The pods are dried on racks as shown above and shipped in 50 pound onion sacks to Petrosky, Mich., where the floss is combed out.

The state agriculture experiment stations cooperated with fruit and vegetable dealers in collecting the onion bags used to sack the milkweed pods for shipment. Each tiny string of floss is microscopic in size and is hollow, giving a lightness and buoyancy that makes the milkweed floss the most satisfactory substitute for kapok that has been found in this country.

School children have been paid cents per bag for the muchneeded pods.

Foster Vogel Dies In County's Service .

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