Her Legacy: Etta Van Norman

BY KATLYN BOSCH VERMERRIS FOR THE GREATER GRAND RAPIDS WOMEN’S HISTORY COUNCIL

The image here of Etta Van Norman in her Red Cross garb represents the signifi cance attached to costuming during WWI, when women’s uniforms identifi ed public roles and collapsed social boundaries. No doubt, Van Norman’s vast experience as a dedicated club woman had ensured her leadership role and position on public platforms; but no one only seeing her could have predicted that in 1923 she would preside over a Detroit club luncheon to pressure the governor to enforce prohibition—or that she had represented local clubs at conferences all over the nation. At age 51 in 1918, Van Norman had already served as president of the local Federation of Women’s Clubs. In the future, she chaired state committees for the Michigan Federation and was a frequent speaker at state conferences.

“ e Red Cross is the heart of America, a heart full of devotion and love and sacri ce” -- Grand Rapids Herald, 1918. Famed nurse Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross in 1881, in time to o er disaster relief after the Michigan  umb Fire in September. But upon U.S. entry into World War I in 1917, the American branch focused its e orts away from domestic relief and onto overseas civilian aid.

 e work of the Red Cross extended from training nurses to coordinating knitting campaigns. While its national leadership was largely male, the business of its local auxiliaries was almost universally conducted by women. In Grand Rapids and across the nation, women truly kept the light of life burning during and after the war.

 e Grand Rapids Red Cross headquarters were in the Klingman Building on Ionia. It was open daily for dropin war work rolling bandages or wrapping Christmas packages, but the city’s numerous auxiliaries had their own workrooms and leaders. Often neighborhoods had auxiliaries; but institutions like the Grand Rapids Herald also sponsored workrooms, and Herpolsheimer’s department store had workers on every  oor of its building.

Long-time clubwoman Etta Van Norman ran the Herald auxiliary. She had the advantage of a built-in work force, and the newspaper’s famous Santa Claus Girls “proved as e cient in rolling and folding bandages . . . as they were  lling bags of cheer for children.”  e Herald’s pages promoted Red Cross e orts and reported on working conditions and results. Its own workroom o ered new, blue “daylight” bulbs for evening work; and, during March 1918 alone, over 1700 volunteers and store clerks at Herpolsheimer’s created 22,355 wound dressings.

Mass participation in this war e ort brought together elite philanthropists, middle-class clubwomen, and factory workers who could all aid the Red Cross while still caring for their families. Children could be engaged in a prominent Junior Red Cross program, which featured its own auxiliaries and projects knitting together yarn scraps, collecting rubber, etc; and the Red Cross provided training classes for women, including  rst aid, home nursing, surgical dressings, and even dancing--skills that women could continue to develop after the war.

Some Red Cross e orts overlapped with those sponsored by the Woman’s Committee of the Council of National

ILLUSTRATIONS BY LIBBY VANDERPLOEG

Defense. In fact, the latter’s massive registration campaign in Kent County, collecting nearly 23,000 surveys of women’s skills, interests, and time, was undertaken partially to connect volunteers to the Red Cross for best placement. Herald auxiliary leader Etta Van Norman also promoted the CND registration campaign.

During the course of the war, over one third of the U.S. population worked for the Red Cross and raised money to address humanitarian needs. But not everyone was enamored. When Grand Rapids attempted to raise $500,000 for overseas relief, 75 local manufacturers pledged $6 per employee; but $3 was to come out of employee paychecks. One man refused to attend a Red Cross meeting saying, “To hell with the Red Cross!” He was  red from Luce Furniture factory.

Finally, the mobilization of American women during WWI demonstrated their collective power and left them with new experience to carry into the future.

GGRWHC’s programming to honor the 19th Amendment centennial has been interrupted by the coronavirus outbreak. For now, please stay safe but celebrate with us virtually and in print! Visit the digital su rage exhibit on our website (ggrwhc.org); follow our calendar electronically and in WLM; and stay tuned about August 26th: HER VOICE HER VOTE!