Editor’s note: This is the second of a series on 20th-century resident Mary Abbot, in celebration of Women’s History Month. The information is taken from the diaries Mary wrote between 1913 and 1952. The diaries are part of the Harvard Historical Society’s collections.
Mary Abbot’s adult life spanned two world wars, and in those times Mary kept informed on what was happening on the various fronts, and she read several books about each war. During World War I, she was active with the Red Cross and in events supporting the soldiers at Camp Devens when it opened in September 1917.
When war broke out, Mary’s parents and her sister Agnes, nine years younger than she, were in Berlin. Cables to Germany were cut, and several weeks would go by when there was no news from her family. When letters did finally arrive, it was clear they had been censored, the bottoms of pages cut with scissors. In February 1917, when Germany declared ruthless submarine warfare, the situation was grave, and Mary wondered what her family would do. Later that month a cable from them informed her they were en route to Paris, and in March came word of their safe arrival. By mid-May they were settled in Boston.
When the U.S. entered the war in April 1917, Mary, along with other women, began knitting white socks for the Red Cross and cutting gauze for the French Wounded Relief. Both her brothers registered for military service. Ben was drafted into a company of engineers at Camp Devens, and Frank joined the Massachusetts State Guard. A meeting of Liberty Loan Massachusetts was held at Town Hall, with a pessimistic talk on the war and a campaign encouraging people to buy war bonds.
That October, Mary took the horse Brownie and rode around selling tickets for entertainment at Town Hall to benefit the soldiers at Camp Devens. She sold 25. The evening of the event, Frank went to pick up soldiers at the camp. The next year, Mary took Brownie up and down the road collecting for the Red Cross War Fund.
In 1918 the public was asked not to use autos on Sundays to save gas for our troops and allies. It was not possible to buy a new Ford because of the war. Mary gathered clothes for the Red Cross to deliver to Belgium, and she went frequently in the buggy to town center to make surgical dressings.
On Nov. 7 there was a rumor that the armistice had been signed, and all the whistles were blowing. Then that news was contradicted. On Nov. 11, when the war really did end, there was a parade and more rejoicing in the evening. Nov. 12 was declared a holiday to celebrate, and Harvard had a parade. Frank marched with the Guard and Mary with the Red Cross ladies.
In May 1919 Mary wrote, “Went with Papa to see the German Sub U III in Charles River basin”; the money raised went to Victory Loan, a bond issue for the costs of the war.
Unfortunately, Mary’s diaries from 1941, 1944, and 1945 are missing, but her war records that do exist capture the town’s growing preparation for civil defense and the hardships and heroics of Harvard’s citizens. As earlier, Mary’s diaries are a record of Germany’s advances, with the war news very grave until she records on May 8, 1943: “Allied armies take Tunis and Bizert! Our first victory over Nazis.”
In 1940 the Red Cross was very active, and Mary went regularly to the center to make surgical dressings. The location varied—the library, the Congregational Church, the Still River Baptist Church, and Mrs. Bigelow’s home on Fairbank Street. She typed directions for knitting socks and distributed them, along with yarn, to volunteers. She also delivered yarn for sweaters, one time enough for her friend Eleanor Carlson to make three sweaters. Mary found a man and wife to head up the Red Cross War Relief drive. She herself took charge of the Red Cross War Fund. In early January 1943 the goal was to raise $1,500, and that mark was met by mid-March. As well as distributing yarn and sewing, Mary delivered first-aid kits.
Mary’s good friend Miriam Shaw took in German refugee friends, a mother and two daughters. The women in Mary’s reading club invited officers’ wives from Fort Devens to join them, and Mary and Frank sent apples to the USO club for the soldiers. There was a party for soldiers and a few Girl Scouts at the home of Mrs. Cummings.
A war bond poster from World War I. (Courtesy photo)
Starting in 1942, the fire tower on Oak Hill was to be manned 24/7 to watch for planes. Frank took a shift from 4 to 8 a.m. The Abbots’ hired man, John Callahan, was a local air raid warden. The family ordered blackout shades from Sears, and a practice run showed the need to adjust them for some cracks. Mary got directions for handling animals in war emergencies. On Feb. 9, 1942, daylight saving time began and was to last for the duration of the war.
Town Hall meeting for defense
On March 22 (Mary’s 54th birthday) there was a mass meeting for defense at Town Hall—police, fire, air raid wardens, and the medical division to get instructions for a blackout drill on March 30. The evening of the drill, Mary was on duty from 9 to 9:20 p.m. Frank had gone to town center at 8 p.m. to load the ambulance vehicles with stretchers and assemble the first-aiders.
In early April, Mary had her first two-hour duty at control central in Town Hall. Mary was also on the social services committee, along with Mildred Hazel and two other women, and on the Victory Garden committee, headed by the Garden Club president, Mrs. Wigglesworth.
Mary registered at Town Hall for sugar rationing and received a ration book. On May 12 Frank got a B1 gas card for the Chrysler, which got them 33 gallons until the end of June. The family went to Boston in the car for the last time. On later occasions they applied to the rationing board for an extra 5 gallons to make a trip to Boston for medical appointments.
At the end of October, oil was rationed. Frank and Mary were allowed 1,950 gallons for the year, two-thirds their usual supply, and they had to shut off the living room. On Dec. 18 there was a sudden gas emergency: A shipment went to North Africa, and there were orders not to sell gas except to commercial vehicles. The office of the rationing board in Town Hall was a busy place, open three days a week for applications; the board met regularly to act on applications.
At the start of 1943 there was a new fuel crisis and also a shortage of meat. Bigelow’s Market in town center had no beef, lamb, or pork. It was a happy day for Mary when, on Feb. 22, she recorded, “Figured out ration points for a roast of beef!” Bromfield School handled applications for war rationing book 2 for canned fruits, vegetables, and soup.
As the saying goes, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Jan. 1, 1946, found Mary writing in her diary that she had to review her Red Cross records for the past five years and figure out the number of hours worked by each knitter!
