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During the second World War, the OPA (Office of Price Administration) limited the amount of goods a person could buy. The rationing extended to automobiles, coal, nylons, firewood, silk, tires, gasoline meat, dairy, coffee, sugar etc. It was a way people could sacrifice for their country, and it was considered a common good. The first War Ration Card Number One became known as the Sugar Book. Photo submitted by Katie Clark and Hartley Newell-Acero
Woven into the history of Cook County are stories of communities, organizations, and people collectively coming together – revealing strength through generosity, sacrifice, and cooperation. This collective spirit both grew out of and empowered communities as people looked out for one another.
The first inhabitants of this area, the Anishinaabe people, lived cooperatively with the land and with each other. Their communities shared resources, as well as worked, protected, and cared for each other. A culture of generosity was ever-present, valuing gift giving and conferring honor and respect on those who were generous.
Upon the arrival of the European settlers, the Anishinaabe welcomed them to the area and assisted them. Early settler Orton Tofte told of how the first people his family met when establishing themselves in Tofte in 1893 were Native Americans, who welcomed them by bringing a hindquarter of moose meat during their first winter on the North Shore.
The stories of generosity and survival continued throughout the years as neighbors, friends and family, early community health workers – everyone helped to care for the sick and the elderly; to bring children into the world and care for them; and to deliver supplies and people wherever needed.
When the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic killed an estimated 675,000 people in the United States during and after WWI, local health and government officials improvised plans to safeguard the communities. Schools closed, studies resumed at home, and parents kept children off the streets. Masks were worn, gathering spaces were avoided and public meetings were put on hold.
During times of worldly conflict, people contributed to the overall war effort. War gardens were planted and scrap drives were held when wartime necessities fostered the growth of gardening and other productive enterprises. With wartime rationing and scarcity in mind, Victory Cakes and other creative recipes were concocted. Many citizens also participated in the nationwide organization of “Operation Skywatch” – watching the skies for countless hours for possible Russian aircraft.
People of Cook County subsisted with the attitudes that allowed them to live with the land. Remote communities worked together, pooled resources, and supported each other to live, work, and survive. Roads were built and maintained, telephone lines were installed and managed, and various groups worked collaboratively to protect, replenish, and share the natural resources. Through countless challenges – fires, floods, shipwrecks, a dwindling fishing industry, economic downturns, illness, environmental concerns – people overcame adversity.
Of course, people have not always committed themselves to the same causes or chosen the same sides to an issue. But as conflicts have sprung up and disagreements occurred, people have lived with purpose, connections, and meaning and have contributed to a cooperative spirit that is rooted in a spirit of resilience within this rugged landscape.
The COVID-19 pandemic requires us to once again turn our focus to caring for our community; however, the characteristics of this virus require us to adapt the ways that caring is demonstrated. Historically, we came together by literally coming together, shoulder to-shoulder, lightening each other’s burdens with the gift of our emotional and physical presence. We are wired to react this way and to crave this contact. Unfortunately, this disease uses our physical closeness to its advantage.
Because of this, over the last months we have found ways to support each other while denying the virus the proximity that it needs to spread. In the early days of the pandemic, those that could sew started churning out masks, enabling their recipients to protect themselves and others. We shopped for each other’s groceries and posted signs in our yards to express our gratitude to front-line workers. We’re choosing to patronize local stores and get takeout from local restaurants. Education, church services, social groups, health care, and family conversations pivoted from in-person to on-line, giving the term “internet connectivity” a much deeper meaning. In our part of the world, the arrival of winter weather never slows us down much, and even with a pandemic, this year is no exception. Outside activities such as skating, snowshoeing, and laughing around the firepit are traditional joys that feed our souls with physically distanced fellowship, while our masks now have the compounded benefit of protecting us from both the cold and the virus. Finally, vaccines have arrived, and just like the sun at winter solstice, they hold the promise of warmer days spent together.
Some of us can claim generational knowledge of this place. Some of us measure our time here in weeks. But none of us will ever forget the lessons we’re being reminded of as we collectively weather this storm: Our individual choices have always been woven together to create the fabric of our community. We all have a role to play in caring for one another.
Throughout our history, in the midst of our pandemic present, and in our uncharted future, the people here choose to sacrifice for one another, to give selflessly, and to solve our problems with creativity, courage, and compassion.
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