The "March Is American Red Cross Month!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Carol and I are sitting in a museum in Johnstown, Pennsylvania watching a short film about the 1889 Johnstown Flood with our friends Jere and Just Sue.  We all have 3D glasses on which made the film even more authentic.  

Date was May 31 when the South Fork Dam on the Little Conemaugh River, 14 miles upstream broke and released 14.55 million cubic meters of water.  2,209 people lost their lives and the flood accounted for $17 million of damage ($474 million in 2019 dollars).  We were told that the American Red Cross undertook a major disaster relief effort providing support for the victims.  Got me thinking about who were all these volunteers that provided support to the victims and their families.  All goes back to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71.  Clara Barton was visiting Europe and working with a relief organization known as the International Red Cross.  Upon her return to the United States, she began to lobby for an American branch of this international organization.  The American Red Cross was founded in 1881 and Barton served as its first president.  She oversaw assistance and relief work for the victims of the Johnstown and 1900 Galveston Floods.  

Trying to recruit members for the American Red Cross.

Just who was this amazing woman?  Clara was born on December 25, 1821 in Oxford, Massachu-
setts.  She was a shy child who found her calling when she tended to her brother David after an accident.  She became a teacher at age 15 and later opened a free public school in New Jersey.   She later moved to Washington, D.C,. where she worked in the U.S. Patent Office and eventually was an independent nurse during the Civil War helping soldiers.  

Clara Barton 1821-1912

She first saw combat in Fredericks- burg, Virginia in 1862.  She gained the nickname of "The Angel of the Battlefield" for her work.  After the war ended she worked for the War Department, helping to reunite missing soldiers and their families.  Then came the Franco-Prussian War and the start of the American Red Cross.  She resigned at the age of 83 from the organization amid a power struggle in 1904, but remained active giving speeches and lectures.  She also wrote a book entitled "The Story of My Childhood" which was published in 1907.  She died at her home in Glen Echo, Maryland on April 12, 1912.  

Clara Barton was honored with a U.S. Postage Stamp.

Her legacy to her nation - Service to Humanity - is reflected in the services provided daily by the employees and volunteers of the American Red Cross.  Due to her work and help during the Johnstown Flood, many people survived.  Today, every eight minutes, the American Red Cross brings help and hope to people in need.  March is "Red Cross Month" when we honor the heroes who are members of the Red Cross.  You too can be a hero by giving or sending a monetary donation or a donation of blood or maybe even working as a volunteer.  Our nation depends on the Red Cross.  Can they depend on you?  Uncover your inner hero and become a supporter or member of the American Red Cross.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.