Date in History: World War II
The Home Town Folks was an organization created in Fort Atkinson during World War II to support our servicemen and women who were far away from home. Every holiday and birthday throughout the war, these kind folks sent a card to the troops, and at Christmas they mailed off a package to every serviceperson from the Fort Atkinson area.
For Christmas 1943 they sent almost 900 packages to those serving both in the United States and overseas. In the package they included a can of Planters peanuts, a tube of toothpaste, a bar of Lux soap, 3 packs of Camel cigarettes, 2 packs of Wrigley Gum, 2 rolls of lifesavers, 2 packs of razor blades, a comb and a handkerchief with the word “Fort” embroidered in red on khaki cloth for those in the Army, and in blue on white cloth for those in the Navy and Marines.
This historic document aired on the radio as an Historic Minute on 12/22/2003.