Victory Garden winners announced
With fall's recent arrival, Village Green Floral and Garden Center announces the winners of its 2020 Victory Garden contest.
Village Green encouraged local residents to plant vegetable gardens as a empowering new pastime during the pandemic. The store then held a drawing from customers who had purchased plants or seeds.
The winners are: Will Jackson (1), Greg Phipps (2), and Charles Copeland (3), who will receive gift certificates from Village Green and the Wapakoneta Area Chamber of Commerce, as well as copies of the Book of Wapakoneta and Armstrong Experience commemorative playing cards from the Auglaize County Historical Society.
Village Green invited the Historical Society to provide the historic background for Victory Gardens in the United States during World Wars I and II. The Society also located copies of several vintage Victory Garden posters, which were displayed at Village Green.
States Historical Society administrator Rachel Barber, “We thank Village Green for inviting us to be involved in the Victory Garden contest. We know that models from history are relevant today, providing inspiration and comfort during challenging times.”
About Victory Gardens (from Ohio History Central, a service of the Ohio History Connection):
During World War I (1917-1918), the Food Administration encouraged the American people to grow their own food in war gardens. The gardens became known as victory gardens. During the conflict, the United States government wanted to guarantee that ample food existed for men serving in the armed forces and for America's allies overseas. By growing victory gardens, the American people could provide for themselves, instead of needing to purchase food grown by farmers. The federal government would then be able to send the farmers' produce overseas.
Americans across the United States heeded the government's call and planted victory gardens. Many urban families dug up their yards to provide for themselves and, thus, the soldiers. Apartment dwellers or other people without their own yards routinely received permission from local authorities to convert public parks into victory gardens. Like many other Americans, numerous Ohioans also rallied to support the war effort by planting gardens.
Upon the World War I's conclusion, victory gardens quickly declined in number. City parks, once again, became places to play, not places to grow fruits and vegetables. With World War II'S outbreak in 1941, American citizens revived their victory gardens, contributing to the war effort to the best of their ability. Victory gardens became a way of supplementing families' diets during a time when many foods were scarce because of rationing.