The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Room 307 ran Middletown’s war
Room 307 in the Webster Bank Building on Main Street looks much like any office in Middletown.
MIDDLETOWN >> Room 307 in the Webster Bank Building on Main Street looks much like any office in Middletown. It has computers, desks, phones and the other things a modern business needs. Likewise, the large conference room on the top floor is similar to many others.
Yet during World War I, it was headquarters for the Middletown War Bureau and the most important site in the city. The conference room would have hosted meetings to determine how Middletown prepared for war. The office below had a single telephone and one typewriter. Little public money had been spent on either space because patriotic citizens had donated furniture and equipment. Even the man who worked in the office volunteered his time.
Sixty-one-year-old Mr. Gibson W. Wilson was the secretary of the Middletown War Bureau and, along with other prominent citizens, helped to organise Middletown’s wartime efforts from 1917 to 1918.
On April 6, 1917, Congress declared war on Germany and America sided with France, Britain and other Allies to end the bloody fighting which had raged in Europe for three exhausting years. Within days, the governor of Connecticut had set up a Defence Council to identify what role the state should play in the war. At first, the council collected information on the state’s resources through special town communities. Soon, it was clear more permanent arrangements were needed and each city and large town was authorized to establish a war bureau.
The job of the Middletown War Bureau was to make sure the city was “well-cared-for in all exigencies arising from a state of war.” It worked through 12 committees each chaired by a prominent business or civic leader. The Military Committee kept a roster of all local men in service and watched for any sign of enemy aliens in the city. The Finance Committee supported fundraising drives for the U.S. government’s Liberty Loans and the Publicity Committee staged rallies and gave out information in movie theatres and the annual fairs in surrounding towns.
The Committee on Education ran programs in city schools and an Americanization course for foreign-born residents living in Middletown. Local women’s organizations came together through the Women’s Activity Committee and dealt with home economics, food conservation and employment issues for women.
When a special task arose, the bureau brought together the Chamber of Commerce, fraternal organizations, civic bodies, churches and whoever else was needed.
The bureau reported to state authorities in Hartford and also to the community. It published regular updates in the local newspaper and members used their personal networks to spread information. Essentially, it was the link between Middletown and the state and U.S. governments and at the same helped residents facing difficulties brought on by the war.
The Connecticut State Library holds files on Middletown’s War Bureau and most have not been seen in 100 years. Russell Library has newspaper clippings on its work. Both show the energy and thoroughness with which the bureau carried out its duties — whether it was acting for families anxious about the welfare of loved ones in France, arranging insurance for departing soldiers or getting family allowances when a breadwinner shipped out. Often the issues Mr. Wilson and his colleagues faced were more mundane, like where propaganda posters should be placed or chasing up missing mail from the U.S. Post Office.
Today, in reading the bureau’s letters and minutes, Mr. Wilson stands out as a patient yet persistent man devoted to Middletown and its families. Sometimes, he battled bureaucracy in Hartford or Washington, yet he was always cordial but determined. He wrote volumes of correspondence and newspaper articles and at times handled up to 40 callers and telephone messages in a day. Sometimes he worked 10 hours a day instead of the five hours he had originally volunteered for.
Mr. Wilson was supported by Miss Sweet, a stenographer loaned by the Russell Manufacturing Company. Even so, after several hectic months in the job, he resigned and headed for the Shoreline.
After the war, a meeting was held to decide if the bureau should continue. Some thought the need had passed while others believed it should stay and continue the valuable community programs begun during wartime. Eventually, it was unanimously decided to continue with the bureau but its final fate is unknown. Maybe the wartime community spirit it bought forth still inspires some of the civic organizations that operate in Middletown today.
Room 307 is still there, as is the large conference room where so many important wartime decisions were made. The Middletown War Bureau now exists only in the newspaper clippings in Russell Library and the archive boxes of the Connecticut State Library. Both show Middletown prosecuted World War I with energy, patriotism and highminded civic purpose.
Thanks to Russell Library, the Connecticut State Library and Trevor Davis Commercial Real Estate for assistance with researching this article.