Artifact of the Month: November 2017

Ketchikan's Liberty Brick

During World War II, the U.S. government pushed the sale of bonds in order to fund the war effort and simultaneously to reduce inflation. The government issued three types of bonds-lower denomination Series E bonds sold to individuals; Series F and G bonds sold to investors; and saving stamps with values as low as 10 cents to enable children to participate in bond drives. The "Schools at War" program was a type of bond drive designed for schoolchildren in kindergarten through twelfth grade. The program began on September 25, 1942 and was sponsored by the Treasury Department and the U.S. Office of Education. Around the country, students were encouraged to sell war bonds, conserve money and materials for the war effort, and save money for their own personal security.

Each participating school kept a scrapbook to document their activities and at the end of the program, winning schools received a brick from the historic Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The so-called "Liberty bricks" symbolized patriotism on the home front and were a major honor. Ketchikan was the only city in Alaska to win a Liberty brick for the schoolchildren's efforts in war bond sales, contributions to the Red Cross, and rubber and metal salvage. Dr. James C. Ryan, territorial commissioner of education, presented the award in Ketchikan on December 7, 1943, the second anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In addition to the award ceremony, the day's festivities included assemblies, weapons demonstrations by local Coast Guardsmen, and an exhibition of 13 scrapbooks showing the schoolchildren's war efforts.

The Liberty brick was put on display in the White Cliff School. The Ketchikan School District donated the brick display to the Tongass Historical Society in 1975.

Object credit:
Ketchikan Museums: Tongass Historical Society Collection, THS 75.12.3.2

Photo caption & credit:
Schoolchildren knit socks and gloves for the Red Cross while a teacher looks on, 1943.
Ketchikan Museums: Tongass Historical Society Collection, THS 75.12.3.1 A