Research: Military: They Also Served
They Also Served --- Series Descriptions
Office of Civilian Mobilization
A4339. Program Coordination Meeting and Conference Agendas, Minutes, and Correspondence, 1941-1944. 0.1 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Chronological by month.
This series contains materials documenting the meetings of the Office of Civilian Mobilization wherein its organization and responsibilities were determined. Early meetings held in conjunction with other War Council agencies determined areas of program responsibility between the various organizations; later regional meetings were held among local war councils to coordinate activities. An early concern was the formation of the OCM's State and local governing boards. Later regional meetings and conferences concentrated on OCM programs such as nursing recruitment, material conservation, and youth programs.
A4340. Lists of Local War Council Chairs and Officers, 1943-1945. 0.3 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Chronological by year, then alphabetical by county.
This series contains lists of local war council chairs and officers involved in home front activities related to the Office of Civilian Mobilization. The lists were used by the office to send information to the councils and officers. The names and addresses of the local directors of Civilian War Services divisions and persons in charge of each local Volunteer Office and the Block Plan are found, in addition to the names of the individuals responsible for adult education; child care; citizen unity; consumer relations; emergency medical service; health and preparedness; housing; nutrition; physical fitness; recreation; salvage; social protection (which worked to discourage prostitution); victory gardens; war training; war bond sales; and youth programs. The names and addresses of local Office of Civilian Protection directors are also found in this series.
A3084. Correspondence With Local War Councils And Volunteer Agencies, 1942-1945. 10.8 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by county or city.
This series contains correspondence relating to the organization and coordination of local volunteer agencies in community services. Through correspondence with the local war councils and volunteer agencies, the Office of Civilian Mobilization (OCM) promoted recreation activities related to preventing juvenile delinquency and maintaining morale. It also encouraged local agencies to recruit women to work in defense industries and agriculture and promoted child care for those who needed the service. The OCM also promoted pre-induction activities (such as award ceremonies, community support parties, and counseling) to help young men make the transition from civilian to soldier.
Topics covered include recreation, child care, nursing recruitment, women in the work force, salvage collection, pre-induction of soldiers, and other topics relating to the support of home front activities. Also found in this series are newsletters from county volunteer agencies relating their activities in these areas. Frequently, lists of county committee members detailing names and positions within the local agency are found.
The OCM also disseminated information on home front activities by providing pamphlets on salvage, food preservation, production, the "Don't Travel" campaign, pre-induction activities, nursing recruitment, and recreation. Requests for this information and responses are found within the correspondence.
Finding aids: Folder list.
A4324. Local War Councils' and Field Representatives' City and County Activity Reports, 1941-1945. 1.2 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by city or county.
This series contains correspondence and memoranda sent to the Office of Civilian Mobilization (OCM) by its field representatives or local war councils reporting on activities, personnel changes, and organizational issues. While not requiring these on a regular basis, the OCM used the reports to monitor problems within the local councils, especially those reports filed by the field representatives which are blunter than those sent by the local councils.Buffalo, Rochester, Schenectady, and Syracuse are well-represented in this series. The local war councils' reports contain detailed lists of programs, including the number of volunteers involved; lists of procedures used for civil defense activities; organizational charts; personnel changes; and sample forms and pamphlets for various activities.
The field representatives' reports include observations concerning operational problems, personnel conflicts, and program deficiencies, often with suggested plans of action to rectify them. These reports include logs listing who the representative met with, when, and what was discussed. Topics discussed include projected employment needs, women's role in the local labor market, the need for child care, nursing recruitment, and volunteer recruitment. Initially, many local officers confided to the field representatives that enlisting volunteers for anything but civil defense was problematic.
Finding aids: Folder list.
A4325. Defense Programs Coordination Correspondence, 1941-1945. 11 cu. ft.
Arrangement: By broad topic headings and therein alphabetical by subject.
This series contains correspondence created during cooperative efforts between the OCM, State and federal agencies, and private organizations in an effort to coordinate, publicize, and implement programs designed to involve the citizens of New York State in home front activities. Correspondence between the OCM and State agencies relates to program development and implementation and volunteer recruitment. The OCM and agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, State Committee on Child Care, Department of Education, Food Commission, Farm Manpower Service, and Department of Health concentrated on developing plans and priorities, solving problems, assessing needs in the localities, and assisting local war councils with program implementation.
Correspondence with federal agencies is of a more informational nature. Recommendations for operating procedures to ensure cooperative relationships, promotion of the federal agencies' programs, and use of volunteers in the programs are discussed.Included are copies of publications, summaries of conferences held in Washington, D.C., and copies of talks given at national conferences from agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Price Administration, Office of Defense Health and Welfare Services of the Federal Security Agency, and the Defense Office of Transportation.
In addition to gathering information within New York State, the OCM exchanged publications and reports with other states. This series contains many of these reports addressing the effects of war on welfare services and operation of the other states' defense councils. Requests from libraries in other states to the OCM for publications are numerous.
Colleges also conducted workshops and other programs designed to increase awareness about defense issues. A major participant and source of expert advice was the Department of Home Economics at Cornell University. Cornell distributed information about food conservation, organized nutrition committees in counties and cities, and promoted these efforts by directing the home demonstration agents program. The College of Agriculture at Cornell cooperated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Extension Service to create a report series that addressed issues such as farm labor, marketing, and farm machinery. Vassar College became involved in community planning and hosted the Civilian Training Institute for Family and Child Care Services in War Time. In addition to correspondence, the schools also sent informational reports and newsletters to the OCM produced as a result of their efforts.
The OCM coordinated its actions with private organizations to reduce confusion about who was responsible for program administration. Placing the OCM in charge of recruiting volunteers to participate in the organizations' activities created a workable compromise. The series contains correspondence between the OCM and such organizations as community chests and councils, Council of Social Agencies, Girl Scouts, State Charities Aid Association, and the United Service Organizations.
In an effort to consolidate volunteer recruitment within New York State, the OCM was given full responsibility for recruiting for itself as well as for the Office of Civilian Protection (OCP) and for compiling OCP progress reports from the counties. Much of the correspondence between the OCM and OCP relates to coordinating cooperative efforts. Procedures for the OCP programs such as air raids, artificial lighting in dimout areas, use of air raid shelters, and operation of control centers and report centers are also included.
The OCM also corresponded with the federal Office of Civilian Defense (OCD) offices in New York City and Washington. The OCD in New York City was the central location for the Second Civilian Defense region. It served as a liaison between the Washington OCD and the state OCP in an effort to promote federal defense programs through exchange of publications and organizational plans. The OCD in Washington acted as a liaison with federal agencies to coordinate programs which would then be distributed to the states and implemented in the counties where they would be best utilized. This office encouraged central leadership, so much of the correspondence addresses procedures, unified action and planning, and gathering and disseminating information from all states.
Finding aids: Folder list.
A4326. National Defense and Civilian Services Cooperative Activities Programs Coordination File, 1941-1945. 3 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by subject.
The Office of Civilian Mobilization was responsible for coordinating volunteer participation to promote civilian defense and social activities. Cooperation between the war council offices and State agencies (such as the State Education Department and the Office of Defense Health and Welfare Services) and other organizations (such as the Recreation Association and the Red Cross) was essential for maximum effectiveness. This series contains correspondence and publications which facilitated exchange of information and coordination of programs. Some of the subjects covered include education; national defense; recreation; health (Red Cross); and veterans.
Finding aids: Folder list.
A4327. Organization and Program Coordination Correspondence File, 1941-1945. 2 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Arranged by topic.
The correspondence in this series relates to operational plans of the Office of Civilian Mobilization (OCM) and its subordinate divisions (Section of Citizen Morale, Section of Civilian War Services, and the Volunteer Office). The Section of Citizen Morale was responsible for organizing speeches and other activities designed to interpret war plans and democratic principles for the citizens. Programs promoting health, child care, salvage, recreation, and housing were implemented by the Section of Civilian War Services. Registration of volunteers and tabulation of statistics became the main responsibility of the Volunteer Office.
Most of the correspondence details discussions between the director and other leaders of the OCM and the directors of the sections concerning program objectives, events coordination, local developments, and cooperation with State agencies. Narrative reports and handbooks that describe the scope and policies of these subdivisions are also present in the series. The governor's and lieutenant governor's correspondence with private citizens and the OCM provides evidence of how they wanted the OCM to operate.
Finding aids: Folder list.
A4328. Volunteer Participation Conferences and Meetings Coordination Correspondence and Publicity Files, 1941-1945. 3 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Chronological by meeting date, then arranged by topic.
This series contains correspondence, agendas, and minutes relating to conferences organized by the Office of Civilian Mobilization (OCM). The office's director and staff members met with representatives from State agencies and other organizations and committees to discuss coordination of volunteer participation in program areas such as nutrition (mass feeding); child care; block leader training; and safeguarding military information. Other meetings addressed coordination of the field representatives' activities and developments and problems within the OCM, regions, and local councils.
The OCM used publications, public addresses, radio talks, and bulletins to distribute information and increase citizen participation. Copies of these are contained in this series. The series also contains monthly reports prepared by the OCM, Director of Civilian Protection, and Civilian War Services; correspondence relating to the publicity steering committee and completed projects (block leader training, fifth war loan drive, transportation and fuel survey); and labor market development reports from the United States Employment Service of the War Manpower Commission detailing demand for labor in regions of the State.
Finding aids: Folder list.
A4329. Local War Councils Newspaper Clippings File, 1941-1945. 2 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Organized into two parts:the first is alphabetical by subject, the second is alphabetical by county or city.
This series contains clippings collected by the Office of Civilian Mobilization (OCM) documenting the activities of local war councils in home front programs. In addition to OCM activities, civil defense work is also documented, and sometimes the communities' war-related activities such as war plant production. Typical subjects found in this series include Block Plan (in which volunteers promoted OCM activities in their neighborhoods); child care; civil defense; farm labor; first aid; nursing; nutrition; salvage; volunteer recruitment; war training; and women's volunteer activities.
A4330. Local War Council Operating Reports, 1942-1944. 2.4 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by county or municipality.
This series contains quarterly operating report forms sent to the Office of Civilian Mobilization (OCM) by local war councils detailing their home front activities, programs, and personnel. Information about the Volunteer Office, Division of Civilian War Services, the Block Plan, and Office of Civilian Protection, among others, is found.
Each form lists the local war council's office address, officers, resignations, and appointments. Detailed information from the Volunteer Office includes names of officers; total volunteers recruited; number of volunteers working on each project; outstanding activities and projects; services performed for other state and private agencies; and assistance required by the office from the OCM.
Officers' names and addresses for the following local war council units are also provided, along with small amounts of program information: Block Plan; Citizen Service Corps; Civilian Protection Office; Civilian War Services; and Speakers Bureau. For the Civilian War Services, some reports contained only the names and addresses of the chairs of active programs, while others provided a full page on operations and activities. Units represented include child care; critical resources; health preparedness; nutrition; physical fitness; recreation; salvage; victory gardens; war information; war savings bonds; war training; and locally organized committees.
Finding aids: Container list.
A4331. Field Directors' Local War Council Master Reports, 1942- 1944. 1 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by county or municipality.
This series contains 11-page report forms completed by field directors (also called field representatives) for each local war council detailing their personnel, organization, and operations. Filed only once (most in 1943), these forms were used by the Office of Civilian Mobilization (OCM) to examine local councils to ensure they operated as well as possible and according to the State War Council's standards.
Each form lists the local war council's address, territory, and population, as well as providing detailed information on the council and the OCM divisions operating in the council.Addresses for the Volunteer Office, the Division of Civilian War Services, and the Office of Civilian Protection are also listed. If there were any sub-units of the local war council, the name, territory covered, and organizations comprising it were also listed.
A roster lists the chair of the local war council; Civilian War Services director; Labor, Industry, and Agriculture chair; Volunteer Office chair and director; War Training chair; and War Information chair. For each of these positions, the roster provides name; address; occupation and "noteworthy status"; appointive or elective offices held; other war council positions held; and if paid for war council work. This same information is also listed for persons serving on the Civilian War Services executive committee and those working on the Block Plan program (though no address is listed for Civilian War Services personnel.) The Civilian War Services executive committee included persons responsible for child care, citizen unity, consumer problems, education, family security, health preparedness, housing surveys, nutrition, physical fitness, recreation, salvage, social protection (which worked to prevent venereal disease and prostitution), war savings bond sales, and youth programs.
Several pages of the report form are devoted to reporting the characteristics of the local war councils, specifically the Volunteer Office, the Block Plan, and the Division of Civilian War Services. Issues addressed include organization, finances, program status, competence of officers, cooperativeness with other agencies and the State War Council, training effectiveness, frequency of meetings, public confidence, public relations, and office space.
Finding aids: Folder list.
A4332. Address Lists of State War Council Agency Directors and Local War Council Officers, 1941-1945. 0.1 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Chronological by year, then alphabetical by county or municipality within each list.
This series contains address lists of persons involved in war work which the Office of Civilian Mobilization (OCM) used to mail information about OCM programs and activities to pertinent organizations. Separate lists for each of the following are found: State War Council agency directors; local war council chairs; local OCM chairs; local chairs of Civilian War Services; local chairs of Volunteer Offices; and local Block Plan chiefs. One address list for local war councils' executive secretaries is also found.
A4333. Directives to Local War Councils, 1941-1945. 0.7 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by subject.
This series contains memoranda directing, promoting, and explaining the Office of Civilian Mobilization's (OCM) home front activities to local war councils. The OCM would provide suggestions on organization of events, publicity, and activities. In some cases, releases from various federal offices would be passed along to the local organizations. Information on the following programs and topics can be found in this series: "I Am An American Day"; Block Plan (in which volunteers promoted OCM activities on their block); civil defense; housing; promotional films; rationing; recreation; salvage; and volunteer recruitment and training.
Finding aids: Folder list.
A4334. Procedure Establishment Letters from the Federal Office of Civilian Defense, 1941-1945. 0.1 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Chronological by month.
These letters from the United States Office of Civilian Defense were sent to the Office of Civilian Mobilization (OCM) to establish volunteer activities and to ensure that programs were administered in accordance with federal mandates. The letters discuss anti-sabotage activities; awards; blackouts; Block Plan (in which volunteers promoted OCM activities on their block); fingerprinting of civil defense volunteers; gas attacks; identification cards; incendiary and anti-personnel bombing; insignia standards; selection of civil defense trainees; and war plant protection.
A4335. Director's Organization and Responsibilities Memoranda, 1941-1944. 0.1 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Chronological by year.
This series contains memoranda outlining the Office of Civilian Mobilization's (OCM) organization and the execution of its duty to coordinate volunteers involved in home front activities. The memoranda are directed to local war councils and the State War Council. Those sent to the local organizations interpret regulations, delineate responsibilities, and set goals for future work. Those sent to the State War Council report on the OCM's progress and include financial and personnel information.
A4336. Monthly Reports to the State War Plans Coordinator, 1942- 1944. 0.1 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Chronological by month.
From May 1942 to August 1943 the Office of Civilian Mobilization's director sent a monthly report to the lieutenant governor who was in charge of administering defense programs as the State war plans coordinator. The reports describe organization of the local war councils; developments in the local war councils; establishment of community service sections with the cooperation of the State Department of Social Welfare; volunteer office inspections; conferences; cooperative civilian protection efforts; and cooperative agreements with federal agencies. The monthly reports are often supplemented by field development reports from the Section for Citizen Unity (initially the Section for Citizen Morale) and the State Department of Social Welfare. The monthly report for February 1943 is missing. This series also contains budget requests, reports of activities and contemplated future activities, and an annual report (1944) addressed to the executive secretary.
A4337. Summary Charts of Volunteer Assignment Reports Received from Local Offices, 1943-1944. 0.1 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Chronological by year.
This series contains lists tallying the number of volunteers working on various civilian mobilization programs within the local war councils, which allowed the Office of Civilian Mobilization to monitor the local organizations' successes or needs. Less than ten percent of the local councils reported their figures, however, and those that did report did not do so regularly. Some reported only the total number of volunteers working, while others reported the total number of hours volunteered. When programs are enumerated, the list includes block leaders, child care, housing, nutrition, recreation, and war bonds.
A4341. Civilian War Services and Civilian Protection Training Charts, 1943. 0.2 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by county.
This series contains charts enumerating the number of volunteers in each local war council who had been, or were being, trained for specific home front activities during January and February 1943.Many, but not all, war councils reported these figures, which the Office of Civilian Mobilization (OCM) collected in order to track local war councils' volunteer needs. Civilian War Services was the OCM division responsible for carrying out many home front programs, while the Office of Civilian Protection worked on civil defense projects.
Examples of the categories for Civilian War Services programs include block leaders, child care, consumer assistance, war bonds, and youth and recreation. Examples of the categories for Office of Civilian Protection programs include air raid wardens, auxiliary police and fire fighters, emergency medical service, and messengers.
A4342. Local War Council and Subordinate Agencies Card File, 1942-1943. 0.25 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Chronological by year, then alphabetical by county or municipality.
The index cards found in this series contain information about local war councils and the agencies assisting them with local home front programs and were used by the Office of Civilian Mobilization (OCM) as a central reference file for quick reference on program status and local program needs.
The 1942 cards list local war council officers and often social welfare and agricultural agencies involved with their activities. In addition to this information, the 1943 cards contain a brief description of the war's impact on the area, discussing issues such as labor shortages, industry expansion, wage rates, transportation problems, housing, and women's employment. The 1943 cards frequently give the status of the local programs such as child care, nutrition, health preparedness, physical fitness, and recreation. These brief status reports may note number of participants, regular events, appropriations received, and problems encountered. In the few cities where the OCM organized them, social protection committees, which confronted the problems of prostitution, also reported their status.
