ABSTRACT
On 14 November 14, 1917, a letter from 10-year-old Robert and 7-year-old Ronald Stewart of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan appeared on the children’s page of the Canadian farming magazine, the Grain Grower’s Guide. They relate the story of how, on two successive Dominion Days in 1916 and 1917, they dressed up their Hackney pony to represent a wounded horse “with bandages on all her legs” (“Young Canada Club,” 14 Nov 1917: 42). The two boys dressed in white “with a blue cross on our arms” and led her in a “street parade” (“Young Canada Club,” 14 Nov 1917: 42). They raised over forty dollars, which they donated to the Blue Cross. In return, they received Blue Cross pins and a letter saying that they “were the youngest which had given a demonstration in First-Aid for the wounded horses in Western Canada” (“Young Canada Club,” 14 Nov 1917: 42). The appearance of this letter indicates that Canadian farming children, despite their distance from the battlefield, nonetheless saw themselves as important contributors to the First World War. They provided food for women, children, and soldiers; they took on increased responsibilities for farming work; and they raised funds to support the war effort in a myriad of ways. The children’s page in the Grain Grower’s Guide demonstrates this increasing engagement with the First World War. It began with children’s essays about the idea of war and gradually encouraged children to see themselves as active contributors to the war effort through invitations to consider how they could help. Eventually the editor of the children’s page encouraged them to raise money for the Blue Cross fund in the final year of the war.
