Vigo County Historical Society

Victory gardens aid war effort

During World War II, the Armed Forces had priority for all foodstuffs and it was unpatriotic to complain about shortages on the home front!

The Civil Defense launched a campaign to encourage citizens to plant victory gardens. Every family was encouraged to plant, maintain and harvest a plot of ground to provide fresh produce for home use and for canning.

People in Terre Haute were given access to vacant lots and parks if sufficient land was not available for planting where they lived. Evenings and weekends found neighbors weeding, hoeing and harvesting their victory gardens. Neighbors met, established friendships and worked together to do their part for the war effort.

The victory garden pictured was the proud work of Virginia Irwin, wife of Glen Irwin. Virginia’s artistic ability is shown in the "V for Victory" and Morse code "V" she added to her garden plot. Her son John was assisting.

The victory garden was on the southeast corner of 17th and Ohio streets. The exact date of this Martin photo is not known. The photo is part of the "On the Home Front" exhibit in the museum which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Many former victory gardeners will remember the sense of accomplishment and camaraderie these plots of land provided during a time when our country was struggling to defeat the enemy abroad and patriotism at home was at an all time high.