Deer hunters

Date

• January 1945

Publisher

Manitowoc, Wisconsin: Aluminum Goods Manufacturing Co.

Summary

• This small picture of deer hunters Donald Madigan and Oscar Glaeser standing next to a car with two whitetail deer strapped to its front fenders was published in the January, 1945 issue of "Mixing Bowl", the employee newsletter of the Aluminum Goods Manufacturing Company. The men, who worked in the company’s rolling mill in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, had shot their deer near Eagle River, Wisconsin. Deer hunting remained a popular activity with many Manitowoc County residents during the World War II years, despite rationing and restrictions on ammunition for civilian use. Coupons were required to purchase bullets for hunting. Under orders issued by the federal War Production Board in June 1943, hunters could keep deer hides for their own use but were asked to “forego such personal gratification” and voluntarily give them up to be made into aviators’ gloves, headgear, and other equipment for the military. During the war, hunters nationwide donated 238,000 elk and deer hides for the “cause.” In Manitowoc County, the Manitowoc County Fish and Game Protective Association sponsored a drive to collect deer hides for the government to use in making clothing for servicemen, with donors receiving an Association membership for each hide. Hunters were also encouraged to turn in deer tallow, which was used for making glycerine, and hunting was also promoted as a way to provide meat, which was otherwise rationed. There were even some attempts to establish “deer hunters’ militias” in some states, including Wisconsin where the American Legion is said to have promoted the idea.