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Although Summerfield was just a small community in 1917 during World War I, the people worked together for the American Red Cross.

The Greensboro chapter of the Red Cross was organized April 11, 1917, with 14 charter members.

Five months later, the Summerfield Auxiliary was organized Sept. 19 with 20 members.

The Greensboro chapter minutes for Sept. 28 reported 27 members.

The Stokesdale branch or auxiliary was organized May 15, 1918, and the Oak Ridge auxiliary was organized July 10, 1918.

Thanks to Ellen Metz von Nardroff, some of the minutes and names of members have been saved.

The organizational meeting took place at the home of Nell Hoskins, but the next meeting was held at the two-story post office near the depot. The new auxiliary got to work making bed shirts and knitting garments.

A committee was appointed to get names and addresses of enlisted men from the Summerfield order to send Thanksgiving boxes to them.

Some of the men from the Summerfield area who served in World War I were: Benjamin H. Angel, Dwight Brittain, Robert Byrd, Stacy Calhoun, Jesse and John H. Carter, Thaddeus J. Clayton, Cleo and Zeb Archie Davis, Thomas Doggett, Wade A. Durham, Robert Gamble, Martin Luther Hall, John Holbrook, Bob and C. W. Horsford, Holly and Nicholas Johnson, Zeb V. Jones, Jasper A. Ladd, Herman Linville, Thomas Lloyd, Joseph A. Long, Hugh Victor Martin, Dr. Herbert Ogburn, Bryan H. Parrish, John Roberson, Fred and Henry Clay Smith, John Henry Soyars, John L. Stanley, Floyd Stigall, Joseph Thorpe, Charles W. Vernon, Richard Waynick, Clay Moore Wilson, Dr. N. G. Wilson and Raymond W. Winfree. There were probably others.

In March 1918, 12 comfort pillows had been finished, 43 knitted garments had been completed and turned in and 18 pairs of pajamas had been made and sent in. The group decided to make 12 additional comfort pillows. For several months, the auxiliary met above the post office, but then the meeting place was changed to the school building.

Before Sept. 1, the Summerfield group furnished the following to the Greensboro Chapter Canteen to be distributed to troops en route: 10 bushels of fruit, seven fried chickens, six dozen eggs, 10 loaves of bread, six dozen cakes, 100 apple pies, pickles, several jars of jelly, pears, grapes, peaches and watermelons. The group had also completed 24 pajama suits and 24 operating gowns.

The Greensboro Patriot reported Dec. 24, 1917, that the Summerfield Auxiliary had 60 members, but they were not stopping with that. The paper complimented the group on the number of beautifully made garments and knitted articles turned in. The concluding statement was “If every community in Guilford would do as well, there would be no room to charge indifference and lack of patriotism on the part of country people.”

A partial listing of wartime committees gives a picture of activities in Greensboro through the Red Cross during this period. On Sept. 28, 1917, Katherine Hoskins of Summerfield was appointed to collect data for a “History of Guilford County Women in the World War.”

In the notebook of minutes was a letter from Hugh Wilson, a young man from Summerfield, to the local auxiliary complimenting the group for their work and telling them how much the soldiers in France appreciated the Red Cross. He was working at Camp Hospital 26 in November 1918.

At one time, the local auxiliary membership reached 176 members. In January 1919, 24 refugee shirts had been made and returned. That was the last notation.
 

When the auxiliary was disbanded or discontinued is unknown.

Now, at least one Summer­field resident devotes a lot of time to Red Cross work. Earline Huffman works most Tuesday afternoons and Saturday mornings at the Greensboro Chapter of the Red Cross.

Community Lutheran, Summerfield Methodist, Center Methodist and First Baptist Church of Summerfield take turns hosting the blood drives in the Summerfield area.

For almost 100 years, the people of Summerfield have been doing their part for the Red Cross.

Gladys Scarlette is a local historian, lifelong of Summerfield resident and author of two books about Summerfield.