Railroad Company Offers Land for 'Preparedness' Gardens
Facing a national food supply crisis, a local rail line offers employees rent-free access to vacant property to plant victory gardens.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The O-W. R. & N. company, last Saturday, through its president, J. D. Farrell, issued a call for all its employes to join in the plan of national preparedness. As a means for contributing to the nation’s food supply, it offers its unused rights of way and other lands to its employes rent-free for farming and gardening purposes. The notice which has been sent out to all employes follows: 'As an aid to national preparedness through the production of vegetable foods, the Company offers to all employes who shall within ten days from the date hereof make application therefor, such portion of its unused right of way or other lands as may be selected by the applicant for the purpose of cultivating. No charge will be made for the privilege, the only condition being that such products as are grown shall be confined to the use of the lessees and their dependents.'
“As an aid to national preparedness through the production of vegetable foods, the Company offers to all employes... such portion of its unused right of way or other lands.”
This 1917 push for 'preparedness' gardening is a direct antecedent to contemporary urban agriculture movements. Just as the rail company repurposed transit land to address food insecurity during a global conflict, modern cities often look to vacant lots and rights-of-way to combat the rising cost of groceries.
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