George Hormel may not have served in the Armed Forces, but he did have great respect and appreciation for those who did.

During World War I his own son served and George put into practice programs that could help those affected by the war. He designated 80 acres of company land to be used as a community garden. He also assisted employees in the purchase of Liberty Bonds by allowing them to make installment payments to do so. The employee retained all interest earned on the bonds and owed the company nothing for the loan.

In addition to his son, George had other family members who served in the military. His maternal Uncles, Henry and Herman Decker, both participated in the Civil War. Henry was killed in a train wreck as he was returning home from service and Herman was held prisoner for a period. William Henry Hormel wrote about the Decker servicemen.

“When the American Civil War broke out, the most bitter and intensive in the history of civilization, April 13, 1861, sorrow filled our grandfather’s heart as it did the hearts of all true Americans. Uncle Herman and Uncle Henry enlisted for the preservation of the Union. Even Uncle Jacob, his youngest son only thirteen years of age, following the soldiers as far as the station, sought to enlist as a drummer boy, but his mother went to interfere and brought him home.”

George’s youngest brother Ben and his cousin Jay Decker fought in the Spanish-American War. George said “When they returned, their country was a world power.”

In 1918 George spoke optimistically of those who served in WWI.

“The men who are to conduct the great enterprises of the future are the boys who are now fighting shoulder to shoulder in Europe. There they are all equal and they will see that less inequality exists after the war … A purer and more comprehensive democracy will be developed.”

George’s pride in America was evident in his reflection of Chicago’s Independence Day parade in 1876.

“Along streets packed with spectators  — I among them  — who yelled themselves hoarse, marched Germans and Swedes, Bohemians and Poles, Italians and Irish, white men and black freedmen, foreign and native-born. Sometimes, they walked among Chicago’s blue-clad regiments who had fought so recently to preserve the Union; twenty thousand foreign born, ten percent of Chicago’s total population, had voluntarily joined the Union Army. Others marched in the ranks of their national societies or in their occupational groups. But no matter who they were or with what groups, I fancied as I watched them march by, that they all felt as I did; they felt themselves to be as proudly American as though their fathers had landed on Plymouth Rock instead of Ellis Island.”

From the Hormel Historic Home, we say thank you to all servicemen and women, past, present and future.

History Happy Hour: The History of Chautauqua in Austin presented by Dean Ulland

Social 5:30 p.m.; presentation 6 p.m., Monday, Nov. 13

Chautauqua was a popular education and entertainment program nationwide in the late 19th and early 20th century, and thousands of people from Austin attended every summer. Free for HHH, Mower County Historical Society and Friends of the Library Members. $5 for non-members.

Holiday Open House Events

Thursday, Nov. 16: Holiday Card Party; Friday, Nov. 17: Holiday Tea Luncheon; Saturday, Nov. 18: Soup & Santa;

Saturday, Nov. 18: Soup & Spirits. Details online at www.hormelhistorichome.org

Hearth & Home Series: Surfacing Strengths through Challenge

10 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 21

Sandy Anderson will present how life transitions, unexpected changes, and relationships that challenge us can create opportunities to learn new skills and tap into undiscovered resources that allow you to respond with intention.