Keep Your Chin Up

We know neither the hands that made them, nor the hands that wore them.

These lovely mittens from World War II were donated to the museum but with very little information about their source.  We can only guess what motivation brought out the knitting needles to craft this particular piece off patriotism.  

The mittens are in mint condition – no signs of wear at all to the wool or to the carefully knit message. The red, white and blue colours are as clear as they were over 70 years ago.

Could they have been on display as part of a community Victory Bond fundraiser?

Perhaps they were a gentle encouragement to ladies of Kings County when they came to a Red Cross meeting to pick up more wool for knitting socks and scarves for soldiers?

Or maybe they were part of a school display to encourage children at that most difficult time when fathers or older brothers were far from home in service in Europe?

The story is lost but the mittens remain – a quiet reminder that war was a presence everyday for so many families during World War II, and the best thing to do was to Keep Your Chin Up.