Petoskey, Michigan and Milkweed
An unsuspected plant aided in the War effort during World War Two
Researched and written by Kaitlyn Albert, Intern 2022
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What is Milkweed?
Milkweed, also known by its scientific name Asclepias, is a perennial plant. The Asclepias Syriac species of milkweed was used in the war effort during World War Two. There are 73 known species of milkweed that can be found in the United States. Milkweed typically grows to be 5 feet tall with leaves that often measure to be 6 inches long and 2 inches wide. Milkweed got its name from the milky substance found inside of its leaves. The milkweed plant also blossoms pink flowers which later turn into pods. Milkweed produces pods that typically grow in the late summer. The pods are long and typically horned-shaped. Upon turning brown the pods then split open revealing the milkweed floss. The flossy material found inside of the pod helps the seeds fly in the wind allowing them to spread. Milkweed was originally often seen as a nuisance to farmers' crop production. |
Patterson Clark,Washington Post
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So Milkweed Floats...
Prior to World War Two, a material called Kapok was primarily used to fill floatation devices. Kapok was cultivated and harvested on an industrial level in Asia. Upon the United States entering World War Two along with Japan’s invasion of Asia the supply of Kapok from Asia to the United States was cut off. Meaning the United States needed a new material to use in its floatation devices. Dr. Boris Berkman was a physician and inventor from Chicago, Illinois he believed milkweed could prove to be the answer. Dr. Berkman believed milkweed floss would be able to be used as filler for life preservers. “Milkweed floss gets its buoyancy from minutiae air cells that run through the fiber and are sealed with wax. The floss also is wanner and lighter in weight than wool”(Northern Michigan Review, 1942). Dr. Berkman took this belief to the Congressional Agriculture Committee in March of 1942. The United States Navy then performed a series of tests on milkweed to validate Dr. Berkman’s beliefs. The Navy learned a pound of milkweed floss could keep a 150 lb. man afloat. “Milkweed floss from two bags equaled one life jacket. More than 1.5 billion pods were collected to make 1.2 million life vests” (Meg Jones, The Milwaukee Journal) The United States Navy Department then announced its intentions of purchasing milkweed floss to be used in life preservers. Milkweed would also be used to line flying suits for aviators. Milkweed floss allowed the flying suits to be lightweight, warm and to be used as a floatation device if the aviator was shot down.
Prior to World War Two, a material called Kapok was primarily used to fill floatation devices. Kapok was cultivated and harvested on an industrial level in Asia. Upon the United States entering World War Two along with Japan’s invasion of Asia the supply of Kapok from Asia to the United States was cut off. Meaning the United States needed a new material to use in its floatation devices. Dr. Boris Berkman was a physician and inventor from Chicago, Illinois he believed milkweed could prove to be the answer. Dr. Berkman believed milkweed floss would be able to be used as filler for life preservers. “Milkweed floss gets its buoyancy from minutiae air cells that run through the fiber and are sealed with wax. The floss also is wanner and lighter in weight than wool”(Northern Michigan Review, 1942). Dr. Berkman took this belief to the Congressional Agriculture Committee in March of 1942. The United States Navy then performed a series of tests on milkweed to validate Dr. Berkman’s beliefs. The Navy learned a pound of milkweed floss could keep a 150 lb. man afloat. “Milkweed floss from two bags equaled one life jacket. More than 1.5 billion pods were collected to make 1.2 million life vests” (Meg Jones, The Milwaukee Journal) The United States Navy Department then announced its intentions of purchasing milkweed floss to be used in life preservers. Milkweed would also be used to line flying suits for aviators. Milkweed floss allowed the flying suits to be lightweight, warm and to be used as a floatation device if the aviator was shot down.
“Their intention of purchasing 1,000,000 pounds of it— nobody believed it”( Emmet County Graphic, 1942).
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Petoskey's War Effort
Petoskey, Michigan became the headquarters for collecting, buying, and processing milkweed floss. Northern Michigan is home to a large population of milkweed.“For the first year or two it will be necessary to pick the wild pods and estimates are that 10,000,000 pounds of these pods will be needed for this fall’s operations”(Emmet County Graphic, 1942). A ginning plant for the milkweed floss was constructed in Petoskey, Michigan. Preston Feather & Sons was taken over by the Milkweed Floss Corporation of America to use the factory to process the milkweed. Preston Feather & Sons was one of the largest factories in Northern Michigan. Gordon Feather was named acting manager of the milkweed floss plant. While Dr. Berkman was named president of the Milkweed Floss Corporation of America. Milkweed Offices were set up at 411 East Lake St. Petoskey, MI. In terms of location, Petoskey was ideal because its location on lake Michigan makes it accessible by ship for export. Petoskey also had a connection to the Pennsylvania rail line which was located right by the factory. The United State Department of Agriculture announced Petoskey and its neighboring counties were home to the largest milkweed population in the United States. It was then decided that the Petoskey region along lake Michigan would be the base of the Milkweed operation. The County Agricultural Agents and Chairmen of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration Committee met in early June of 1942 in Petoskey to survey the Milkweed growth in the area. Engineers from Chicago also met with the committee to discuss plans for the Milkweed Processing plant. "Engineers were taken on an inspection tour throughout the six county area and are assured that sufficient raw material is at hand to execute the Navy contact for 1,000,000 lbs., of floss”(Emmet County Graphic, 1942). This survey also helped figure out how many bags would be needed to be made for each farmer to store the pods. A test was run to see how many pods could fit in the onion bags and the result was ten pounds of pods could fit in one bag. The price per ton of Milkweed pods had yet to be decided in June of 1942 the estimated price was $40-55 per ton of milkweed. During this early phase, there was talk of creating pick-up stations as part of a collection system for the milkweed. In the Petoskey region, a collection facility was set up at the Emmet County Fairground. Bags of milkweed were hung all throughout Emmet County Fairgrounds to dry out the pods. In the first year of harvesting milkweed pods, those who were interested in collecting were asked to apply to the Petoskey Chamber of Commerce. 
USDA & War Food Administration
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True Comics
USDA & War Food Administration
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Picking to Save Lives
Upon realizing milkweed would be needed for the war effort the government realized they would also need people to pick the milkweed. Due to many men in the area serving in the war, there was a shortage of laborers. Children became an integral part of the harvesting of milkweed. “Paying kids 15 cents to fill an onion bag with pods. Each open-mesh bag held about a bushel, or 600 to 800 pods. Two bags provided enough floss for one life vest. More than 1.5 billion pods were collected to make 1.2 million life vests”( Patterson Clark, Washington Post). Milkweed picking was marketed toward children as a way that they were saving lives on the Homefront. Various organizations and people of the community gathered to collect milkweed pods at the Petoskey Milkweed Picking Bee.
To name a few local Organizations\Groups who participated in collecting Milkweed Pods (on-going list)
Upon realizing milkweed would be needed for the war effort the government realized they would also need people to pick the milkweed. Due to many men in the area serving in the war, there was a shortage of laborers. Children became an integral part of the harvesting of milkweed. “Paying kids 15 cents to fill an onion bag with pods. Each open-mesh bag held about a bushel, or 600 to 800 pods. Two bags provided enough floss for one life vest. More than 1.5 billion pods were collected to make 1.2 million life vests”( Patterson Clark, Washington Post). Milkweed picking was marketed toward children as a way that they were saving lives on the Homefront. Various organizations and people of the community gathered to collect milkweed pods at the Petoskey Milkweed Picking Bee.
To name a few local Organizations\Groups who participated in collecting Milkweed Pods (on-going list)
- The Girl Scouts
- 4-H members
- The Boy Scouts of America
- Kiwanis
- Elementary children of nearby schools
- The American Red Cross
- City Employees
- The Chigagami Campfire Girls
- The Wetomachick Campfire Girls
- The Intermediate Scouts
- The Brutus Extension Group
- Lions Club
- Rotary
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Children Picking Milkweed
Trucks filled with bags of Milkweed in Front of Petoskey City Hall.
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Collection
Trucks were sent out to pick up bags of milkweed in the surrounding areas. Mesh onion bags that could hold 50 lbs. were distributed to the pickers. The mesh of the bag allowed for the milkweed to dry faster and hold large amounts of pods. If the milkweed pods gain too much moisture during the collection process they can spoil. It is best if the bags of milkweed are hung after being harvested in the sunlight with airflow. This process must occur within 24 hours of the milkweed pods being picked to ensure the best quality floss. Those who helped in the collection process were compensated with money per bag of pods collected. There was also an option to donate the pods you collected or to donate the money you earned to the Red Cross. The collection process was a laborious task. Milkweed was collected and processed in the Petoskey area from 1942-1944. |
“Michigan’s contribution of milkweed floss for Navy life jackets was greatest in the United States last year according to collection figures released by War Hemp Industries, Inc., at Petoskey, division of the Soil Conservation Service and central office for state activity in pod collection” (Emmet County Graphic,1945) |
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Manufacturing Process
A large oven was built to dry the milkweed pods. Seven milkweed gins were also installed in the Milkweed Floss Corporation of America facility. Dr. Boris Berkman owned the patented rights to the milkweed production process. Dr. Berkman came up with a five-step plan to process the milkweed floss. The first step was to take the bags of collected milkweed pods and place them in a dryer. The next step was to take the dried pods and dump them into the gin. The gin crushed the pods allowing the floss to be expelled. The floss was then emptied into a bag while the pods remaining were disposed of. The dried milkweed floss was then shipped off to fill the life preserves. The processing of milkweed only required manual labor for collection and dumping the dried pods into the gin. Michigan-grown milkweed was not the only milkweed to be processed in Petoskey, other states shipped their collected milkweed to Petoskey to be processed. |
Northern Michigan Review, Aug. 12, 1943
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Mt. Adams Sun, Sept. 1, 1944
Petoskey’s Milkweed in Action
In July of 1945, the USS Indianapolis was on a top-secret mission to the island of Tinian to drop off parts for the atomic bomb. Upon leaving the island of Tinian the USS Indianapolis was hit by two Japanese torpedoes. The Indianapolis began to sink with 1,195 crewmen aboard the ship. The USS had limited lifeboats and life preservers on board although the life preservers were filled with the milkweed from Petoskey. Many of the men who survived the sinking were left drifting in the ocean for days; their only lifeline was their life preserver filled with milkweed floss.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel interviewed Beverly Walker who picked milkweed in McFarland, Wisconsin as a child during the war. The milkweed she picked in her community was sent to be processed in Petoskey, Michigan. Walker in her later years of life came upon a milkweed life preserve at a garage sale. The life preserver brought back her childhood memories of picking milkweed. Walker discovered a family friend's brother Robert Witzig was a survivor of the USS Indianapolis. Witzig's put Walker in contact with other survivors of the USS Indianapolis. Walker attended a survivor convention for the USS Indianapolis where she spoke to the survivors about the Milkweed inside of their life preservers. Many of the survivors told Walker that the milkweed in their life preservers saved their lives.
In July of 1945, the USS Indianapolis was on a top-secret mission to the island of Tinian to drop off parts for the atomic bomb. Upon leaving the island of Tinian the USS Indianapolis was hit by two Japanese torpedoes. The Indianapolis began to sink with 1,195 crewmen aboard the ship. The USS had limited lifeboats and life preservers on board although the life preservers were filled with the milkweed from Petoskey. Many of the men who survived the sinking were left drifting in the ocean for days; their only lifeline was their life preserver filled with milkweed floss.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel interviewed Beverly Walker who picked milkweed in McFarland, Wisconsin as a child during the war. The milkweed she picked in her community was sent to be processed in Petoskey, Michigan. Walker in her later years of life came upon a milkweed life preserve at a garage sale. The life preserver brought back her childhood memories of picking milkweed. Walker discovered a family friend's brother Robert Witzig was a survivor of the USS Indianapolis. Witzig's put Walker in contact with other survivors of the USS Indianapolis. Walker attended a survivor convention for the USS Indianapolis where she spoke to the survivors about the Milkweed inside of their life preservers. Many of the survivors told Walker that the milkweed in their life preservers saved their lives.
Milkweed After Victory
In the post-war era, the government canceled its contract with Milkweed Floss Corporation of America as milkweed was no longer needed. Kapok became accessible again and other synthetic materials had begun being tested as an alternative. The milkweed crop of 1945 went unharvested. Dr. Berkman fought to keep milkweed as a cash crop in the Petoskey area. There was debate whether milkweed could be used for women's clothing or latex. Although these efforts did not work out, the Milkweed Floss Development Corporation of America plant was eventually put up for sale. Sadly, milkweed could not thrive as it did during the war and was eclipsed from the local industry.
In the post-war era, the government canceled its contract with Milkweed Floss Corporation of America as milkweed was no longer needed. Kapok became accessible again and other synthetic materials had begun being tested as an alternative. The milkweed crop of 1945 went unharvested. Dr. Berkman fought to keep milkweed as a cash crop in the Petoskey area. There was debate whether milkweed could be used for women's clothing or latex. Although these efforts did not work out, the Milkweed Floss Development Corporation of America plant was eventually put up for sale. Sadly, milkweed could not thrive as it did during the war and was eclipsed from the local industry.
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Petoskey’s Milkweed Legacy
The Michigan WWII Legacy Memorial in Royal Oak will remember Petoskey’s Milkweed contribution. The Michigan WWII Legacy Memorial is a new project to memorialize Michigan's efforts toward World War Two. There will be a section of the memorial titled Sea: Two Bags Saved One Life. This section will have bronze statues of children picking milkweed along with a soldier wearing a life preserver designed by Larry Halbert. This memorial is still under construction and has yet to release an opening date. For more information regarding The Michigan WWII Legacy Memorial |
Sea: Two Bags Saved One Life
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