Bradford Sullivan Counties Chapter
of American Red Cross History
Continued....

In 1941, the Chapter's office was located in the Mercur Block of Towanda, Pennsylvania. It soon moved to Main Street and orders from the National American Red Cross was to have an Executive Secretary. The first Executive Secretary was Rita Smith of Towanda, PA. The following were others who served this Chapter:
 

Mrs. Robert L. Bennett, Towanda, PA

Margaret R. Sullivan, Towanda, PA

Rita MacDonald, Franklindale, PA

Dawn Sullivan, New Albany, PA

Priscilla Hoag, East Towanda, PA

Frances Williams, N.Towanda, PA

Julia Elliott, Monroeton, PA

Mrs. Joyce Hinkson, Towanda, PA

Mrs. Karen Robertson, Canton, PA
 

During W.W.II, the Bradford County Chapter of the American Red Cross did very little to support the Sayre Canteen.

The Canteen opened on April 6, 1942, under the Charter of the American Red Cross. The expense in 1943 reached $700.00 a month.  Local donations helped with this as the Chapter had difficulty receiving monies from the National American Red Cross. On June 3, 1943, the Chapter received orders from the National American Red Cross that they could no longer finance any canteens nationwide. The obligations and demands on the National American Red Cross was so great that all canteens could only be opened for emergencies.

The building which housed the Sayre Canteen was made available through the courtesy of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The Valley Unit of the Bradford County Chapter voted to continue to serve the service men and women, with donations from all over the area. The women from all over the Valley did a marvelous job through the end of the War. At the peak, in March 1944, the Canteen served 36,224 per month. Approximately 835,000 were guests of the Sayre Canteen during World War II.

This helped until the eventual break-up of the Bradford County Chapter and on November 11, 1962, the Valley Chapter was formed. Prior to the break-up, Athens-Sayre contributions dwindled to the point that the break-up was going to happen. The area that the Bradford County Chapter relinquished included Sayre Boro, Athens Boro, South Waverly Boro, Athens Township, and Litchfield Township. Later, it added Waverly, New York.

The original Charter of the Bradford County American Red Cross was changed to Bradford-Sullivan County Chapter American Red Cross on October 27, 1958.