The home-front effort included some unusual defense production. The Duluth Brewing & Malting Co. suspended production of of beer in late 1943 in order to produce industrial alcohol, which was in turn used for smokeless power and other munitions material.

Duluth-made butter of the Bridgeman-Russell Co. showed up in the mess halls serving American soldiers in France. The Duluth plant of Coolerator Co. produced machinery for the war effort, as the company’s plants did elsewhere.

Duluth was even the site of a Munsingwear Co. parachute-manufacturing operation for part of the war. And Duluth Tent and Awning Co. shifted its production to military tents.

The reconstituted potatoes that many soldiers ate during the war may have come from Duluth. The Midwest Co. produced 10,000 pounds of dehydrated potatoes daily at its plant at 525 Lake Ave. S.

By early 1945 the value of wartime defense contracts filled by Duluth companies was estimated at $350 million. Many local companies won coveted awards and flags given by the federal government to defense contractors. Individual workers received pins to recognize their role in the war effort.

The Arrowhead Chapter of the American Red Cross, which included Duluth, was active in many home-front activities. In 1944 alone it reported that 18,000 volunteers contributed 500,000 hours in a wide range of activities supporting the war effort. A USO operation on Superior Street provided moral support for military personnel stationed in or passing through Duluth.

With the entrance of many women into the workforce during World War II, the first child-care centers were opened locally. By the end of the war, four such centers were in use across Duluth, caring for about 200 children daily.