FLORIDA, a Benefit Program for American Red Cross 1928 Florida and West Indies Hurricane Disaster Relief Fund

Item Details

Portland, Oregon, Portland (Oregon) Firemen and Combined Theatres, 1928, Paper wraps

G+ to VG

[RED CROSS]  [FLORIDA]  [DISASTER RELIEF]  [HURRICANE]  [WEST INDIES HURRICANE DISASTER 1928]  [OREGON]  Portland (Oregon) Firemen and Combined Theatres.  Program for a benefit program held in Portland, Oregon to raise money for the American Red Cross as part of the Florida and West Indies Hurricane Disaster Relief efforts following the devastating storms of September, 1928.  The program was held at the Portland Auditorium on October 5, 1928 and 100% of the dollar admission to the theatre went to the American Red Cross relief fund.

Paper wraps with illustrated cover of a woman in Red Cross headscarf holding a child she has rescued from the debris in ankle deep water from the destruction of Florida and the West Indies; cover title of FLORIDA in bold letters; 12 pp including covers; local ads.  The program measures 6 x 8 .75 inches.   Vertical fold down the center; some creasing.  G+ to VG condition.  [JS/M]

A major storm hit the West Indies (the Virgin Islands and Porto Rico) in mid-September, 1928 and continued on into Florida with major loss of life and loss and damage to buildings and infrastructure.  It was reported that 1,810 people died as a result of the storm in Florida, 275 in Porto Rico and 7 in the Virgin Islands.  The American Red Cross helped lead the humanitarian recovery efforts to which the citizens of Portland, Oregon were responding.  In the inside front cover of the program, the chairman of the event states, “You now can do no less than give what more you can to aid in this cause.  Go to the American Red Cross headquarters in the Columbia Building, over the Rivoli Theatre and make whatever little addition you can to the aid of the sufferers of Florida and Porto Rico.”