Echo of WWII Home Front

[Judith Stanford Miller, editor]

Yes it certainly is timely. The Lesson Plan is anchored by my interview last week with Ali Anderson, national brand manager for Coppercraft Distillery based in Holland, Michigan. They make premium spirits but when they heard about hand sanitizer shortages, they quickly added a production line making sanitizer. They have enough ingredients to make 10,000 gallons! The lesson plan is also anchored by the book, The Mold in Dr. Florey’s Coat by Eric Lax. It tells the fascinating story of how penicillin was mass produced by D-Day, saving thousands of soldiers’ lives.

[Utah-1944]

I love the real life example of an American business that has joined the fight against COVID-19. Coppercraft Distillery is helping recreate the Arsenal of Democracy! The story of Penicillin can provide educators and students with insight into the science and collaboration needed to make the leap from a lab to life-saving medicine.

[Judith Stanford Miller, editor]

A key development in the mass production of penicillin was British scientists collaborating with American scientists at a USDA lab in Peoria, Illinois. A lab assistant was given the task of shopping local markets to look for decaying fruit. She brought a moldy cantaloupe back from a market and the strain of Penicillium mold on the cantaloupe turned out to be a super producer of penicillin. The strain was used to make most of the penicillin in 1944. Mary Hunt was the lab assistant so she earned the nickname “Moldy Mary” by her colleagues. I love these details that truly brings history alive!

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