Archive for February, 2008

Girdles for the war effort

Monday, February 18th, 2008

Although I was well aware of many kinds of rationing and shortages, it was not until a few months ago that I learned of the battle to protect the girdle. At one of my speaking engagements, someone in the audience educated me about this attack on femininity. After the U.S. entered ...

Fat, scrap metal, and foil

Thursday, February 14th, 2008

Yes, we were collectors. Everyone living during the World War II period remembers collecting scrap metal, foil, bacon fat and an assortment of other things. Residents of my community who were high students during the war remember the huge pile of scrap metal that grew daily in front of the high ...

Wartime stockings

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

In an earlier blog I mentioned lisle stockings. I soon learned that not everyone remembers lisle stockings. If you are old enough, you might remember wearing them or, at least, having seen them on your grandmother, as I do. According to my dictionary, lisle is "1. A fine, smooth, tightly twisted ...

Lincoln’s birthday

Tuesday, February 12th, 2008

Happy Abe Lincoln’s bithday. I’m sure most of us remember when there was no Presidents’ Day, but rather two distinct and separate times to remember Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. And we made silhouettes of each of them from black construction paper. And we memorized poetry. Wouldn’t this be a good ...

Cockroaches

Monday, February 11th, 2008

Gasoline rationing probably impacted the family more than any other rationing. Gone was most pleasure driving, and visits to parents and grandparents in other parts of the country were greatly curtailed. Buses and trains were generally overcrowded. All car owners were required to register their automobiles and were then given a ...

A witness to Navy weddings

Wednesday, February 6th, 2008

Today we’ll look at one more of the women who served in the military as reported in We Knew We Were at War: Women Remember World War II. Doris joined the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services) in 1942 after a short-lived career as an elementary school teacher. Her first ...

An Army Corps nurse in Europe

Monday, February 4th, 2008

Enough of rationing for now, but we shall return to it later as we discuss shoes, rubber, gasoline, fuel oil, and more. For now let us turn to some of the women who served in our military. My book, We Knew We Were at War: Women Remember World War II, ...