World War II Woman

Life Along the Ohio River

While visiting with my good friends Joan and John in Chincoteague, Virginia, recently, I gathered material for several blob entries.

John’s story begins with his father who came to this country from Italy in 1912, and arrived in New York City. Even though he was a trained shoemaker, who actually made shoes, he found work in this country as a ditch digger. His petrone (patron) told him and some of his friends that he had heard that jobs had been advertised at the train station, and perhaps these young men should investigate.

The fellows went to the station, saw the advertisement, and boarded the train, expecting to be home for dinner. They ended up twelve hours later in Wellsburg, West Virginia – without any money. They found work at the Eagle Manufacturing Company, which made oilcans. It was the largest single company in the United States making cans. John’s father had a job but wouldn’t be paid until after the first week. No one would rent him and his friends rooms without their having a down payment, so they went to the cemetery, gathered the leaves together and slept there for the first week – until they received a paycheck.

John’s dad eventually became a shoe repair man, repairing heavy shoes for the steelworkers in the area steel mills. During World War II, he managed to get sacks of worn Army shoes that soldiers turned in for new shoes. He repaired them, and made them available to people in the community without their having to part with precious ration stamps.

Wellsburg is along the Ohio River, which was extremely busy during the war with LST’s, subchasers, and vessels loaded with coal and steel traveling down the Ohio to the Mississippi and out to the Gulf of Mexico on their way to various destinations. All the vessels carrying cargo were still paddle wheelers. In spite of Coast Guard surveillance, John and his friends loved to go out in their rowboats and play among the vessels. They would try to meet the boats, catch the spray, and ride the rollers coming from the ships.

More to follow on John and his family in the next blog.

For World War stories, go towww.peggeorge.com

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