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Junk Metal and All Scrap Go For the War Effort—No New Appliances

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The Story of the Wetta Family Gas Range The heart of most homes is the kitchen, and in our farmhouse, the heart of the kitchen was the gas range. As a child, I didn’t realize how great our cook stove  was, but the more I cooked, especially when helping at other women's houses, I realized Mom had a nice range. The appliance never acted up, broke  down or disappointed in any way. Whether it was the best homemade soups or sloppy joes, or wonderful pies, cakes and breads, the stove produced the most mouth-watering, nutritious food. Of course this had a little to do with Mom's culinary ability. Besides cooking thousands of meals for our huge family and  our always welcome friends, that range heated hundreds of large pressure cookers of canned fruits and vegetables to feed us for the winter. Thinking of the stove, feelings of security but also exhaustion wrap around my memories.   From the time I first began to cook, I realized that Mom’s stove was special because we just turned a knob, and the burners lit. My grandmother and aunts and friends' moms always had to light the burner with a match. When I began babysitting, Mom often warned me to remember to light the stove with a match. One time I must have asked Mom how she happened to have such a modern, fancy stove when we never had money for anything special. She would laugh and admit that her friends wondered the same thing. No one could figure out where or how she was able to get a new gas range in 1945 when even repair parts for appliances, farm equipment and other essentials were almost impossible to obtain. No one even dreamed of a new appliance. All metal was going to support the war effort. "First America must win the war. The task is great. It demands total effort. Today and as long as needed, our man-power, resources and facilities must be devoted to building these implements that will help bring victory---  Afterwards . . .When complete victory has been won, General Electric will again create and build those appliances that add so much to our American way of life." (Source) A creative suggestion of how Mom got the gas range is a small section of my soon-to-be release novel, OUR DUTY. “Hey, here’s Mr. Farley’s hardware store; let’s go in and see how he’s doing.” She opened the door and was halfway through before Nonie could protest “Hi, Mr. Farley, how ya doin?” Polly called as soon as she saw him shelving buckets. “Polly Garrity, how are you?” he exclaimed, climbing down from the ladder. “I hear you’re a real nurse now. You must be the best the hospital has seen.” He wanted to hug her but did not want to become emotional. He politely skipped to a new topic. “Hi, Miss Nonie, how are you?” “I’m fine. Gosh you have so many different types of things in here than you used…

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What Rationing Looked Like in The US During World War II

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Rationing During WW2 in the US Rationing during World War 2 in the US began with tires, in 1941. In 1942, sugar rationing followed, and so was gasoline. In the summer of 1945, gas rationing ended on the west coast, along with most other rations, though sugar continued to be rationed in some parts of the country up until 1947. [Source] When I last wrote, the topic was the rationing of gas and rubber during World War 2. Since I had a friend from abroad express surprise that the United States used rationing during World War 2, I thought it would be fun to share the propaganda materials distributed by the US government to promote and encourage rationing. Take a look!   Pin for Later!  

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Gas Stamps and Rubber: Precious Commodities During The War

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Rationing During World War 2 Last week, I wrote about the horrendous trip from India to Washington DC made by LT. Elsie Ott, the first flight nurse,  and her patients. This week I'm writing about a trip my dad made during WW II. The section below is a cut from my forthcoming book Our Duty, and highlights the impact of rationing during World War 2. Johnny, one of the important men in the true novel, had taken his sister-in-law to Lincoln, Nebraska to tell her young pilot husband goodbye before he headed to the conflict in Europe. Johnny had to borrow old tires and enough gas stamps  to try to make the 400+ mile trip. A Sad Trip Home “We left for home right after the ceremony. We tried to talk about how keen the send-off was, and that Ben had lost a lot of weight. Margie said it was such a wonderful gift for me to take her, and then she had to gulp and turn to the window. I know my stomach was tied up in knots and felt a boulder in my gut. Poor Margie had to have been even worse. But she was strong and held it together pretty good until she thought I was asleep that night. Must have had a towel over her mouth in the bathroom, but her sobs bout ripped me apart.” “You two shared a room?” Polly could not hide her incredulity. “Oh hell, we had planned to be home by dark, but that wasn’t in the cards. Barely got on the road when we had the first flat tire; another gave out before we got to Topeka. By that time, thunderheads were piling up, and the sky was as dark as our mood. When it started pouring, l decided we had to find a place to stop for the night. I didn’t want to take the chance of getting hit by a truck while changing a tire in that downpour. Margie and I agreed it was a waste of dough to get two rooms, so I took the floor.” “That makes sense.” “Our rotten luck still wasn’t over, though. We left before sunup, so I could get home and help Dad in case it hadn’t rained there. Luckily we stopped for gas and breakfast less than an hour outside of Topeka.  That’s when I discovered my wallet missing---left in such a rush forgot it on the night stand.” Polly shook her head, “Oh my gosh. What did you do?” “I left the owner of the gas station my watch as security that I’d return with stamps if he gave us enough gas to get back to Topeka. I prayed my billfold would be safe-- and it was.  The people at the motel were gonna mail it, but hoped Margie had money to get us home.” “What a trip!” Polly sighed, “Thank goodness those folks were all honest, and helpful.” During World War 2, gas and rubber rationing was an important part of…

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Women in the Fields Feed the Nation and the Military

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The landscape is changing daily as huge combines cut thousands of acres of grain each day. The fields are like the head of a huge blond haired boy that the barber takes a clipper to. At first there are wide swaths through the blond landscape. and quickly the scalp is bare. The weather is miserably hot, dry and windy---perfect for wheat harvest. Most all farmers today have air conditioned combines and trucks for hauling grain. They go home to air conditioned homes for a good nights sleep. Of course, things were completely different during WWII. Glancing through WW II pictures while preparing a different post, I came across photos and posters of women working the fields during the war. I thought it appropriate this week to give recognition to some of the millions of women who gave up their desk jobs and home making to provide food for the nation and the world while so many men were away fighting.  Those women didn't have air conditioned tractors or combines.  And, after a long day in the hot fields, they felt like queens if they had running water and could possibly take a bath before falling asleep, again without air conditioning In 1943  nine states had  WLA training facilities. By 1944 the number had risen to 44. As the war continued, the government not only encouraged city women and girls to give up their free time and vacations to help on the fields, they initiated the Women's Land Army (WLA)  to provide agricultural training and transport women to places needed. At first women worked on farms near home where they returned each evening. Eventually, with fewer and fewer men left in the country to work, the government transported the girls and women all over the US. They lived in work camps, some not as sanitary or comfortable as would be expected.  Child care became a huge issue during the war for both the farm and factory working women.  Some women took children to the fields with them, but the government stepped in and created at least 3,100 day-care centers which helped alleviate the problem for some.  "USDA officials estimated that as many as 800,000 women and 1.2 million young people would be needed in 1944 to assist in agricultural work." " WLA recruits included farm wives and daughters, college students, school girls, teachers, store clerks, stenographers, service wives, and homemakers. These women raised vegetables in New England, topped onions in Michigan, detasseled corn throughout the Midwest, shocked wheat in North Dakota, picked cotton in the South, planted potatoes in Maine, and harvested fruits and nuts on the West Coast. They also drove tractors, fed livestock, and performed dairying and poultry work. In total, 250,000 women were placed on farms during the 1943 crop season[alone]." "The WLA reported that year-round wages averaged between $25 and $50 dollars a month, with room and board furnished, while hourly rates for seasonal workers ranged from twenty-five to fifty cents.[an hour] . . .  However, the WLA conceded…

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