Archive for Author Becky Brillon

Crisco – It’s Digestible!

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It’s time to talk about Crisco. And the conversation starts with — What the heck is it?

Crisco was the first shortening to be made entirely of vegetable oil (cottonseed) in 1911 by Procter & Gamble. The original intent of the chemists behind Crisco was to find alternate uses for cottonseed oil as the demand of candles and soap, its primary output, was diminishing. Until that time alternatives included lard and butter.

Lard had taken a bad rap in 1906 when Upton Sinclair wrote a novel called The Jungle which told a quite memorable story about where lard comes from. (For a wonderful NPR telling of lard’s history, listen here: NPR’s Planet Money January 6, 2012 podcast

Butter was very time-consuming to churn, expensive to buy, and during WWII was hard to find or highly rationed.

The vegetarian answer to a demand ahead of its time was Crisco. It was not only revolutionary in its creation, but it was also revolutionary in its marketing. It was one of the original brand managed products with catchy radio ad jingles and radio show endorsements. It had a marketing slogan – “It’s digestible!”

But is it really? It’s made of 100% fat (with no water) so Crisco allows steam to form during the baking process, which leads to more tender baked goods overall.  It has a higher melting point, so pastry crusts stand taller and retain their shape. It can be easier to work with and has a longer shelf life than butter.

The modern Crisco is not the same as the original version – not even close.  What we learned in the 1990’s about trans fats and the bad news behind it, forced J.M. Smucker (today’s manufacturer) to re-engineer the process of making Crisco to eliminate almost all trans-fat in the product and to use soybean oil or a combination of cottonseed and soybean oil in its creation. And remember, it originated as an experiment in soap making!

Whether you decide to include Crisco today in your diet or not, it is hard to avoid in my WWII kitchen.

Aside from a full myriad of recipes from Crisco’s Famous White Layer Cake to Soybean Chop Suey in my Recipes for Good Eating cookbook, printed by The Procter & Gamble Company in 1945 for the exclusive marketing of Crisco, I also have quite a few leaflet recipes endorsed by Mary King, spokesperson for King Midas Flour.  This one for Peanut Butter Crisps was edible…and digestible.

Mary King’s Peanut Butter Crisps

Sift together… 1 ½ cups King Midas Enriched Flour

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon soda

½ teaspoon salt

Blend in…            1/2 cup vegetable shortening, room temperature

½ cup chunk style peanut butter

½ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup quick rolled oats

Drop…                  by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet

Bake…                  at 375° F for 10 to 12 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

NOTE…                 If desired, dough may be chilled and used as needed.

 

Posted in Companies & Advertising, Dessert, In the Kitchen, Radio

D-Day + 75 Years

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The first time I heard the story of D-Day was in 1984 on the 40th anniversary of the historic event and I was in the living room of my grandparents’ home watching a television special about the day. The anniversary was well documented that year.

I remember the day so vividly because I could gather from my grandparents’ reactions of the show that it was a very special story. This set of grandparents served in the war from their farm in Wisconsin. Farmers were needed on the home front to feed the troops, our country, and our allies.

The videos of the 40th anniversary introduced my 8-year old mind to the graphic footage of Operation Overlord and laid the groundwork for honoring the ultimate sacrifices made by all of those men jumping from airplanes and storming the beaches and the families back home.

Nearly every big anniversary of the date — 50th, 60th, 70th added more and more stories and clarity about the enormous undertaking. And now, the 75th anniversary is upon us and not many remain that lived through ‘the longest day’ to tell their stories in first person.

This video from CBS News commemorated the 70th anniversary and told the story of the Bedford Boys.

 

Photo: Warfare History Network

The relatively small town of Bedford, Virginia sent 35 of their sons to D-Day. Twenty-two perished. The town realized the highest casualty rate from one single American hometown.

News of the battle was reported during the night. It was Sunday morning forty days later when the families started receiving the Western Union telegrams notifying each of their sad news. In the story from CBS News, Lucille Boggess talks about how her mother received the telegrams about her two brothers’ deaths as they were preparing to leave for church. The first telegram was delivered by the sheriff.  The second telegram came by a cab driver.

Today Bedford is home to the National D-Day Memorial. The hallowed grounds freeze in time a tiny glimpse of D-Day. Over 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded or went missing during the Battle of Normandy on June 6, 1944. It is regarded as the battle that changed the momentum of the war and gave all hope that it would end soon. Each passing year gives us a chance to pause and consider the ultimate price paid for freedom — both in Europe and on the home front as each mother received her yellow Western Union telegram.

Photo: National D-Day Memorial

Posted in Holidays, Memorial, Museums, The Way It Was

An Army of 1.5 Million

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Aside from talking to the people who lived on the home front or those who have stories from their parents, magazines and newspapers are my next best source of boots-on-the-ground information but it’s not especially easy to find these gold nuggets.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt formed the War Production Board (WPB) in early 1942 to “oversee the conversion of industries from peacetime work to war needs, allocate scarce materials, establish priorities in the distribution of materials and services, and prohibit nonessential production”. The WPB quickly launched nationwide scrap drives that were enthusiastically supported by civilians longing to help in any way to win the war and bring their loved ones home. Campaigns were organized on a city level to collect metal, rubber, kitchen fat, newspapers, rags, and so on.

The War Production Board smartly rolled out the Paper Troopers program, designed to sound like “paratroopers,” to involve schoolchildren in the effort. Troopers were awarded arm patches and certificates for collecting certain amounts.

And then they got called in the Boy Scouts of America.“In order to meet the paper requirements for our military and essential needs, we must save, collect, and move to the paper mills even greater amounts of scrap paper than before. We must do our utmost until the last knockout blow is delivered to the enemy. We again urgently request the Boy Scouts of America to expand and concentrate their efforts with a special nationwide collection of paper during March and April. The goal for the Boy Scouts – 150,000 tons. This amount will strike another potent blow for victory. I am confident the Boy Scouts have the courage and resolution to meet the goal.” – J.A. Krug, Chairman War Production Board. 

The little armies of boys went in for all — a campaign medal was on the line. By final count, 1,500,000 scouts and cubs were cited for “astronomical success” — too successful when it came to my beloved newspapers and magazines.  The WPB had to call a stop to the paper drives. They had no where to store 300 million pounds of paper!

And paper was only recycled as packing material.

“Awarded for extraordinary patriotic achievement in the Boy Scout General Eisenhower Waste Paper Campaign March – April 1945.”

The medal was awarded to individual scouts who collected over 1,000 pounds of waste paper. Imagine the competition in one small town where several scouts were vetting for your waste paper, hoping to make the 1,000 pound mark somehow!

So, you can see what I’m up against in my search for WWII era reading sources, unused cookbook pamphlets, letters, postcards, etc. When faced with the message that paper could bring your son home sooner, and when the army of one and a half million patriotic little boys pulling little red wagons shows up at your front door, it’s a wonder that any sheet of paper remains!

Posted in The Way It Was, Use it Up, Waste

Earning the Home Legion Distinguished Service in Homemaking Medal – Part II

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In earlier posts (here and here) we learned about the prestigious Home Legion medal for distinguished service in homemaking. I was incredibly fortunate to come into possession of a medal, but I don’t feel that I have ‘earned’ the pin until I have completed the steps that all original Home Legion members had to complete for the recognition.

Step one: Join the Home Legion by filling out the application. I shall check the boxes of ‘good meal planning, careful household management, thrift — preventing waste, maintaining morale, creating a happy atmosphere, and interest in and work for the community’.  Check!

Step two: Hang the Homemaker’s Creed on a wall in my kitchen. Check!

Step three: Answer the questions in the second round of mailings: “What do you do to insure a smooth-running home?”, “What little tricks do you use for saving time and labor?” and “How do you practice thrift in conserving food, household supplies, and equipment?”

What do you do to insure a smooth-running home? Short answer — simplicity and routines! Have you ever come across those cute flour sack towels with the day of the week embroidered on them?  Monday is Wash Day. Tuesday is Iron Day.  Wednesday is Bake Day. Thursday is Brew Day. Friday is Churn Day. Saturday is Mend Day. Sunday is Meeting Day. It goes back to the Mayflower and times when we needed to brew and churn.  Luckily, I don’t have to go that far back!  In McCall’s patterns of those towels, Thursday became Market Day and Friday became Clean Day. Other versions argue that Bake Day or Market Day should be Saturday.  Who knows for sure?

Anyway, there is an inborn tradition in me that makes Monday Wash Day. I grew up on a farm with rows and rows of laundry hanging on a clothesline — first load hung by 5:00 am on Monday morning! I do set aside time on Fridays for cleaning to make sure we start the weekend feeling tidy and organized. I like to make Market Day a Friday night event and grab dinner on the way home. That way Saturdays can be left for whatever we feel like doing and meal prepping can be done on Sundays for the week ahead.

Cleaning doesn’t seem so big of a chore when things are done as they need to be throughout the week too — dishes put in the dishwasher after meals are over. Bathroom sinks can be wiped clean after use as part of the morning routine. Before going to bed, the living room can be picked up if books, magazines, or other things were used through the day.

Little things like this only leave vacuuming, dusting, and other light cleaning tasks for Fridays.

Larger tasks and spring deep cleaning find their way to a list and scheduled like projects to be done when there is plenty of time to plan for and work on them.

What little tricks do you use for saving time and labor? We have lots of little tricks around our home for saving time and labor. The best have been locating general cleaning supplies used on each floor of our home (basement included) on each floor to save steps and make the routine flow. I am obsessed with planning efficiency and always study every task for any way of removing steps.  For example, when grocery shopping, I load my cart and then the conveyor belt with like items based on where they are located in my kitchen. They are bagged together in the same way and then when it’s time to put everything away, I can take my bag to the one area in the pantry or refrigerator or freezer where it all goes.

On meal prepping day, I locate all the ingredients for a recipe together in the pan or bowl I’ll be using to cook or bake it in along with the recipe card so all I have to do is pull out the bowl from the pantry, pull out any ingredients that were stored in the refrigerator or freezer, and take it all to the counter to assemble. All this planning goes a long way in reducing clean up time too.

How do you practice thrift in conserving food, household supplies, and equipment? Thrift always comes down to living the WWII mantra “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without”.

We plant a garden. And in our home, food is prepped and frozen before it can go bad. If plans don’t go as first arranged, fruits and vegetables can be juiced very easily and efficiently. Berries not frozen also go into a smoothie or prepped into desserts.

Everything has a life cycle with several stages. Worn out t-shirts become dust rags. Tea towels act as cloth napkins — no paper towels or paper napkins in this house! We use cloth bags for shopping. Any plastic bags that accidentally find their way into the house are used as kitchen waste bags — we do not buy Hefty or any other kind of trash bags.  It really doesn’t make sense to pay for something that’s main purpose is to throw away! Same for paper bags – these are used for holding recyclable waste until they are tossed in the recycle bin (Waste Management does not allow plastic bags of any kind to be used in recycle bins).

Equipment in the house is carefully maintained. Wooden cutting boards and utensils are waxed twice a year to keep in good condition. Garden tools are cleaned and oiled at the end of each season. Kitchen tools are cleaned and dried right after a thorough washing to avoid rusting. We use a clothesline for drying clothes in warm seasons to extend the life of the dryer. We use (and reuse) glass jars and containers — no plastic! Knives are carefully used, stored, and sharpened when needed, instead of buying new.

Posted in Cleaning, In the Kitchen, Make it Do, Make It Yourself, Use it Up

Bucket List Trip: The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, LA

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I have just returned from the National World War II Museum located in New Orleans, Louisiana. It did not disappoint!

‘Offering a compelling blend of sweeping narrative and poignant personal detail, The National WWII Museum features immersive exhibits, multimedia experiences, and an expansive collection of artifacts and first-person oral histories, taking visitors inside the story of the war that changed the world.’

The museum is truly an honor to the generation that sacrificed so much to secure our freedom and will always remind future generations of the price paid.

In size, the museum campus covers six acres with five multi-level pavilions, a period dinner theater, and two lovely places to eat on site. For period actors, a specialty shop offers gorgeous era-style clothing and accessories.

Of course, my favorite exhibit in the museum was the Arsenal of Democracy collection — a home sweet home display.  You’ll walk past the huge victory garden mural that was a proud example of using every inch of space available on a lot. Junior must have just come back from a scrap metal drive in the neighborhood.  His wagon sits near the front door loaded with much needed steel, aluminum and paper ready to turn in.  The kitchen welcomes you inside with bright and happy appliances from the era.  “We had that sink!  We had that stove!”

In the living room you’ll come upon a scene of a quiet evening at home listening to the radio and gazing upon photos of those serving in the war, hoping all are safe and will be home soon.

Turning the corner out of the living room brings you to work.  And lots of it! The displays of U.S. manufacturing efforts are incredible. Hello, Rosie!

Must See: Beyond All Boundaries 4-D movie. There is no way to describe just how good this movie experience is. Hint: Sit in the first five rows for optimal viewing.

And my trip is not over yet!  The museum’s digital collections allow anyone with an internet connection to explore personal stories and photos.

 

Posted in Museums, The Way It Was tagged with , , ,

January in My Kitchen: It’s All About Maintenance

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The U.S. involvement in WWII passed four Januaries.  The first, in 1942 was just short a month from the Pearl Harbor attack and a few months before rationing began. The final January, in 1945, occurred while the Battle of the Bulge waged in Europe, nearing the end without the home front knowing it would thankfully be the last January of the war.

In my kitchen, each January marks the memory of my grandmother’s birthday on January 14th, aged 13-16 during the war. 

January also seems like a good time to maintain the things that need to keep in good working order to use up, wear out, and make do throughout the coming year. Here’s a partial list:

  • Gardening Tools: A spray of WD-40* on the tools I will rely on in a few long, cold months in the Victory Garden helps to protect them from rusting and splintering. It also helps in keeping parts moving smoothly and efficiently when spring arrives.

 

  • Cords, Cords Everywhere: There is a law in my house that prohibits anyone from throwing away any twist-tie from a bread wrapper or other form of packaging. And here’s why. I take a walk through my house, room by room, cupboard by cupboard looking for any electrical cord that needs to be neatly held with a twist-tie. Or, if in use and not able to be wrapped up, at least has a twist-tie attached to it for future use. You’ll be amazed at how well this little task saves on bent plugs, messy cupboards and rooms, and tangled messes. Any cord that does not have a home gets wrapped neatly, labeled to remind me what it once belonged to, and then stored all together in one spot for electronic cords.

 

  • House Maintenance: At the same time while I am going room to room looking for cords to wrap up, I also take a notebook and pen with me to make note of anything in each room that will need extra attention throughout the year — such as painting, deep cleaning, repair, or something added/removed to make it more appealing. Obviously, I’m a list maker and I appreciate seeing things getting crossed off, but this is also a way for me to budget time and money for home improvements no matter how big or small.

 

  • Wood: It is crucially important to maintain any wooden cutting boards and wooden handles of kitchen tools. I maintain at least twice a year, but for sure in January when the humidity in the house may be at its lowest. I use mineral oil or butcher block wax to condition all of the tools, then I give my cupboards a quick swipe with the oily rag to make the most of the used oil.

 

  • Recipes: As my WWII kitchen project progressed, I began to realize that I can become overwhelmed with too many recipes in front of me. I have one cabinet in my kitchen where I keep all of the recipes and monthly menu plans that work best for our home. As months go by I may add a picture of a recipe snapped from a book or magazine that once looked interesting. So each January, I lay out all the cookbooks, binders, and loose pieces that have accumulated and archive the ones never used. I think of recipes in the same way I think of items in my clothes closet. I tend to wear the same things over and over and by purging what I don’t wear I save time by not giving myself too many useless choices. When it comes to meals and the groceries that go with them, it’s easy to make choices quickly since any recipe at hand is a good one and likely to be one that I am able to keep ingredients on hand. What’s for supper? I simply open the binder to any page and make what I see.

 

For now, this list will make the most of my January and set me up for another year of war in my kitchen!

 

*Okay, okay… WD-40 was not invented until after WWII in 1953, but using plain oil as was common in households during WWII is frowned upon in my home for the same reasons that WD-40 is so widely popular.

Posted in Birthdays, Cleaning, In the Kitchen, Make it Do, Use it Up, Victory Gardening

Earning the Home Legion Distinguished Service in Homemaking Medal

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In an earlier post (here) we learned about the prestigious Home Legion medal for distinguished service in homemaking. I was incredibly fortunate to come into possession of a medal, but I don’t feel that I have ‘earned’ the pin until I have completed the steps that all original Home Legion members had to complete for the recognition.

Step one: Join the Home Legion by filling out the application. I shall check the boxes of ‘good meal planning, careful household management, thrift — preventing waste, maintaining morale, creating a happy atmosphere, and interest in and work for the community’.  Check!

Step two: Hang the Homemaker’s Creed on a wall in my kitchen. Check!

Step three: Answer the questions in the first round of mailings: “How do you make your meals fit your situation?” and “What do you do to insure taste, appeal, and eating satisfaction in your meals?”

How do you make your meals fit your situation? My household consists of me, my husband and our beloved dog. I prepare meals in smaller batches for the two of us and freeze what cannot be eaten in one sitting. As my husband likes meat dishes and I don’t, I prep food that is half vegetarian all in one dish. This works great for casseroles or soups where I can pick out pieces of meat (guess who gets to eat what I don’t). I can also cook meat ahead of time, freeze it in servings and add it to dishes after I have taken out my portion. Breakfast meals are usually quick and on-the-go, like homemade granola bars. Lunches are on our own at work, usually a peanut butter sandwich and cookies packed the night before. Dinner typically follows a routine of my go-to dishes that can be made from memory.

 

What do you do to ensure taste, appeal, and eating satisfaction in your meals?  For taste, I use as many spices and seasoning as possible. Everything can use a little something — lemon peel in broth, sage and thyme added to gravy mixes, etc.

For appeal, I rely on simplicity. Plates and serving bowls are all pure colors such as white or jadeite or similar. As long as plates and utensils are clean and the food on them is tidy, not spilling over or splashed allover the counter tops and prep areas, I feel they are appealing.

For eating satisfaction, I rely on experience of past meals and knowing what we truly like to eat. I have a collection of recipes that are ‘tried and true’ in our household and only try new dishes once in a while from ingredients that I know we like. There is enough variety in our meal routine and we end up always eating our favorites.

 

Bonus Step: Tuning in to the Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air radio show.  (No affiliation with The War In My Kitchen — just a cool website to find old time radio shows.)

Posted in Companies & Advertising, In the Kitchen, Radio

The Home Legion Medal of Distinguished Service in Homemaking

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“Believing that good homemaking is a vital contribution to a better world…

Homemaking should have a greater recognition as a contribution in the world…

I would like to be a member of the HOME LEGION dedicated to good homemaking for a better world.”

So read the Betty Crocker Home Legion membership application in Fall, 1944.

My endless search for home front keepsakes never fails to remind me of the goodness of people willing and supportive of a mission to honor and memorialize the women who held together the country and values of a nation at war.

In October of 2018 I received an email from a soon-to-be friend in Texas who had found The War in My Kitchen through her own research of an item found that was too good to be true — The Home Legion Distinguished Service Medal. !!!!

The gift of this medal was truly the 2018 highlight of The War in My Kitchen. I had never come across mention of a Home Legion medal in all my research or reading and found it to be incredibly difficult to find any Google mention of it either. Piece by piece, through persistent emails, phone calls, and searches I was able to find just two more instances of the medal on auction sites and an honest-to-goodness, still-in-the-envelope Home Legion membership application.

Let me start from the beginning (thank you to Rebecca Brown, an archivist at General Mills, for filling in the details):

“The pin you have is indeed from the Betty Crocker Home Legion, started during World War II. The Home Legion was dedicated to “Good Homemaking for a Better World” and “Greater Recognition for Good Homemaking”. It began in the fall of 1944 through the Betty Crocker Radio Cooking School. To join the legion a homemaker registered (for free) in the Betty Crocker Radio Cooking School. Once Betty received the membership application, she would send back the Homemaker’s Creed (a list of ideas and beliefs that legion members held to) and it could be hung up in the kitchen for inspiration.

Source: General Mills Archive

 

To receive the pin, two questionnaires had to be returned. The first was sent out with the Homemaker’s Creed. It had to be returned before January 5, 1945. Questions on the first report included: “How do you make your meals fit your situation?” and “What do you do to insure taste, appeal, and eating satisfaction in your meals?”  Then, later in January, the second questionnaire was sent. This one was a bit longer. Questions on this one included: “What do you do to insure a smooth-running home?”, “What little tricks do you use for saving time and labor?” and “How do you practice thrift in conserving food, household supplies, and equipment?” The second questionnaire had to be received by March 23, 1945. If both questionnaires were turned in on time, then the homemaker received that pin as proof that they were a distinguished member of the legion.

Source: General Mills Archives

Additionally, the questionnaires (which were more like essays with several prompts) were given out to those who “show that they are making the greatest contribution to other American homemakers”. The questionnaires were judged by a group of experienced homemakers. By the end of March 1945, 20,000 women had joined the legion.”

Source: General Mills Archive

Source: General Mills Archive

So…here’s my task before January 5th: Reply here answering the first questionnaire — How do you make your meals fit your situation? What do you do to insure taste, appeal, and eating satisfaction in your meals?

Wish me luck in earning the Home Legion Distinguished Service in Homemaking Medal! My responses will be posted in my next entry within deadline!

Posted in Companies & Advertising, Food Fighting, History & Why Am I Doing This WWII Rationing Project Thing, In the Kitchen, Make it Do, Memorial, Radio, The Way It Was

Christmas Gift Ideas From WWII

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The Woman’s Day December 1943 magazine found at an estate sale provides us a glimpse into Christmas Past:

Christmas Gift from a Sea-Bee

“I have just seen a girl wearing with great pride a matched set of hand-wrought jewelry especially designed for her. A rare treasure, this lavaliere and bracelet set of shining white metal, and though the proud wearer does preen a bit, she is not to be accused of unwarranted vanity or unpatriotic giddiness. Her polished bracelet, with its entwined heart motif, her heart-shaped lavaliere, were both designed and engraved under the light of a tropical moon by her Sea-Bee husband. The shining white metal came from the wing of an American plane which dropped to rest on a coral strand, after it had put three Zeros in their proper place in Davy Jones’s locker. The lavaliere sways gently from its dog-tag chain. No perfectly matched string of pearls ever had a greater history, no royal bracelet ever a more impressive inscription – “Mimi and Bill forever”. As modern as the blonde young girl who wears it, as simply streamlined as the plane from which it was born, as sentimental as the most doting Victorian heart could desire – here’s jewelry of the hour, heirloom of the future.”

If you’re like me, you hope that Mimi and Bill had a victorious reunion after the war and wonder if the bracelet and lavaliere set still have a home in a jewelry box somewhere. Imagine the story of jewelry crafted from a WWI bomber could tell!

 

Pyrexware. Heck yeah, we girls want Pyrexware for Christmas!

The 1943 ad for a relatively new series of Pyrexware helps us date the pieces that remain in use today.

Notice the Pyrex Double Duty Casserole has a cover that can serve double-duty as a pie plate.

Pyrex Pie Plates from the WWII era had ridged sides and in 1943 featured the first-ever easy-to-hold handles.

The Pyrex Bowl Set of today still features the three nesting sizes sold 75 years ago — 2 ½, 1 ½  and 1 quart.

All are made of clear, see-through glass. (Highly-sought after Pyrex colored bowls were a 1950’s novelty. The bright colors and patterns were a lovely variation to these practical clear pieces.)

“Look for this label for your own protection”. The logo was important because not all glassware was hot-to-cold shatter-proof at the time. Pyrex had been made of borosilicate since 1915. It was an innovative thermal safe glass that could go from boiling hot and remain safe if ice cold water were added. In 1998, when Corning sold Pyrex to World Kitchen, LLC, a Chicago manufacturer, the glassware sold in the U.S. was replaced with lime soda glass. Lime soda glass is more resilient to dropping (anyone else have a mother who was ecstatic about her non-breakable Corning Ware plates in the 1990’s), but not as thermal protective.

Corning Glass Works is still around today, but only holds 8% interest in Pyrex (sold to World Kitchen, LLC).   As the makers of Pyrex during the war, the company was also called on to produce searchlight lenses, Army tableware, hospital supplies and other in the scientific realm, which remains today as its primary focus.

 

War Bonds – The Most Sensible Gift Under The Tree This Year

When was the last time you wore a corsage? Prom? Maybe Mother’s Day or for a wedding? Can you imagine if the corsage worn on any special day — a Sunday or night out — came back in style?

Money not wasted on flowers was better used to buy War Savings Stamps. But, not wanting to be left out of the pretty tradition, the stamps were crafted into a corsage.

 

“A War Savings Stamp corsage comes first on anyone’s gift list. From $1 up.”

How practical was it? It’s hard to say. Magazines were allowed to stay in print through the war even when paper drives were held to aid in the war effort if they served the purpose of advertising war bonds. This ad was such an example of complying with the agreement. Discreetly tucked into articles and advertisements, such things are fun to spot and are a sign of the era.

Marlene Dietrich pinning on a savings bond corsage.

 

Posted in Holidays, In the Kitchen, The Way It Was

Signs of a WWII Veteran

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One hundred years ago today, at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the First World War, which killed 40 million people, finally ended. Dubbed the ‘war to end all wars’, it was a day continuously prayed for and hoped for four years.

Twenty-three years later the United States entered the Second World War against all hopes that it wouldn’t be necessary. What happened to the shared notion that the world should never again be involved in such a regrettable tragedy as war?

Until 1954 Armistice Day remained the day to memorialize the lives lost in WWI and to honor its ending. Becoming Veterans’ Day, the holiday honored all those who served in the armed forces at any time.

You could say WWII had two Armistice Days — VE Day (Victory in Europe) on May 8, 1945 and VJ (Victory in Japan) on August 15, 1945 or September 2, 1945 depending on how you measure the end of the war officially.

US troops returned home in full force. There was shortage of boats, trains, buses, and automobiles to bring everyone home to their final destinations. Many had earned their ‘points’ needed to honorably discharge from the military and once they hit shore, were relieved of duty and free to go on their way in a very big hurry.

Shortages in civilian attire made it difficult to determine who was discharged and who was AWOL. It wasn’t possible for every soldier to simply change out of uniform into civilian trousers, shirts, or suits to become non-military. Therefore, the discharged soldiers were given a lapel pin to wear, signifying their approved departure from the military.

It was officially called the Honorable Service Lapel Button and was crafted of glit metal or glit plastic during metal shortages (the plastic versions were allowed to be traded in for a brass version when supplies returned to normal). Though the design is of an eagle standing, about to take flight with one wing outside of the button’s round border, the pin became known as a “Ruptured Duck” because the eagle didn’t quite look as regal as one would hope.

Some veterans wore the button on their civilian lapels for many years after the end of the war and it became widely used as an unofficial symbol of veterans’s pride.

Other signs of a veteran’s home was of course, the blue star banners hung in windows of homes. The number of stars represented the number serving from the same home. A blue star would be covered with a gold star if the serving family member died in service.

One more sign displayed, though not as often, was a welcome home banner. Many versions were used and are very hard to find circulating in antique shops or estate sales today.

The military scrambled to discharge the troops efficiently, but there were many things to consider – life insurance benefits, payroll, bonus dollars, housing, certificates of honorable discharge — lots of paperwork to process. The Department of Veterans Affairs had only been established in 1930 and was still learning the best way to process the 16.5 million men and women who served during WWII (before computers!). It was quite an undertaking and involved many steps that could be mistakenly missed or skipped if not careful. Pamphlets were given to the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines in hopes of making the transition go smoother.

Today, Veterans’ Day 2018, an estimated 496,777 veterans of WWII are living. To each and every one of them I say — Thank YOU and may you live all your days in peace and comfort for the unfathomable valor of your service.  And to the home front veterans of WWII — Thank YOU for the inspiring example of courage, resolve and tenacity that would be impossible to replicate today.

Posted in Holidays, Memorial, The Way It Was
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