RATION BOOKS & STAMPS!

Yesterday the temperature was up to 66 degrees. That was really welcome after the 16 degree below zero we had just a month ago. We were able to go out in our yard and pick up the sticks that fell during the ice storm. All the snow is off of the ground. I look forward to spring.

Telling about World War II is like the blind men that went to the zoo. Since they couldn't see the animal, but only used their feeling senses, they all came back with a different story of what an elephant really looked like. The one that touched the tail was different than the one who touched the trunk, etc.

The mother that had several sons in the service, had a different story and outlook than the one who only was helping in the war effort. Also, many, many mothers got the dreaded telegraph that stated something like this--"We regret to inform you that your (son or husband) was killed/wounded or missing in action while serving their country". This happened all across America. Our community, had a few like this. Two that I knew of lived across the road from each other growing up. I went to high school with both of them. Our hearts and sympathy goes out to their family even today. The war we have been in the last 5 years has lost over 5,000 men. Each one of these men were special and we regret losing even one. The grief that just one parent goes through is horrendous. In World War II, we were losing 5,000 in one day in some of the battles. This puts the scope of that war in perspective.

Yesterday I mentioned about the ration books and stamps that we were issued. There were a shortage in meat, butter, sugar, fats, oils, metal, paper, coffee, shoes, tires, gasoline, silk stockings, paper. In order to be able see that everyone was able to get what they needed in these supplies, they gave out ration books. Car owners were limited to 3 gallons of gas a week, so they car pooled a lot. If you needed a pair of shoes, you had to forfeit your shoe allotment stamp to obtain that pair of shoes. I don't know what happened if you were growing rapidly and grew out of shoes before you could purchase a larger size.

Farmers had an advantage, since their occupation was a vital part of the war effort, they got all the gas that they needed. Meat and butter was plentiful on the farm.

Silk stockings were no longer available and someone thought of a solution. They had leg makeup to appear that a girl wore hose. Not a very good solution, because it didn't protect from the cold or when your legs got damp in the rain, they reacted like mascara does today when wet. Yuk!

These were just a few of the small sacrifices that the people on the "home front" endured. Not much when you think that our "choice men were sacrificing their all for OUR FREEDOM".

Wisdom today--My mother had always said, "Where there's a WILL, there's A WAY!" This was never truer than when we all pulled together to WIN the WAR! One strand of thread is easily broken, but take thousands of these strands and put them in a rope, and see how strong they become.