War Stories

In addition to the aircraft observers mentioned in the Stief's drugstore recollection, there were air raid wardens and regular drills. My father served as a warden and during the drills would go up and down the street after dark looking for any sign of light coming from the homes. Lights were allowed to be turned on inside (candles were recommended) but heavy drapes had to be placed over the windows so that no light could be seen from the outside.

In addition to collecting "tin" cans and newspapers for the war effort, people were also asked to save the fat from cooking meat. It was used in the preparation of explosives. We placed our fat in a tin can and took it to the grocery store around the corner which paid us something based upon the weight of the can. Many of our visits to the Saturday matinees at the Strand or the Capital were financed by our "fat" money.

Gasoline was rationed and each car displayed a paper sticker in the back window with the letter A, B or C. The letter indicated the war time importance of travel by the owner and determined how much and how often they could purchase gasoline.
The speed limit everywhere was set at 25 miles per hour in order to conserve gas.

Food was rationed and everyone was issued a book of food stamps. I recall that catsup required a large number of stamps due to it's high sugar content. When the Methodists held a church supper, not only did the members of the congregation buy tickets to attend the meal but they also had to donate some of their own food stamps to help obtain the food required to prepare it.
I still have my ration book. My mother saved it for me. PICTURE

People were urged to have Victory Gardens in their yards and to grow as many vegetables for their own use as they could. We raised rabbits in our yard for meat and many of them ended up as "chicken salad" at the Crystal Restaurant in Reading. My brothers and I never cared very much for the taste of rabbit meat ourselves.
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