AUTOMOBILES

Cars were not being built since all steel was being used for military. No new model cars were built from 1942 until 1946 Since the Japanese had the rubber producing countries in their possession, we had no rubber for tires or anything made of rubber. In 1942 the government started to ration gasoline. Since people had no gasoline for pleasure driving and no new cars were being built, they could get a good price, over its value, by selling it. Long lines became common at gas stations when their supply was brought in until they were out until the next shipment. In order to conserve gas the government installed a National speed limit of 35 miles per hour. Since cocoa sources were in the Pacific under Japanese control,  chocolate bars or any candy with chocolate was not available. Sugar was also in short supply and any available people would skimp on themselves in order to make cookies for the troops.

Students of today who drive to school and have cars of their own would certainly have been in for a surprise in this period of time. Luckily street cars were still running to Canonsburg for Saturday nights. Just remember to catch the last 11:00 PM car leaving Canonsburg back to Peters Township. 

AREA HANGOUTS

Area “hangouts” if you could pool enough gas to get there and back:

Cy’s, located near the present Dairy Bar. This was a stop after or during school lunch  for a bottle of pop, cakes, and candy.

The “old” Hollywood, located close to the BP gas station at Donaldson’s Crossroads.  When route 19 was improved and widened you could park about one car length between the road and the building. Here there was a juke box, a crooked small dance floor and ham and pork barbecues.

Rocky Ridge was located on East McMurray Road at the curve between Al’s Cafe and the catholic church. Here there were booths, hamburgers, hot dogs, milk shakes, french fries, etc.

Henry’s Hennery located just out of Finleyville.  They had a small outdoor dance area  in the back as well as light lunches, hamburgers, hot dogs, milkshakes, about the same as Rocky Ridge menu.

By either driving or taking the street car to Canonsburg our normal Friday night or Saturday night was, in order:

1. Go to a movie at Beedle’s Alhambra (10 cents) or Beedle’s Continental (11 cents).

2. After the movie we would go to Beedle’s bowling alley underneath the Alhambra theater and bowl “duck” pins. These pins were with small pins and small   balls. The pins were set up manually by “pin setters”.

3. After bowling, and girls, we either went to Taylor’s Drug Store for milk shakes sundaes or cokes or maybe to George’s which was up the street.

4. Once in a while we would shoot pool above Taylor’s Drug.

5. Sometimes Canonsburg H.S. girls would have parties which we would be invited.

6. If traveling by street car, make sure to catch the last car home or be prepared to walk 6 miles.

SCHOOL SPORTS

Basketball being our only competitive sport still went on. Busses still took us to Avella, West Alexander, Hickory, Chartiers, East Washington, Claysville. From practices and games you normally walked home from the school. In my case it was 2 miles. In those days you could safely “hitch hike”.

There even became a shortage of male teachers since men with higher education were needed by the military as trainers, non commissioned officers or commissioned officers. Substitute people were coming in as well as retired teachers trying to fill a void that they might not have been qualified.

THE HOME FRONT

There was also a plane spotter system where some students were involved. At 4 or 5 AM you went out to a tower on a hill which had a phone system. Every airplane that you saw you phone in a report as to what kind of plane, what direction it was flying and give it’s altitude. The object was to keep track of all planes in flight.

Almost every house had a flag with a star in their window. These flags were 9 inches by 12 inches and were red with a white center with a star with a V below the star. A blue star indicated that a member of the household was in service. A gold star indicated a service person who had died. Everyone was involved with the war in their daily lives.

We also had a blackout system along with area Wardens. If any lights were on, drapes or blinds were to be pulled.

In our senior year in school, we would take turns going into Pittsburgh, during school hours, to enlist in some service and all the senior boys would go along for support and fun. 

Actually, everything was taken with a more serious attitude than students now could even imagine.

“Bomb Shelters” came on the market pressing that families should all have one for the safety of their families. Models were on display.Several were sold in Peters Twp. and a display model was still along Rt.19 many years after the war.

About 1940, Rt. 19 was put through. We were told that it was for troop convoys. Actually convoys did travel on it. Part of 19 near Washington was still being built or widened  after the war.

In my graduating class, we had 25 members, 11 boys and 14 girls. Of the 11 boys, 5 had left for the service before graduation and could not attend. Others were to leave within a couple months after.

V-MAIL

V-Mail was used in place of letters. During the latter years of World War II, V-Mail became a popular way to correspond with a loved one serving overseas. V-Mail letters were written on forms that could be purchased at five and ten cent stores or the post office. These special forms were photographed, put on film, flown across the world and then reproduced at the mail center closest to the recipient's position. The development of the V-Mail system reduced the time it took a soldier to receive a letter by a month - from six weeks by boat to twelve days or less by air. However, the main advantage of V-Mail was its compact nature. Reduction in the size and weight of the letters translated into more space for crucial military supplies on cargo planes; one advertisement explained that 1,700 V-Mail letters could fit in a cigarette packet, while reducing the weight o the letters in paper form by 98%. Transport of the letters by plane minimized the chances that the enemy would intercept the letters, although writers were reminded to delete any information that might prove useful to the enemy in case some V-Mail was captured. 

Americans on the home-front were encouraged by the government and private businesses to use V-Mail. Letters from home were compared to "a five minute furlough," and  advertisements that instructed how, when, and what to write in a V-Mail reached a peak in 1944. Letters were to be cheerful, short, and frequent. V-Mail made it possible for servicemen halfway across the world to hear news from home on a weekly basis. 

Even graduation rings were drastically affected by the war. Due to the shortage of metal and gold, the rings contained a diluted and mixed combination of metal which used as little as possible. The back of the ring was empty and completely void of any metal. There was no stone set in the ring, just an emblem and the year.

SHORTAGES

Shortage of paper appeared. Changes had to be made in the type of newsprint used. 

Scrap rubber, metal and paper drives were organized by the community. It is doubtful if these drives did any good since there were no facilities to process them. But they were good for morale by getting the people involved.

“Bond Drives” became a big thing and pushed by the government. First they were Defense Bonds, then War Bonds and later Victory Bonds. War Stamps also were available in schools for children to buy each week. They cost about 10 cents or 25 cents and were pasted in a book until the book was full and enough for $18.75 which could buy a $25 bond at redemption. I believe the interest rate was about 3% which was a good rate at that time. In fact that is about the same rate as now in 2003.

Toward the end of the war, due to the copper shortage, there became a short supply of pennies and the government started making zinc clad pennies.

Most people were working now and worker shortages appeared due to young men going to the service and the high paying jobs at military production plants.

Many went out of state to make the good money in these jobs. Even women took these jobs such as “Rosie the Riveter” replacing the men in service.

RATIONING 

In the summer of of 1941, price controls began which had been set up by the government. Ration Boards were set up freezing prices and War Ration Books were issued to each family dictating how much any one person could buy. The first nonfood item rationed was rubber. Gasoline began in May of 1942 on the east coast.

Gasoline: 
(Stickers were to be placed on the windshield of each car.) 

“A” Sticker
Issued to owners whose cars were nonessential allowing 3 or 4 gallons per week   and no more. These cars were not to be used for pleasure at all.

“B” Sticker (Green)
For driving deemed essential to the war effort.  Industrial war workers, for example, could buy 8 gallons per week but probably received 3 gallons.

“C” Sticker (Red)
For physicians, ministers, mail carriers and railroad workers. 

“T” Sticker
For truckers with no limit.

In each case (A & B) the ration board determined the mileage to your place of work and and set the number of gallons needed per week. Due to constant changing, the system became very confusing.

FOOD

Chief non rationed items were eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, dried and dehydrated fruits, fish and shellfish except in sealed containers, bread and cereals, milk, grain products such as spaghetti, macaroni, and noodles, poultry, jams, preserves, jellies, mayonnaise , salad dressing, perishable cheeses. 

Red Stamps - Covered meats, butter, fats and oils and some cheeses

Blue Stamps - Covered most other foods  coffee,  canned, bottled and frozen fruits and vegetables and their juices, dry beans, peas, lentils, soups, baby foods, baked beans, catsup, chili sauce. (attached examples)

White Stamps - Covered flour, bread, sugar

Misc. - shoes, tires, fuel oil. An attempt was made to make shoes with cloth tops and wooden soles and bottoms since leather was in short supply.  Retreaded tires or “recapping” with reclaimed rubber became available without restriction.

Some examples:

• 1# steak 12 pts. compared to 1# hamburger or ham for 7 pts

• 1# butter 16 pts. compared to 1# margarine for 4 pts

• Canned sardines 12 pts.

• Canned milk 1 pt.

• 1# cheddar cheese 8 pts.

• Jar Baby food 1 pt.

• 14 oz bottle catsup 15 pts.

All of this point system would fluctuate depending on the supply of the item. Also it was patriotic to observe “meatless Tuesdays” where you did not eat meat even if you had stamps and money to buy meat. People began to use oleomargarine instead of butter. it looked like as slab of lard and you mix a yellow colored ball and stir it until it has a color somewhat like butter.

United States ended sugar rationing in June 1947. 

WAR SLOGANS

War slogans became popular as part of government war efforts to stimulate the public. Some common ones are as follows:

Remember Pearl Harbor

Uncle Sam Needs You

Loose Lips Sink Ships

Big Brother is Watching You

War is Peace

V for Victory

Yellow Peril

The government approach was that a picture is worth a thousand words and they produced volumes of these - conserve, increase production, help the troops, war bonds, rape of Nanking.

PATRIOTIC SONGS

Patriotic songs came out in great numbers relating to the war:

Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition

The White Cliffs of Dover

Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B     (Andrew Sisters)

This is the Army, Mr. Jones   (Hal McIntyre)

Remember Pearl Harbor   (Sammy Kaye)

Der Fuehrer’s Face  (Spike Jones)

Comin’ In On A Wing And A Prayer (Four Vagabonds)

When Johnny Comes Marching Home (Glenn Miller)

I Left My Heart at The Stage Door canteen (Sammy Kaye)

He Wears A Pair of Silver Wings (Dinah Shore)

God Bless America (Kate Smith)

When The Lights Go On Again (all over the world with Vaughn Monroe)

Bless ‘em All

I’ll Be Seeing You (Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra)

Any Bonds Today (Irving Berlin)

We Did It Before And We Can Do It Again

Big Band Era and music of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Jimmy Dorsey

Toward the end of the war GI’s were beginning to return. The GI Bill was set up to provide needed help. With this help many were provided an education  who would not have been financially able. Many were married with families and were going to college strictly for learning and getting out as fast as possible to work and provide for their families. All were older than the normal 18/19 years olds just out of high school. They had no time, nor inclination, for the “party foolishness” that would normally have gone on with “the youngsters”. They were fully grown and mature and set a grade standard, due to serious study, that would keep the “youngsters” on their toes. They also had to maintain certain grades to stay in the GI Bill program.

GI BILL OF RIGHTS

On June 22, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944," better known as the "GI Bill of Rights." At first the subject of intense debate and parliamentary maneuvering, the famed legislation for veterans of World War II has since been recognized as one of the most important acts of Congress. During the past five decades, the law has made possible the investment of billions of dollars in education and training for millions of veterans, and the nation has in return earned many times its investment in increased taxes and a dramatically changed society.

An Uncertain Beginning - Though the GI Bill became law in a fast-paced six months, many in Congress and educators at colleges and universities had serious misgivings. Some felt it was too expensive and would encourage sloth among veterans. Others feared veterans would lower standards in education. But dire economic predictions for the postwar years created a great pressure to pass offsetting legislation. Many saw a postwar America faced with the loss of millions of jobs, creating unprecedented unemployment. Many business and government leaders anticipated a widespread economic depression after the war. As early as 1942, plans were being made to handle the anticipated postwar problems. The National Resources Planning Board, a White House agency, had studied postwar manpower needs and in June 1943 recommended a series of programs for education and training.

It was the American Legion, however, that is credited with designing the main features of the GI Bill and pushing it through Congress. The Legion overcame objections by other organizations that the proposed bill was too sweeping and could jeopardize veterans getting any help at all. At the time Congress already had failed to act on about 640 bills concerning veterans. The GI Bill was introduced in the Congress in January 1944, and after a nationwide campaign it passed on June 13. President Roosevelt signed it into law on June 22. In the years since, legislation for veterans, often called GI Bills, has adjusted benefits to fit changes in America. Men and women in uniform still earn education benefits.

World War II GI Bill

The first GI Bill provided six benefits:

• education and training

• loan guaranty for a home, farm, or business

• unemployment pay of $20 a week for up to 52 weeks

• job-finding assistance

• top priority for building materials for VA hospitals

• military review of dishonorable discharges

The first three of these benefits were administered by VA.

To be eligible for GI Bill education benefits, a World War II veteran had to serve 90 days or more after September 16, 1940; and have other than a dishonorable discharge. Veterans of the war were entitled to one year of full-time training plus a period equal to their time in service, up to a maximum of 48 months.

VA paid the educational institution up to a maximum of $500 a year for tuition, books, fees, and other training costs. VA also paid the single veteran a subsistence allowance of up to $50 a  month. This was increased to $65 a month in 1946 and to $75 a month in 1948. Allowances for veterans with dependents were higher.

This program ended July 25, 1956. In the peak year of 1947, veterans accounted for 49 percent of college enrollment. Out of a veteran population of 15,440,000, some 7.8 million were trained, including: 2,230,000 in college 3,480,000 in other schools 1,400,000 in on-job training 690,000 in farm training. Total cost of the World War II education program was $14.5 billion. Millions who would have flooded the labor market instead opted for education, which reduced joblessness during the demobilization period. When they did enter the labor market, most were better prepared to contribute to the support of their families and society.

Prepared and Written by
Boyd Caldwell Roach Jr.
Copyright © 2003