A little more about the World War II days.
I was looking on the Internet to see if I could find out how much we got in rationed food items during the war. I found a chart that showed some of the food items. Below it shows how much per person you got for a week. There were four people in our family.
Per Person--Per Week
Cheese - one and a half ounces
Butter/ Margarine - seven ounces
Cooking fats (Shortening or Lard) 7 ounces
Sugar - 8 ounces
Chocolate and Sweets- 4 ounces
Liquid milk - 3 pints
Bacon and Ham - 2 ounces a fortnight (14 days)
All meat was rationed. Mainly you could get hamburger or roasts with your stamps, if the butcher had any. You could not get steaks. Liver, Heart, Tripe, Brains, etc were not rationed.
Other items were rationed too--Gasoline, shoes, boots, some clothing. You could not get rubber tires.
I was still in High School when the war started. I will tell you a story about my Cooking Class.
In our Cooking Class, we were learning how to cook with some of the Wartime recipes. We all had partners in our cooking class. One day we had to make this recipe for Scrambled Eggs and Brains. Our teacher said that everyone had to take at least one bite. I knew I would die right there if I did and so did my partner. We had our forks out and were stirring this horrible mess around on our plates acting like we were going to eat. We had a waste basket by us and we were keeping an eye on the teacher and as soon as she started down the next row, we dumped ours in the waste basket and threw a cloth towel over the top. We kept inching our basket under the table when the teacher wasn't looking. When our teacher came back to our table, our plates were empty. I guess she trusted us because we were both good students. I did get an A in Homemaking. I don't know if anybody else did the same thing because we were too busy with our own problem.
I had told you the story about stockings last time too. I found this article on the Rationing articles I was reading.
"One of the most unusual items affected by the war was Women's stockings. With an embargo on Japanese silk, nylon was promptly drafted to make parachutes--and each chute required the equivalent of 36 pairs of stockings. The fashion and technology of Women's hosiery at the time was to show a dark seam up the back of the leg. With no stockings to be had, some enterprising young women applied leg makeup in place of stockings, using an eyebrow pencil to draw the seam up the back."
Once I was out of High School and went to work for the Newspaper, I really could see what was going on with the war. We had a Teletype so we got news fairly quickly. Messages didn't travel instantly like they do today.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
JUST A STORY TONIGHT; NO PICTURE
I decided to write just a little about what my life was like in the late 1930's and a little during World War II.
Our house was just the average simple house that most of the people in our rural area had. My mother had a very nice wood cookstove. She kept it so clean. We had a refrigerator with a small freezer compartment that only held ice cube trays. The heat for our house was a wood stove in the front room. On cold nights, my dad would get up between 3 and 4 AM and build a fire in the heater. I stayed bundled under my blankets until the house started to warm up. For electrical appliances we had a wringer washer, a radio, a toaster and an electric iron. Almost every item of everyday clothing had to be ironed. We had lots and lots of handkerchiefs; big red ones for my dad and dainty ones for my mom, my sister and me which all had to be ironed. I always loved ironing the handkerchiefs and piling them in neat piles. My mom ironed all the sheets and pillowcases. One thing I remember is that I had this skirt that had tiny pleats all the way around. My mother would always carefully iron each little pleat. One day after my skirt was washed, I decided to iron it myself. I never had the patience my mother had. I just laid my skirt on the ironing board and pressed across the pleats and turned it over and pressed the back side. My mother was watching me and probably thinking she would have to do it over. When I held it up, the pleats were perfect. My mother said after watching me, she never did iron pleats one at a time again.
My dad always had big vegetable gardens. My mother would can jars and jars of everything. My sister and I helped her. I can still remember how sore my fingers got shelling peas. We had lots of jars of fruit too. Sugar was a very inexpensive item. Of course, when the war broke out, Sugar was rationed and women started canning with honey. Also, my dad and mother had a locker (freezer) downtown to keep the meat in. We always had lots of beef and chickens.
Now when I look back, I can see the late 1930's was a glorious time to live in. It was a peaceful time. Families worked together and had fun together. My dad enjoyed fishing. He would take all of us to the Snohomish River or to Mukilteo. My mother would take her magazines to read and my sister and I watched our dad or played around the water.
People didn't have a lot of money but most of the families around us had what they needed. Like my dad, they raised there own meat and had big gardens. People were careful with their money.
Usually a couple of Saturday afternoons a month I used to ride the bus into Everett with my two girl friends to see a show. About a half mile from our house you could catch the Northcoast bus.(you had to flag it down). At that time we lived close to Highway 99. When my mother, sister and I went shopping, we would take the Northcoast bus. It cost 25 cents to ride into Everett. On the Saturdays that I went to the show with my friends, we would walk 2 miles to the Intercity Bus because it only cost 10 cents to ride into Everett. We would go to the Matinee at the Roxy Theater which was only 10 cents.
During World War II, I was working at the Everett Daily Herald. Many items were rationed. Items like toilet tissue and Kleenex were in very short supply. They were not rationed. Stores would get a certain amount and it was first come, first served. People would line up at the door long before the store opened. The stores would run an ad saying they had a limited amount of toilet tissue or Kleenex. I was able to see the ads the day before. My mother, who had always used cloth handkerchiefs, suddenly decided she wanted Kleenex. (We still used lots of cloth handkerchiefs). When an ad came out saying there was a limited supply of toilet tissue or Kleenex, I would take the bus in 2 hrs. early before work. Once in a while, I didn't get any tissue or Kleenex but most of the time I was near enough to the front to get my one package of toilet tissue or l box of Kleenex. All during the war, there was no toilet tissue in public bathrooms. You carried your own in your purse. After the war was over, my mother said " I will never go without toilet tissue again". It is the one thing I still do today is stock up on toilet tissue and Kleenex. Debbie buys toilet tissue, but I still can't help myself. I keep the downstairs bathroom stocked and I always have extra tissue in my closet.
Nylon stockings had not come out yet during the war. Everyone wore silk stockings. (No panty hose) The department store close to the Newspaper Office advertised that they had a limited amount of silk stockings. I stood in this long line and when I finally got close to the counter there was only one pair left. Immediately two women were fighting over it. I never waited in line for stockings again. Shortly there were no silk stockings anyway because the silk had been coming from Japan. My mother was so careful when she put her silk stockings on. She put on her dress gloves and pulled the stockings up very carefully. Mr. Jeklin, the business manager at the Newspaper office, insisted all the girls wear silk stockings and high heels and of course women only wore dresses. Everyone was starting to run out of stockings. Then a miracle happened! Leg paint came out. There were four of us in the front office so we would paint our legs and when we got to work, we would take turns making a seam up the back of our legs with an eyebrow pencil. Unless you looked real close, it did look like you had stockings on. The trouble was it wore off pretty fast or smeared if your legs got wet. You would have to repaint them every morning.
It is sure a different world we live in now. I love it. I love all the nice things we have.
I decided to write just a little about what my life was like in the late 1930's and a little during World War II.
Our house was just the average simple house that most of the people in our rural area had. My mother had a very nice wood cookstove. She kept it so clean. We had a refrigerator with a small freezer compartment that only held ice cube trays. The heat for our house was a wood stove in the front room. On cold nights, my dad would get up between 3 and 4 AM and build a fire in the heater. I stayed bundled under my blankets until the house started to warm up. For electrical appliances we had a wringer washer, a radio, a toaster and an electric iron. Almost every item of everyday clothing had to be ironed. We had lots and lots of handkerchiefs; big red ones for my dad and dainty ones for my mom, my sister and me which all had to be ironed. I always loved ironing the handkerchiefs and piling them in neat piles. My mom ironed all the sheets and pillowcases. One thing I remember is that I had this skirt that had tiny pleats all the way around. My mother would always carefully iron each little pleat. One day after my skirt was washed, I decided to iron it myself. I never had the patience my mother had. I just laid my skirt on the ironing board and pressed across the pleats and turned it over and pressed the back side. My mother was watching me and probably thinking she would have to do it over. When I held it up, the pleats were perfect. My mother said after watching me, she never did iron pleats one at a time again.
My dad always had big vegetable gardens. My mother would can jars and jars of everything. My sister and I helped her. I can still remember how sore my fingers got shelling peas. We had lots of jars of fruit too. Sugar was a very inexpensive item. Of course, when the war broke out, Sugar was rationed and women started canning with honey. Also, my dad and mother had a locker (freezer) downtown to keep the meat in. We always had lots of beef and chickens.
Now when I look back, I can see the late 1930's was a glorious time to live in. It was a peaceful time. Families worked together and had fun together. My dad enjoyed fishing. He would take all of us to the Snohomish River or to Mukilteo. My mother would take her magazines to read and my sister and I watched our dad or played around the water.
People didn't have a lot of money but most of the families around us had what they needed. Like my dad, they raised there own meat and had big gardens. People were careful with their money.
Usually a couple of Saturday afternoons a month I used to ride the bus into Everett with my two girl friends to see a show. About a half mile from our house you could catch the Northcoast bus.(you had to flag it down). At that time we lived close to Highway 99. When my mother, sister and I went shopping, we would take the Northcoast bus. It cost 25 cents to ride into Everett. On the Saturdays that I went to the show with my friends, we would walk 2 miles to the Intercity Bus because it only cost 10 cents to ride into Everett. We would go to the Matinee at the Roxy Theater which was only 10 cents.
During World War II, I was working at the Everett Daily Herald. Many items were rationed. Items like toilet tissue and Kleenex were in very short supply. They were not rationed. Stores would get a certain amount and it was first come, first served. People would line up at the door long before the store opened. The stores would run an ad saying they had a limited amount of toilet tissue or Kleenex. I was able to see the ads the day before. My mother, who had always used cloth handkerchiefs, suddenly decided she wanted Kleenex. (We still used lots of cloth handkerchiefs). When an ad came out saying there was a limited supply of toilet tissue or Kleenex, I would take the bus in 2 hrs. early before work. Once in a while, I didn't get any tissue or Kleenex but most of the time I was near enough to the front to get my one package of toilet tissue or l box of Kleenex. All during the war, there was no toilet tissue in public bathrooms. You carried your own in your purse. After the war was over, my mother said " I will never go without toilet tissue again". It is the one thing I still do today is stock up on toilet tissue and Kleenex. Debbie buys toilet tissue, but I still can't help myself. I keep the downstairs bathroom stocked and I always have extra tissue in my closet.
Nylon stockings had not come out yet during the war. Everyone wore silk stockings. (No panty hose) The department store close to the Newspaper Office advertised that they had a limited amount of silk stockings. I stood in this long line and when I finally got close to the counter there was only one pair left. Immediately two women were fighting over it. I never waited in line for stockings again. Shortly there were no silk stockings anyway because the silk had been coming from Japan. My mother was so careful when she put her silk stockings on. She put on her dress gloves and pulled the stockings up very carefully. Mr. Jeklin, the business manager at the Newspaper office, insisted all the girls wear silk stockings and high heels and of course women only wore dresses. Everyone was starting to run out of stockings. Then a miracle happened! Leg paint came out. There were four of us in the front office so we would paint our legs and when we got to work, we would take turns making a seam up the back of our legs with an eyebrow pencil. Unless you looked real close, it did look like you had stockings on. The trouble was it wore off pretty fast or smeared if your legs got wet. You would have to repaint them every morning.
It is sure a different world we live in now. I love it. I love all the nice things we have.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
This is the big Cherry tree that was (still is) in the front yard of the house we had. I planted a lot of Tulips too. About every other year, we would get a lot of Cherries. We always had to share with the birds. Debbie and Kent and Erik came over and picked Cherries sometimes.As you can see from the picture, it was a nice Spring Day. I am doing my countdown to Spring.
ONLY 36 DAYS UNTIL SPRING!
Now I know that doesn't mean the weather will be instantly warm because the calendar says it is Spring; but it will remind me that we are getting closer to Summer.
I LOVE SUMMER!
Here is another one of my stories:
While we were still living in Buckley, your dad decided he wanted to take us all camping. He rented a camping trailer for us. We were going to camp by the Ocean. I think it was near Ocean Shores. I am sure you older ones will remember. I didn't have all you children yet. There was David, Diane, Donna and maybe Richard. Can't remember for sure or else I may have been pregnant with him.
We got all packed up and ready to go and when I was getting out of the trailer I hit my upper arm on the trailer door and almost immediately had this huge bruise.
We finally got there and all set up. It was pouring rain but everyone went down to the water but me. I stayed in the trailer to fix dinner. The trailer had a gas cook stove. I had never had experience with a gas stove. I had always used kerosene stoves. With a Kerosene stove, you turn the burner on and let the kerosene soak up the wick and then you light it. (Yes, you know what is coming.)
Yes, I turned the burner on then started opening drawers to look for a match. I did find one pretty quickly; lucky for me. I lit the burner and there was this huge noise and I was just standing there with my ears ringing. Everyone came up from the water because they heard the explosion. My ears were ringing for a long time. I did manage to fix dinner anyway.
I think you kids had a good time. You always did like camping. I have never been much of a camper.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
I decided I needed to write about one more thing today. I put this picture of Donna and Laif on. Donna hasn't got a blog. She has so many things going on in her life. I wanted to tell anyone who is reading this blog that Donna has a volunteer job being a DJ on a Sequim radio station. She will be on next from 5:00 to 7:00 PM on February 17th and 19th. You can listen to her on your computer. http://ksqmfm.org I just wanted to let her know how well she is doing. I also enjoy the music very much. Since most of you are from a younger generation, the music probably will not thrill you. I find it relaxing and I love to hear Donna's voice.
I didn't have a blog yet when we went to Salt Lake in October
of 2008. We went for Sophie's blessing. Donna, Laif, Kent,
Debbie, Erik and I all went. We spent the weekend. The weather
was absolutely gorgeous. It was very warm, which I love.
Jennie took us to Olympic Park. I think almost everyone knows
that I was crazy enough to go on the Zip Line. (I am one that
panics on the third rung of a ladder). I was really terrified when
I was up against the gate and I started to panic but before I
knew it, someone pushed me through the gate and there I was
sailing through the air. I went up with Debbie the first time.
Yes, I said the first time. I was terrified and I kept my eyes
closed most of the way. When I opened my eyes I could not
believe how beautiful the scenery was. After I rested a bit, I
decided that I wanted to go up again. I went with Donna the
second time. This time I kept my eyes open and almost forgot
that I was dangling in the air. It is breathtaking to see the
mountains and the scenery around there.
That weekend turned out to be one of the nicest weekends
I have ever had. I am so lucky to have family that will go to
the trouble to take me places.
In the picture, Donna and I are in the Ski Lift going up to the
top and the other picture shows how far down it is from the
top.
of 2008. We went for Sophie's blessing. Donna, Laif, Kent,
Debbie, Erik and I all went. We spent the weekend. The weather
was absolutely gorgeous. It was very warm, which I love.
Jennie took us to Olympic Park. I think almost everyone knows
that I was crazy enough to go on the Zip Line. (I am one that
panics on the third rung of a ladder). I was really terrified when
I was up against the gate and I started to panic but before I
knew it, someone pushed me through the gate and there I was
sailing through the air. I went up with Debbie the first time.
Yes, I said the first time. I was terrified and I kept my eyes
closed most of the way. When I opened my eyes I could not
believe how beautiful the scenery was. After I rested a bit, I
decided that I wanted to go up again. I went with Donna the
second time. This time I kept my eyes open and almost forgot
that I was dangling in the air. It is breathtaking to see the
mountains and the scenery around there.
That weekend turned out to be one of the nicest weekends
I have ever had. I am so lucky to have family that will go to
the trouble to take me places.
In the picture, Donna and I are in the Ski Lift going up to the
top and the other picture shows how far down it is from the
top.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
These pictures are of our trip through Alaska and Canada. The picture with the cruise ship was taken in Ketchikan and that is Clayton on his bike. He loved that old bike. He had a loud horn that he liked to honk at people with.
In May of 1995, two months after Clayton and I were married, Clayton wanted to go to Alaska. He wanted to go to Skagway. Clayton had spent some time there when he was working on the Alcan Highway in the 1940's.
We drove our motorhome. We took Darrell with us. I had only been married to Clayton for a short time, but I knew better than try to take that long a trip with just the two of us.
We drove to Prince Rupert and ferried to Ketchikan. We spent a week with my oldest son, David, and his wife, Debby. They were in a nice apt. near downtown. (Now they have a house, which I have not seen yet). I walked to the downtown section almost every day we were there. Ketchikan is a nice town. Everything is on hills there. I don't know how well I would do with hills now.
After our visit with David and Debby, we got on the ferry again. I can't remember how long we were on the ferry but we spent one night on the ferry. Of course, you cannot get into your motorhome when it is on the ferry. Not planning ahead, we did not have a room to sleep in. There was one big common room to sleep in. The chairs tilted back somewhat. I spent over an hour trying to make myself comfortable but I couldn't. I ended up sleeping on the floor, using my jacket for a pillow. Clayton and Darrell slept fine. Clayton can sleep anywhere. It is a wonder I got any sleep because so many people were snoring. I was so happy to get off that ferry and back into the motorhome.
We saw a lot of places but I will say that Skagway was the one I liked the best. It is a beautiful little town surrounded by mountains. It was the middle of May but it was very cold and windy when we were there.
It was a long trip back home on the Alcan Highway. There was so much to see. Everywhere was such beautiful scenery. It was just breathtaking. We even saw a Moose VERY CLOSE up. A Moose is a huge animal.
We did have a very nice trip. Clayton always loved traveling.
We used the motorhome quite a lot the first few years we were married. Clayton's brother lived in Spokane and Clayton's good friends Ed and Fred Larson lived there. We went there several times and spent the night. We went to Bellingham several times too. Another Larson lived in Bellingham and also some of his other friends. We also went to Clayton's High School Reunion.
I am so glad we were able to make those trips before Clayton's knees got so bad.
I have done very little traveling in my lifetime. Lots of reasons.
Probably the biggest reason was, we just didn't have the money to spend on trips.
I really don't feel that it was a loss in my life. Like I said before
I have had a good life.
Now that I am alone, I do look forward to trips. Donna, Laif, Diane and I are going
on a Mexican Riveria Cruise the end of March.
If I ever get the opportunity, I would like to go on a Caribbean cruise again. Donna, Laif, Diane, Frank, Clayton and I went on one. It had to be in 2000 because my passport expires in 2010 and I got the passport right before our cruise.
In May of 1995, two months after Clayton and I were married, Clayton wanted to go to Alaska. He wanted to go to Skagway. Clayton had spent some time there when he was working on the Alcan Highway in the 1940's.
We drove our motorhome. We took Darrell with us. I had only been married to Clayton for a short time, but I knew better than try to take that long a trip with just the two of us.
We drove to Prince Rupert and ferried to Ketchikan. We spent a week with my oldest son, David, and his wife, Debby. They were in a nice apt. near downtown. (Now they have a house, which I have not seen yet). I walked to the downtown section almost every day we were there. Ketchikan is a nice town. Everything is on hills there. I don't know how well I would do with hills now.
After our visit with David and Debby, we got on the ferry again. I can't remember how long we were on the ferry but we spent one night on the ferry. Of course, you cannot get into your motorhome when it is on the ferry. Not planning ahead, we did not have a room to sleep in. There was one big common room to sleep in. The chairs tilted back somewhat. I spent over an hour trying to make myself comfortable but I couldn't. I ended up sleeping on the floor, using my jacket for a pillow. Clayton and Darrell slept fine. Clayton can sleep anywhere. It is a wonder I got any sleep because so many people were snoring. I was so happy to get off that ferry and back into the motorhome.
We saw a lot of places but I will say that Skagway was the one I liked the best. It is a beautiful little town surrounded by mountains. It was the middle of May but it was very cold and windy when we were there.
It was a long trip back home on the Alcan Highway. There was so much to see. Everywhere was such beautiful scenery. It was just breathtaking. We even saw a Moose VERY CLOSE up. A Moose is a huge animal.
We did have a very nice trip. Clayton always loved traveling.
We used the motorhome quite a lot the first few years we were married. Clayton's brother lived in Spokane and Clayton's good friends Ed and Fred Larson lived there. We went there several times and spent the night. We went to Bellingham several times too. Another Larson lived in Bellingham and also some of his other friends. We also went to Clayton's High School Reunion.
I am so glad we were able to make those trips before Clayton's knees got so bad.
I have done very little traveling in my lifetime. Lots of reasons.
Probably the biggest reason was, we just didn't have the money to spend on trips.
I really don't feel that it was a loss in my life. Like I said before
I have had a good life.
Now that I am alone, I do look forward to trips. Donna, Laif, Diane and I are going
on a Mexican Riveria Cruise the end of March.
If I ever get the opportunity, I would like to go on a Caribbean cruise again. Donna, Laif, Diane, Frank, Clayton and I went on one. It had to be in 2000 because my passport expires in 2010 and I got the passport right before our cruise.
Our motorhome in the Canadian wilderness.
Darrell and me in front
of the motorhome in
Alaska.
Clayton on his bike in
Ketchikan.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Here are pictures of my children. Yes, I know I have them on my header. What I was trying to do was find a picture of all three girls together and find a picture of all four boys together. I did find a picture of all the boys together. These pictures are from my surprise birthday. This is a rare picture. David lives in Ketchikan, Alaska and Richard had been living in California for sometime. It was the first time all the boys have been together for some time. Darrell, the next to my youngest son, is on the left; David, my oldest son is next ; my youngest son, Daniel, is next and my middle son Richard is on the end.
I could not find a picture of all three girls together. I will try to remember to take a picture of them together the next time I get a chance. My oldest daughter, Diane, is sitting at the computer. Donna, my middle daughter, has the blue blouse on. Debbie is my youngest daughter. I could not find a picture of her by herself that I liked. She is with her husband, Kent. Don't they make such an adorable couple?
No matter how old your children are, they are always the greatest joy of your life.
I suppose I should put in one of my stories. When we were living in Bonney Lake someone just left a dog in our driveway. Our house was set aways back from the road. It apparently was a place that pets were abandoned. I think we got one of our cats that way. Anyway, this dog was a black mongrel dog and he only had one eye. He was a very friendly dog and he loved kids. The kids loved him too. I think we named him an original name like "Blackie". That dog especially liked being around Darrell and Dan. On the property right next to us was an old shed. Everyone called it the "Turner Property". I never saw the owner. In this shed there were lots of cans of paint and I don't know what all. Of course, the kids were not supposed to go in it, but they did. It never took those boys very long to disappear. They must have been about four and five years old. So everyone started looking for them. We found them finally over by the shed. They had found a can of green paint and a brush and they were painting the dog. They had painted a pretty big area on him. Like I said, that dog was so friendly. He was just standing there, not even trying to get away. I suppose he liked the attention. I guess the boys thought he would look better green. We gave the dog a bath. The kind of paint in those days was not washable. The paint just had to wear off.
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