It was a typical Sunday afternoon, on December 7, 1941. My friends and I had just exited the theatre after viewing a movie (the name of which escapes me!) We hurried out into the glare of sunlight, our little bodies shocked out of our reverie, as we encountered a chill wind, our breaths trailing in the air as we spoke.
With the sophisticated air of new high school freshmen, and now teenagers, we complained about the rowdiness of the young boys, watching the latest chapter of FLASH GORDON (a ppular serial in the 30's and 40's) and his impossible space escapades. What a silly premise. As if there would ever be the possibility of anyone traveling to space, or landing on planets there! We looked forward to a time when we were no longer required to settle for a Saturday or Sunday matinee, but like the older teenagers, be allowed to attend an evening showing (sans the noisy kiddies melees) and, oh joy, possibly even date!
As we reached the corner and started to split up to go our separate ways, we became aware of people shouting and surrounding the newsboys who regularly stood outside the theatres and nearby restaurants, to catch people on their way out, to sell their papers. This time, it was the customers who descended on them, eagerly snatching copies out of their outstretched hands. I caught a glimpse of the headline, "Japanese Bomb Pearl Harbor!...President Roosevelt Declares It A Day In Infamy!) The newsboys kept shouting for all to hear, 'EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT. JAPANESE BOMB PEARL HARBOR. THIS MEANS WAR!"
I couldn't understand what all the shouting was about. What or where was Pearl Harbor? When I got home, my grandmother and aunt were crying. All the neighbors were standing around their front gates, (it seemed to me in a state of shock,) discussing what had happened. We lived around the corner from the church and almost in unison, we went there to pray and seek solace. My father, (being a policeman) was summoned back to work immediately, just in case the Japanese decided to fly over New Jersey and drop their bombs on us! Thus began an era that changed our world forever!
Just two years before, we had visited the 1939 World's Fair in New York. We were astounded, in some of the exhibits we visited. Experimental television made its debut, along with new electrical appliances. Toasters, which heretofore consisted of a four sided metal rack, which was placed above the cooking stove(many of which were still fueled by coal) while we waited with a watchful eye, lest the bread would burn, were now introduced as an electrical appliance, as did the upgrade of the washing machine, sans the attached manual wringer. (The modern, drip electric coffee pot, courtesy of Mr. Coffee,) made its debut toward the end of the decade, as did that miracle invention, the pressure cooker. (As a young bride, several years later, I spent many an hour scrubbing the walls and ceilings, when the monster ran amok!
But the winds of war were already being felt that summer in Europe. I can remember to this day, (although as a 13 yr old child, I couldn't quite grasp the significance of it,) the strange sense of foreboding as we silently watched the lights of the various countries, France, Poland, Belgium, Holland etc., slowly being extinguished in their various pavillions at the fair, to total darkness, signifying their fall to the German Army.
Meanwhile, back at school, I was reveling in my status as a high school teenager. I went to a Catholic, private girl's school, where hazing and other rituals, rampant in the public schools, was forbidden! My sister, who had preceded me by two years, was a highly exalted Junior. (I secretly envied her, though I would have died rather than disclose that fact to her!) We wore Navy blue uniforms, with an interchangeable light blue collar, which we changed daily. For years afterward, Navy blue was not a color to be found in my wardrobe!
Our class was unique, and even the nuns referred to us that way. (They never did disclose to us whether that was a compliment or sheer exasperation!) They were quite strict...we weren't allowed to wear make-up in school and when seamless stockings were the fashion rage, (they had always had a long seam in the back, from top to bottom causing us to check them 10 times a day to keep them straight,) the nuns would occasionally pinch our legs to confirm that we were indeed wearing them, as bare legs were also taboo! Skirts were a little shorter, to conserve fabric as silk, cotton etc., were reserved for troop uniforms and parachutes. At lunch time, we were permitted to dance to recorded music and, as this was a female only school, the girls danced with each other, making it a little awkward for us when we did have a male partner. (To this day, I still have a tendency to lead on the dance floor...it drove my husband mad!)
My brother and his friends were eager to enlist, but they had to wait until they were eighteen. My uncles, however, did enlist and subsequently went into the Army. (Incidentally, after declaring war on Japan, we also declared War on Germany and started training an Army to send overseas.)
When I was a sophomore, my music teacher entered me in a singing competition for hgih school pupils and I was awarded a partial scholarship to study with a renowned vocal coach, in the Metropolitan Opera Studios in New York City. A life changing experience...At last, I was free to travel back and forth, on my own!
When the war began, the average salary in the country, was approximately $1300 per year. The minimum wage, was $.43 per hour! A stamp, was $.03. Only 55% of homes in the United States, had indoor plumbing, and the life expectance of females was 68.2%, while the men's was 60.8%.
Not everyone had a private telephone. During the war, it was impossible to obtain one and we made do with "party lines", where 3 or 4 people had to share a single line, which made for some "interesting" gossip around town! Because of the Funeral Home, we had a private phone, with an upstairs extension. I was a typical teenager, who longed to gossip for hours, with my firiends, but I was forbidden to tie up the phone, for business reasons. As you can imagine, this infuriated my sister and I! (We did manage to sneak in a few calls on occasion when my parents weren't home, but were invariably caught, when my father tried to reach us at home!)
The Government issued ration books at that time, as most of the food and tangible goods, were being held for the troops. Factories, including the automobile industry, were converted to turning out weapons, trucks and ammunitions for the soldiers. Much of the gasoline supplies were also diverted for their use, and what was left for the civilians, was also rationed, making long trips out of the question! People had to patch their automobile tires as best they could, for no new tires were made available to us because of the rubber shortage.
I remember standing on line for hours, for nylons for our legs. Shipments of any goods were so haphazard, that when people saw other people standing on line, they immdiately joined them, not even knowing what it was they were waiting for! Our shoes were also rationed and the soles were devoid of leather, which was only being produced for army use. This posed a problem when on the dance floor, as the composition used, made it very slippery to execute those "Jitterbug moves!"
By this time, I was a Junior in high school. (My sister graduated the year before.) I was desperate to attend the Junior Prom and my strict (well, he was a policeman after all) father, finally relented and allowed me to attend. However, I thought my social life was ruined, when my date came to pick me ujp. We had a funeral in progress at that time. It was so normal to me, that I never thoughjt to tell him beforehand. When he arrived, resplendent in his white summer tuxedo, carrying a corsage, and had to run the gauntlet of curious (and sometimes shrieking) mourners, to get to our living quarters upstairs, I thought he was going to pass out! He remained ashen for the rest of the evening. Needless to say, it was my first and last date with that young man!
TO BE CONTINUED...
