I Remember World War II Rationing

Yes, I'm showing my age when I write about World War II rationing, but what a big deal that was, even to a 4 1/2 year-old. I have about six boxes of memorabilia from my grandparents and parents that I haven’t gotten rid of—and I’m always glad when I delve into them. This week I found a very yellowed oil skin packet filled with my family’s war rationing books from 1942-1945. Did that bring back memories! Here's my own book one.

With the onset of World War II, numerous challenges confronted the American people. The government found it necessary to ration food, gas, and even clothing during that time. Americans were asked to conserve on everything. With not a single person unaffected by the war, rationing meant sacrifices for all. In the spring of 1942, the Food Rationing Program was set into motion. Rationing would deeply affect the American way of life for most. The federal government needed to control supply and demand. Rationing was introduced to avoid public anger with shortages and not to allow only the wealthy to purchase commodities.

In going through the family ration books, it was was interesting that each of my parents had a book, the three unmarried sisters had books, as did my paternal grandparents who lived with us.

Though there are several web sites with examples of World War II rationing, here are examples of what some of the stamps looked like.

And the grocery stores gave out a little card stock packet to hold all your books and stamps.
Anybody remember squeezing the Olio packs with the orange dot inside? If you squeezed and squeezed, it would look like butter. That was my job as a kid. I was so young, my own memories are not as acute as my two living sisters. But, I sure remember hearing a lot about what a hardship it was, and that we were eating less so the troops would have enough food. Service men were continually in and out of our home in Hawthorne as my sisters were active with the U.S.O. One sister had lost her fiancee on the Arizona in Pearl Harbor. Another had a boyfriend stationed at Guadacanal. Did you know that the profession of public relations was born during this war? That’s when the spin docs became legitimate. If one really studies that whole period, the propaganda surrounding support of the war were probably more politically motivated than what had to be done to make sure there was enough food for everyone.

I just think of my folks, struggling to eke out a living, and I was so little I simply took for granted the fact that they fed me. I do remember my sisters drawing lines on the backs of their legs to pretend they had on silk stockings, which were really hard to get.

If you are of an age to remember all this, send us some of your own memories.