WWII | Ration Books

Photo collage by Reno Bailey

“For a people almost totally unused to any kind of wartime sacrifice, WPB Directive No. 1 to OPA, January 1942—instituting rationing—came as a shock. Suddenly, U.S. citizens were stuck with a mess of little books and stamps that limited the food or gas they could buy. What's more, the instructions on how to use the food stamps seemed incomprehensible:

All RED and BLUE stamps in War Ration Book 4 are WORTH 10 POINTS EACH. RED and BLUE TOKENS are worth 1 POINT EACH. RED and BLUE TOKENS are used to make CHANGE for RED and BLUE stamps only when purchase is made. IMPORTANT! POINT VALUES of BROWN and GREEN STAMPS are NOT changed.”

The little books were sort of a pain to Cliffside people, but the shortages were worse. Gasoline, tires, shoes, coffee, sugar, and many other items were hard to get. Remember the occasional car or truck grinding down the road, running on rims? And those “A” stickers on windshields (which limited the car's owner to about 3 gallons of gas a week)? Some women, bless their hearts, resorted to the faddish “painted on” stockings—leg makeup—to replace those no-longer-available Nylon hose.

We were lucky in some respects. Living in a small town, most of us had relatives or friends who lived on nearby farms, and had beef or pork for sale or barter. And nearly every family was able to have a garden to grow their own fruits and vegetables, much of which they preserved at our “municipal” cannery. Milk, eggs and butter could be had from peddlers from the countryside, such as Florence Bailey, who came to town from the Trinity community about twice a week. Her client list included the Holloway White's, the John Tinkler's and many more. If you weren't home, no matter, she would enter your unlocked house and put your order safely in your icebox, or— if you were more affluent—your Frigidaire or Kelvinator.

To read more about those times, search for “WWII Ration Books” on the internet.