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With gasoline rationing slated to go into effect on Dec. 1, 1942, the senior class of Concord High School voted to take their sneak day in the fall instead of the spring.
On Thursday, Nov. 12, seven members of the Class of ‘43 and their sponsor piled into two cars and headed for Lincoln to visit the state capitol, the state penitentiary, the airport, and other places of interest.
Those making the trip were Ward Peterson, Verdell Erwin, Bob Allen, Idris Anderson, Leona Bloom, Lora Nygren and Arlene Johnson. Rev. O.W Swaback and Mrs. Gerald Clark drove. They were accompanied by Mrs. Paul Hart, the class sponsor.
It must have been a cozy trip with 10 people packed into two cars. But not as cozy as a car driven by Henry Roepken of South Sioux City when he collided with another car after leaving a dance near Emerson. Roepken was cited and ordered to appear in court when he recovered.
The law permitted only three people in the front seat. Roepken had four in the front and seven in the back. Of course car seats were wider and butts were narrower in those days. One possible arrangement might have been the driver and his date side by side in the front seat and a man with a girl on his lap on the passenger side. There could have been three guys in the back seat with three girls on their laps plus one extra person wedged in somewhere.
The cops also staked out the dance hall at Randolph. Seven drivers were cited for various offenses including driving while intoxicated.
“Those frequenting dance halls are gambling with their lives,” said the Advocate. “Shall we go dancing or shall we spend a nice, safe evening beside our radios?“ Most young people probably would have voted to go dancing rather than spending a night at home with mom and dad.
After Nov. 29, there would be no sobering up with coffee before getting behind the wheel.
Beginning at midnight on that day, the sale of coffee was rationed to one pound per adult every five weeks. That amount was supposed to be good for one cup a day. Those who needed more were advised to reuse the coffee grounds. People complained that coffee made from used grounds tasted like dishwater.
Shellac also was in short supply. The Office of Price Administration asked people to turn in their old phonograph records so they could be melted down either to make new records or to use the shellac in military equipment.
Babies were not rationed. The Advocate of Nov. 11 ran an article entitled “Notes from My Little Blue Book by Mr. Stork.” Eight babies were born that week. The new arrivals included a boy to Mr. and Mrs. Harry Rimel, a girl to Sgt. and Mrs. Vernon Jensen, a boy to Mr. and Mr. George Keifer, a boy to Mr. and Mrs. Bates Joslin (Jim), a girl to Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Boysen, a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Richard August, a girl to Mr. and Mrs. Cyril Smith (Karen), and a boy to Mr. and Mrs. Merle Anderson.
The ladies of Laurel who were not having babies were asked to come to the school house and help wrap surgical dressings for use on wounded soldiers.
With approximately 6,000,000 men in uniform, there was a shortage of workers in war industries and on the farm. A plan under consideration would require women between the ages of 18 and 65 to register for a labor draft. Due to opposition, the plan never advanced beyond the talking stage.
Wonder why no one thought of importing workers from south of that thing America used to have - a “border.” Actually, someone did. Beginning in 1942, thousands of Mexicans were given temporary permits to work on farms, railroads and other necessary projects. Most of the “Braceros,” as they were called, were sent back to Mexico when their services were no longer needed.
People with sons, daughters, husbands or other close relatives in the service could obtain Victory Service Flags from the Advocate for a dollar. The 8x12 inch flags had one star for each family member in the service.
News about local men in the service: An Advocate article noted that Roy Rosdahl of Concord, was awarded the “coveted Purple Heart” for his service in New Guinea. Seems odd that anyone would covet a Purple Heart as these were awarded for being wounded. Perhaps he received the Distinguished Service Cross which was a cross suspended on a purple ribbon. This award was second only to the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Gene Cherry enlisted as an aviation cadet in the Army Air Force. (Note the Air Force was not yet a separate branch of the service.)
John Haskell completed flight school training and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army Air Force.
Bill Fahnestock enlisted in the Coast Guard and was awaiting a call to duty.
Miss LaRoyce Johnson was among the first to enlist in the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). Johnson was training to become a storekeeper in a naval shore station to replace men who could then be transferred to sea duty.
Belden: Pvt. Everett Roberts was stationed in California. Pvt. Harold Sovereign was transferred to Fort Old, CA, Pvt. Francis Broderick was at Camp Pickett, VA. Lloyd McDonald was at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Gerald Leapley was promoted to corporal in the Signal Corps.
Dixon: Pvt. Earl Boeshart was in an airplane engine school at Patterson, NJ. Neal Boeshart was promoted to staff sergeant in the supply office at Fort Benning GA. Corporal LaVerne Murray was at Camp Pickett, VA.
Concord: Pvt. Marvin Fredericksen was stationed in Lincoln.
Claire Jarvis was at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station.
Ben Ebmeier was enrolled as an aviation cadet at Maxwell Field, AL. Ebmeier had been in a bomb squadron for seven months prior to becoming an aviation cadet.
Former Cedar County News and Laurel Advocate employee Cal Stewart was editing a newspaper at a military base in England. Elton Grimm, another former Advocate employee, was in the Army Air Force in Sioux Falls, SD.
