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March 1943 didn’t exactly come in like a lion – rather it was more like a polar bear.
Then came a warm spell where temperatures reached the mid 80s. But the cold returned and by the end of the month butter was frozen.
The butter was frozen not by Arctic temperatures but rather by Uncle Sam. On Monday, March 22, grocery shoppers were startled to find that the sale of butter had been halted at midnight by government order. No butter could be sold until a new rationing program went into effect on Monday, March 29.
“Those screwballs in Washington sure slipped one over on us Sunday when they froze butter and caught most of us with no supply on hand,“ said the Advocate. “What the big idea is has not been made clear. There is a creamery in this town that could supply all the merchants with one day’s run. Every grocery store in town has an icebox full of butter just sitting there. Someday folks are going to get fed up with such methods.”
On Monday, March 29, shoppers were required to use red stamps from War Ration Book No. 2 to obtain meat, butter, and other rationed foods. Newly rationed products included all meat and meat products, all canned fish and shellfish (but not fresh fish), all natural and processed cheeses (but not cottage cheese), and all edible fats and oils including butter, margarine, shortening, salad oils and cooking oils.
Under the new system, sixteen points were allotted per person per week. One pound of steak required eight points. Less desirable cuts of beef required fewer points; better cuts required more. Editor Allison noted that if a shopper purchased two pounds of steak in a week, they would not have enough points left to purchase butter.
No restrictions were placed on farmers who consumed food they had raised themselves, but the government asked farm families to voluntarily remove stamps from their ration books equivalent to the point value of the food they had eaten at home.
Farmers who sold meat, butter, or other rationed products, however, were required to collect the ration stamps and surrender them to a representative of the Office of Price Administration. As the rules were complex and frequently changed, rationing became increasingly unpopular as the war dragged on.
The reason for food rationing was to feed American servicemen, the majority of whom were still training in the States, and also to feed the Soviets who were doing most of the ground fighting against the Germans.
In other news of March 1943: the Dixon Garden Club put up a service flag with one star for each of the 45 Dixon boys who were in the service.
Curiosity killed the cat, or so the saying goes. No cats were killed in Paulsen’s Recreational Parlor (the corner pool hall), but curiosity brought tears to the eyes of the patrons. One evening Village Marshal Frank Curtis accidentally left his tear gas gun on a table. The next day Carl Luth picked up the gun and, out of curiosity, started fiddling around with it. The gun went off and filled the room with gas. “There were enough tears last Friday morning to float a battleship,” said the Advocate.
Income taxes were due on March 15. Evard O. Waite, one of the local tax preparers, told of doing a return where a client wound up owing only five cents. Waite said it cost the man several dollars to find out he owed Uncle Sam a nickel and three cents postage to send it in.
A report by the National Child Labor Commission revealed that 2,730,000 children under the age of 18 were working either full or part time in industry and agriculture. The report said that 530,000 were 14 or 15 years old and the remainder were between 16 and 17. Due to the difficulty finding teachers, the Laurel school board voted to increase salaries by 15 per cent. After the vote, several teachers who planned to leave decided to stay. Several young boys tried to break into Fred Urwiler‘s new mausoleum in the cemetery. What they had in mind was not clear as the building was too small for a beer party. Fortunately the place was still empty. Fred would not move in until 1968 and Bessie in 1973.
Local gossip: “one of the old gals about town complains that the competition is getting pretty keen these days. The younger gals are pushing the older ones into the background and grabbing off all of the eligible males and some that are not so eligible. These younger gals are playing with dynamite because some of the wives will put up a fight to protect their man no matter how inferior he may be. Males of any sort are getting scarcer than thick beef steaks.“ “There is a story going around about one of the old gals getting tight in a local night spot the other night. Seems as though she told everything she knew about several old buzzards. Some of the fellows mentioned are still trying to explain.”
“One guy tells us that if we don’t keep things to ourselves he is going to have to leave town because his wife reads Pop Offs every week and she is sure that he is the guy we are referring to – and she is generally right.”
“We never did like the sight of bare legs on a woman or girl, but we are going to have to get used to it for the duration. They can’t get silk socks and they won’t wear cotton. We are thinking of opening a business painting stockings on bare legs to cover up the goose pimples, bumps, and knots that are being exhibited under the excuse that there are no socks to be bought.“ “One of the gals told us to leave her legs alone. It was her business if they got black and blue from the cold and got bumps all over them.”
