What our parents saw
As I watch a documentary about WWII, I consider what did our parents see, hear and experience in their early 20’s. Life seemed so much harder then. I wish I would have talked more about this with them. Mom always said, “you have no idea”. I remember her telling me that they had to stretch everything they had. For example, I have a cabinet that mom had in the house at one time. It was called a pie safe. The doors on it had screens and latches on it. that way the dog or anyone else couldn’t get the food. (pie)
When it was of no use in the house, Dad took the old cabinet to use in the garage. The mice would chew thru the wood, so dad took soup can lids to cover the holes. I asked mom why he didn’t just build a new cabinet? He was good at building anything. (another story).
She said “we couldn’t just go out and buy things”. I assumed she meant they didn’t have much money. She told me “you weren’t allowed to buy things like- sugar, flour, fat, tires, lumber- many things were rationed”. (See story about ration books)
That is why we had piles of what I thought was junk. Dad, and his 2 brothers, who lived just down the street, shared piles of steel and metal, wood, tires. “You didn’t throw anything away. Somebody could use it for something else.” Whenever he needed to repair or build something he would go to the piles of leftovers.
I wonder about when dad’s oldest brother, Uncle Phil, who went to serve in the military, what things were like in his family. I imagine Grandma probably said the rosary and went to mass everyday. In his obituary we learned that he served for 5 yrs overseas, had been shot and earned the Purple Heart medal. Dad would have been about 18 years old, and Uncle Jr. about 8, when Uncle Phil served. At the time, he was the only one of his brothers who served. Dad was exempt from serving as he was needed to work on the farm. Farmers were needed to feed the country. Uncle Jr. was too young.
