THREE CANS OF PEAS PLEASE

This chart, prepared by the office of price administration, shoes the most widely sold canned foods with their approximate weights and point values. The sizes of the vegetables in the top row are known as No. 2 cans. If a person bought three of these cans of peas, for example, during March, he would just use up his 48 points of coupons allotted each person for the month. He could then purchase no other canned, dried, or frozen goods in March, but other member of the family could with their coupons




The above article was a special notice dated February 1, 1944.

Token program begins February 27. One point red tokens will be given in change for Red Stamps and one-point Blue Tokens for Blue Stamps. Stamps will be worth 10 points each. Tear stamps out across Ration Book instead of up and down. The following stamps become valid on February 27.

MEATS AND FATS
Red Stamps A8, B8, and C8 good for 10 points each from 27 FEB - 20 MAY.

PROCESSED FOODS
Blue Stamps A8, B8, C8, and D8 27 FEB - 20 MAY

PROCESSED FOODS
Green stamps G, H, and J good 1 JAN-20 FEB
K, L, and M good 1 JAN-20 MAR

MEAT AND FATS
Brown Stamps V 23 JAN-26 FEB
Brown Stamps W 30 JAN-26 FEB
Brown Stamps X 6 FEB-26 FEB
Brown Stamps Y 13 FEB-20 MAR
Brown Stamps Z 20 FEB-20 MAR

SUGAR
Stamp No. 30 Five pounds 16 JAN-31 MAR

SHOES
Stamp No. 18 (Book one) good for one pair indefinitely. Airplane Stamp No. 1, (Book three) good for one pair indefinitely.

FUEL OIL
Period No. 2 coupons good for ten gallons per unit through 7 FEB

Period No. 3 coupons good for ten gallons per unit through 13 MAR

Period No. 4 and Period No. r coupons good for ten gallons per unit 8 FEB though 30 SEPT.





When we cleaned out the Johnson house after Erna died, we found rationing books and coins. Old Trunks wants to offer just what these books and coins worth today. As you read, think about just how these rules would affect you today.





Gas Rationing
Each vehicle had a sticker in its window. This told the person at the pump how much gas you were allowed.





A: Four gallons a week allotted. No pleasure driving. Gas generally pumped by women as the men were in the service.





B: Green, Eight gallons a week, issued to people doing work for war effort, i.e industrial.





C: Red, physicians, ministers, mail carriers, and railroad employees





R: Farm





T: Truckers, unlimited fuel





X: Congress and other VIP

It appears that when you applied for your new ration book you had to turn in your old one. If you were hospitalized for greater than 10 days, you needed to turn your book in and get it when you were released. If you died, your family was to turn the book in.

There were so many rules! One of the advertisements had to do with mail order shoes. The packet of rationing stamps clearly states not to tear out the stamps, rather present the entire book. But if you were buying mail order shoes, one was allowed to tear out the shoe stamp and send it with your order.

There were so many forms! If you wanted sugar for canning, fill out a form, if you wanted a fridge, you filled out a form. And we remember that if we wanted tires.....fill out a form.





There were also lots of information put out by the government including charts and graphs which helped families understand how many tokens or stamps it took to buy specific items of food.


Old Trunks wonders just how much all of this rationing affected the people in New Solum township. Although everyone was rationed, these folks most likely had a victory garden, perhaps chickens for eggs and an occasional chicken in the pot, and beef which supplied milk or meat. The concern would be sugar for canning, did they get the sugar they asked for on their canning sugar form?


Perhaps they lumped together trips to town for doctor's appointments, groceries, and visits. We know they couldn't use gas for just pleasure. It was almost like the business trips we used to take when Daddy would have some far off product he wanted to see first hand and charge it as an expense, (he could do that, it was his company).


In a discussion with my sweet Thomas, fishing came up. He told me we would, under the rationing of WWII, walk to the river and fish on crowded banks with others casting for food. That reminded me of something Ken said in an email of late, "I can recall Northern Pike runs in March in Northern Minnesota. Growing up around Smiley and Kratka townships the fish would often get caught out in the fields when the water dropped after a thaw. They would spawn in 6 inches of water. Naturally we thought this was a great waste and we would take them. The local game warden was usually hot on our trail but we never had a direct encounter with him because everyone always knew where he was. it was just a shame to see those nice big fish going to rot in the fields". Waste not!


Rationing seems complicated to me. There are so many rules. Yet, I would guess that any child of ten at that time could walk to the store with the coupon/ration book, buy what its mother wanted and understand the concept.


e