This front page from the Hopewell Herald in May 1942 features four articles that demonstrate the growing impact of World War II rationing regulations on hometown life in in the Hopewell Valley .
The first article, “Housewives In School For Sugar,” discusses the implementation of rationing for essential foods, managed through the distribution of ration books. Classes were curtailed at the Grammar School for the week so that all local families could come in to register for their ration books. The article stresses that it was important that all persons get registered, since “the rationing credentials might be used later for rationing of other commodities.” Indeed!
Sugar was the first food rationed, and people needed to report the amount of sugar that they already had at home, since each individual was permitted up to 2 pounds without penalty, and any additional sugar would be deducted from their ration book. There then was good news in July when heavier than anticipated imports permitted a special allocation of an additional 2 pounds of sugar.
“Gasoline Rationing To Start On May 16,” reports the beginning of gas rationing. The fuel supply to the 17 eastern states was being cut by 50 percent. For non-essential vehicles, this would result in being rationed to some 5 to 6 gallons a week. The supply of light fuel oil was also being cut by 50 percent.
Then “Passenger Tire Quotas Reduced” reports on the heavy rationing of automobile tires, due to the shortage of natural rubber after the Japanese conquered the rubber-producing regions of Southeast Asia. This lead to the careful allocation of new tires, as well as the growing importance of retread tires.
The local allocations for tires for May were:
- Hopewell Borough: 1 light tire, 12 retreads, 6 tubes; 3 heavy tires, 5 retreads, 4 tubes
- Pennington Borough: 1 light tire, 11 retreads, 6 tubes; 3 heavy tires, 4 retreads, 4 tubes
- Hopewell Township: 1 light tire, 27 retreads, 14 tubes; 6 heavy tires, 10 retreads, 9 tubes
“Report of Hopewell Borough Rationing Board,” then shows the final step in tire rationing, as the local board decided which individuals would be issued certificates for the allocated tires. In April, Hopewell allocated a total of 9 tires and retreads, including for veterinarian Dr. Amos Stults (1 passenger tire), for the businesses of E. A. Weart (2 truck tires) and J. C. Van Doren (1 truck tire and 1 tube), and for the Borough of Hopewell (1 truck tube and 1 retread). One certificate also was issued for a new passenger automobile.
War Ration Books
The military need for food for soldiers and vital materials for the war effort had led to the establishment of the War Production Board (WPB) to manage production across the country, shutting down the manufacture of products including automobiles, bicycles, and typewriters to convert to the production of military products. The Office of Price Administration (OPA) managed the rationing process and controlled inflation through setting maximum prices for products. Local War Price and Rationing Boards then managed the distribution of ration books and controlled the local implementation.
The overall supply of goods (manufactured and imported) was regularly measured and predicted at the federal level, with a portion dedicated for military needs. The remaining supply then was allocated by state and local boards to be rationed so that you can buy “your fair share of certain goods made scarce by war.”
Four War Ration Books were issued during World War II, one to each individual family member, including children and babies.
The ration books contained sheets of tear-off stamps that were needed to provide authorization when purchasing specific types of goods in stores. However, the use of the stamps for any specific purchase depended on the regulations in force at that time, which would, for example, determine the number of stamp points then required to purchase a specified amount of sugar or coffee or cheese or meat.
The markings on the stamps (letters, numbers, and color) dedicated them to specific uses. Some stamps also had serial numbers and artwork (plane, gun, tank, ship, wheat) to deter forgery.
The main stamp colors were red and blue. Red stamps were for meats, canned fish, cheese, and fats (oils, lard, butter). Blue stamps were for processed foods (canned, frozen, dried, or otherwise pre-packaged), including fruits, vegetables, juices, soups, and baby food.
The letters of the alphabet on the ration stamps were used to assign an exact time period or month during which that stamp was valid for use.
The numbers on the ration stamps defined which stamps where authorized for specific uses, and the point value that could be applied to the purchase of an item. Buying a product then required providing both the necessary point value of then-valid stamps to authorize the purchase, and paying the purchase price (which also may have had a regulated ceiling price).
In 1944, Ration Tokens (roughly the size of a dime, but like thick poker chips) were introduced with a value of one point. These then could be used for change when the stamp value exceeded the required number of points for a purchase.
Rationing and Making Do
In addition to the War Ration Books, there were separate processes for rationing other products, including gasoline, tires, automobiles, and bicycles. These were allocated by local boards based on the needs of different groups, such as military industry workers, workers essential to the war effort such as doctors, truckers, highway machinery operators, and high-priority occupations including clergy, police, firemen, and civil defense workers.
Families then needed to constantly monitor the local newspaper to adapt to changes to the rationing rules and the pricing of goods. The need to cover all possible variations of products also required more and more detailed rulings from the local rationing boards, as discussed in additional articles. For example, a 1944 “Price and Rationing Questions and Answers” article reports the latest rule clarifications, including ceiling prices for Red Sun cherries and for a “man’s laced-to-toe, trimmed gym shoe, rubber soled.”
One relief for families was that the United States did not ration fresh foods during World War II, including fruits and vegetables, milk, and poultry and eggs. Even so, these products may not have been readily available at times, and were subject to price controls.
Clothing and fabric also were not rationed, although manufacturers were instructed to redesign clothing to reduce cloth consumption in order to conserve resources for uniforms, parachutes, and other military applications.
In a related effort, Boy Scouts and other groups also collected and recycled crucial materials for the Salvage for Victory program. These included scrap metals, waste paper (especially newspapers and magazines), rags (clothes to mattresses), and rubber (especially tires and tubes).
To carry on during the war rationing, families also planted Victory Gardens and raised chickens, rabbits, and cows to extend the family’s ration points. Magazines and booklets also encouraged the use of alternative foods and ingredients. For example, you could use corn syrup to sweeten your morning cereal. Or you could follow the guidance of the “Help America Win! Eat Oatmeal” pamphlet, and cook with oatmeal to help conserve the wheat supply, using the supplied recipes for Oatmeal Meat Loaf, Oatmeal Vegetable Soup, Oatmeal Raisin Bread, and Oatmeal Prune Pudding). Yum!
Please contact us if you have additional information or materials that you can share on the World War II home front in the Hopewell Valley .
