tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999495685907656574.post8680154628309816127..comments2023-08-06T05:52:59.646-07:00Comments on terry fenwick - Saint In Training: But we didn't have the green thing back then . . . From my DeaconTerry Fenwickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14664864341946607447noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999495685907656574.post-47284071674251861322012-08-13T09:50:11.108-07:002012-08-13T09:50:11.108-07:00I really like to read things you used to do to sav...I really like to read things you used to do to save when you were growing up. <br /><br />I remember driving for a carpool for one of our sons to a newspaper office in Santa Barbara. We left first so we finished and had to wait in the parking lot until all the cars were filled and ready to leave. <br /><br />I was driving a VW van than seated 9. These were the days of no seat belts. Had to be in the 60s. When we came out to the car I remarked how much I enjoyed see the newspaper office and mentioned I had never been to one before. The children in the car were amazed and one said, "Mrs. Fenwick! Didn't you go to one when you were a kid in school?" I told him that I was never a kid - no, I did not, but I told him when I was a kid in school parents did not drive cars for field trips. <br /><br />I was a kid during WWII and everything was rationed. If you had 2 cars one was up on blocks and gas was rationed. They did not know this. They had never heard of rationing in WWII. So, I told them about the coupon books for groceries and the meat that was rationed with stamps and tokens (red or blue) for change. I told them about sugar being rationed to 5 pounds a month for the family (remember we did all of our own baking then) and IF YOU HAD ENOUGH left over at the end of the month you could make fudge - but it had to be peanut butter fudge as there was no chocolate available during the war. There was no candy but for lemon drops and horehound drops. (They, of course had no idea what a horehound bar was but they snickered a bit.) <br /><br />They had never heard of shoes being rationed! Two pair a year, as I remember - for kids - as our feet grew. Does anyone remember this? They loved best - I should have blogged this and might - but they loved best the way I used to - with my little red wagon - collect newspapers and sometimes magazines, if anyone gave them away, every other Saturday. I did this alone - rain, snow or shine - faithfully. The other Saturday I collected grease. Now remember we had no plastic yet, so there was no saran wrap, and there were no rubber bands - yes, we had waxed paper but it had to be tied with a string. No one gave up jar lids if they had them as they, too, were rationed, so when you picked up the grease in glass jars, they were all tied with string around waxed paper. By the time you arrived to the drop off, if it had been warm weather, the grease was slopping all over the wagon. I do have to tell you that these kids were leaning over the front seat fascinated with this. It was like it had happened hundreds of years ago and it was only about 25 years - if that. <br /><br />I could not believe schools did not teach about the War and rationing. They loved the idea of stickers on the car and the A B C telling how much gas you were allowed and for what reason. <br /><br />It was a cool rainy day so they were happy to be close and listening. Two days later, the teacher of this class I drove for, sent me a large manila envelope with a cover page over 9 handwritten thank you letters. The teacher said in her cover letter that they always asked the boys and girls to write a page telling about what they learned on their field trip, and what they liked best. The teacher thought I might be pleased to learn what the boys and girls had said. Without exception - they all wrote, "On the field trip to the Newspaper Office, I learned about WWII and the rationing, not having candy, red wagon pick ups, cars on blocks because of gas rationing." <br /><br />I would love to know how many people did all this.<br />Terry Fenwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14664864341946607447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999495685907656574.post-87035231182366341752012-02-09T15:13:48.001-08:002012-02-09T15:13:48.001-08:00Great story - I love to hear these things - love i...Great story - I love to hear these things - love it!!!Terry Fenwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14664864341946607447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999495685907656574.post-78737361569471052662012-01-18T02:17:00.767-08:002012-01-18T02:17:00.767-08:00When this link showed up on Facebook several of my...When this link showed up on Facebook several of my friends and I pointed out that our Mums always used the same shopping bags and baskets and reused everything, dishclothes were old vests,notepads the back of envelopes etc you cant recycle better than someone who went through WWII in the UK like my Mum she could scrape a jar clean with a knife to get the last bit out.Here in Wales its become popular because free carrier bags have been abolished but theyve only been around 20 years or so themselvesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999495685907656574.post-10356641217461129452012-01-17T16:23:59.881-08:002012-01-17T16:23:59.881-08:00Just a bit of a smile.
Truly in my day we did no...Just a bit of a smile. <br /><br />Truly in my day we did not even have television and we also used a little tin cup at the pump at the school yard - the tin cup stacked in little sections and fit in our book bag. We used the same tin cup for years.Terry Fenwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14664864341946607447noreply@blogger.com