Joan Hafenbritle
Personal Interview of Joan Hafenbritle
I interviewed a long family friend, Joan Hafenbritle. She was in middle school at the time of the war and it affected her in different ways. She talked about the rationing and limitations on different items and the emotions that she felt during the war. She talked about what her family did during the war and the changes that they had to deal with also. Although she did not know anyone who perished in the war, she had a friend at school who lost her brother and it still affected her. She talked about the war bonds that were available at school and the other things that people did to support the war effort such as blackouts.
Q: What were you doing during the time of World War II - like what was your occupation?
A: I was still in school. I was in grade school.
Q: And what was your age?
A: I was in sixth grade at that time. And I was very concerned about the bombing of Pearl Harbor . In fact, I thought, at the time, that they would come over and bomb our house in Cincinnati .
Q: What were your experiences with rations during World War II?
A: Well, I can remember having gas rationing because my dad was a carpenter, and he had an "A" stamp and a "C" stamp. At that time, you could get just so many gallons of gasoline with an "A" stamp. What you could get for "B", I don't remember, but he had a "C" stamp because he had his own business. He needed to have more gasoline than someone who didn't. But.since you could not get that many materials at that time for carpenters, he found a job as a guard at one of the defense factories. So, he would only do carpentry work on his day off or if he had some extra time in the evening. We also had rationing for meat and for canned goods. If you were going to can things in the fall with the produce that was coming into market, you could get extra sugar. It was also very hard on people who wore out shoes quickly because we only had a couple of stamps to get shoes during the year. I thought it was two stamps, but maybe other people could get more. Also, you cold not get tires. You had to buy re-treads or have your old tires re-treaded to use on your car. So, it was quite a different situation than it is today.
Q: What aspects of your life were affected by the war?
A: Well, I think we learned that you really needed to sacrifice to help the soldiers that were overseas with the rationing because they got the better cuts of meat, and they got the gasoline, which they needed. Everybody had to learn to sacrifice quite a bit, and women took the places of men in the factories. A lot of them were called "Rosie the Riveter" because they did a lot of work on the planes. The men were at war, so the women pitched right in to do that. I had an aunt who worked at a dress factory, and that was converted to making parachutes, which she did for quite a long time. Also, my sister - in - law worked at the same factory. So, the women were really doing a lot of the mens' jobs, which was very difficult for them having children at home and no husband to help out. That is probably about the main thing.
Q: What were the spirits of the people in the U.S. like?
A: Oh, I think they were all just for the war because it was so terrible - what was happening over in Europe , and if we hadn't gone over to help the Europeans be free, we surely would not be living like we are today. Everybody pitched in to do whatever he or she could do to help out. I can remember that we all collected scrap metal and took it down to the movie theater about once a month because then you got to see a free movie. We also saved tin foil and rolled it up in big balls. I don't know where we took that, but that was used during the war. A lot of the ladies volunteered for Red Cross and rolled bandages. I don't know that there is anything else much that I remember that we did.
Q: What were the major changes in your life due to the war?
A: Well, I think the rationing. That was a big change for me. When rationing was off, it was just wonderful to be able to go and buy almost anything you wanted to. I am sure that for adults at that time - you couldn't get a new car, so you had to make due with what you had and try to have it repaired as much as possible -it was a relief. Everyone -normally, if they could - took public transportation. Now, of course, we don't have too much public transportation. Everybody is driving hither and yon. One of the other things that probably changed was that you had more money to spend than you did during the war. After the war, things got better. That kind of made things better for everybody.
Q: Did you do anything special at school for the war?
A: Well, they sold war stamps. We could buy war stamps. I believe 10 cent and maybe 25-cent stamps, and you put them in a book. Most of the kids bought a couple of them every week or every couple of weeks. When your book was filled, you had the equivalent of a war bond, which cost about - I think it was $18.75. When it matured, you got $25. We did that, and of course, we collected the scrap and collected the tin foil and did what we could to help do that. One other thing that was kind of interesting was that we had blackouts. They had practice blackouts, and you had to turn out all of the lights at night and pull all of the shades when the sirens went off. I believe they had wardens who went up and down the streets to make sure that everyone obeyed the rules. If you didn't, they knocked on the door and insisted that you turn off all of the lights. You could not have lights on or candles or anything burning - just to be prepared in case there was a bombing.
Q: How often were the blackouts?
A: I would assume about once a month - something like that. They also had people who were on top of some of the higher buildings. They were there just to spot planes in case any of them came over. So, it was quite important that everybody follow the rules, and all did follow the rules. Nobody really complained about anything because it was all for the war effort. They all had sons and husbands overseas, and they wanted to get the war over as quickly as possible.
Q: Were you, as a child, scared that the war would come to the United States ?
A: Yes. Not that there was any reason, but I think every child kind of figured that because you would see and hear things on the news where people were bombed and they had no homes and their parents were killed. There was always that fear.
Q: Did you do any special volunteer work?
A: No, not at that time. I don't believe any children at that age were doing much as far as volunteer work was concerned.
Q: Could you notice a major difference in your life right after the war ended?
A: No, it took a while because everything had to change slowly. You didn't all of the sudden not have rationing. You didn't all of a sudden be able to get new cars. You had to be able for the factories to convert back to their peace time mode. You also had to wait until there was more food available to the general public because they were still feeding soldiers even after the war - trying to get them home. When they got home, they tried to get them into life again in the United States .
Q: Did you know anyone who died in the war?
A: The only one I knew - a girl that I went to school with - her brother was a sailor, and his ship was sunk. I didn't know him personally, but I knew here. That is the only one that I knew of.