Leone Gage
Philippa Norton
23 April 2006
INTERVIEW of Leone Gage
I was born in 1932 which was the height of the depression. My sister was born in 31, my brothers in 33 and 38. As far as I remember my father always worked, but my parents had very difficult lives. Irish immigrants, 3 children at that time and you were lucky to work and have food on the table. Life changed somewhat around 1940 when Pres. Roosevelt started sending supplies to the British under the terms of Lend Lease. Food, war supplies were sent under an agreement forged by our president and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. These projects brought work to men and the dockyards began to hum.
Still people were living hand to mouth and money was in short supply.
December 7, 1941 brought the US into the war. That was a Sunday night and unless you had your radio on and could hear the news, you did not know what happened. We lived in a suburban-rural area and would not have known until the next day when the newspapers came out. If you lived in the city, or in Brooklyn like Grandpa, paperboys would be at the street corners yelling, "EXTRA, EXTRA' and you would have bought the paper to get the news. The papers were around 5 cents. Mail was delivered twice a day, first class stamp was 2 cents. There were many more newspapers available than there is now. Daily news came from the radio. Remember, no TV, email, portable radios or anything like that.
I was in the 3rd grade when the war began and was in the 7th grade when it ended. Our school was over a mile away from our house and you walked to get there. The classes were around 32-35 kids and the hours were 9-3 pm with one hour for lunch. We could walk home for lunch or stay at the school. There was no lunchroom as you know it; the gym doubled as the lunchroom with brown benches all around the perimeter. We could buy white milk for 10 cents a week or chocolate milk for 15 cents a week. This was brought to your classroom and you could drink it there or save it for lunch if you were eating in the gym.
When you were in the 5th grade you worked in the victory garden that was at the school. We planted radishes, lettuce, carrots and other vegetables that could be harvested before the term ended the 30th of June. We also had a flower garden. Catholic kids were allowed to go to a released class religious program every Wednesday afternoon around 2 or 2:30 at St. Clare's Church which was around 4 blocks away from the school. When we were confirmed, the garden teacher would send a bouquet of white carnations with red carnations with a big "C" (for confirmation) in the middle of the flowers. Boys would receive a red boutonniere (sp). What was unusual was that this was a public school.
We had air raid drill at school around once a month. Everyone made seats of kraft paper which covered about an inch of newspapers. It looked like a big envelope. When the alarm went off, you would grab your seat and orderly enter the halls, place the seats on the floor adjacent to the walls and sit down. You would fold your head in your knees when the teacher told you to. Grandpa remembers sitting under the desk and occasionally sitting in the hall.
HOME FRONT
We lived in suburban-rural area. There was an avenue, 131st Avenue, with our houses one block deep. The farm was in front of the avenue and empty lots and farms in back of the block. Our house had a nice backyard which my father dug up and planted 3 peach trees and one apple tree. The grass was all dug up to put in tomato plants. During the summer my mother would can the tomatoes, string beans and carrots. We ate most of the vegetables then my mother would go to the farms and buy bushels of peaches and tomatoes to can in Mason jars. The peaches became our dessert for the winter and the tomatoes were used for soup and our vegetables.
Milk was delivered by the milkman and vegetables were sold by the vegetable man who came in a big wagon drawn by a horse.
Food was rationed and every adult and child had their own ration card. Butter, meats, sugar were all rationed and the news would go out word of mouth as to what store had a delivery of any of these foods. I never remember being hungry, but we ate a lot of potatoes, eggs, carrots, when you could get them. Friday night was a meatless meal and I fondly remember having boiled potatoes which were then mashed and a softball egg placed on top of the potatoes. It tasted so good and I think of it with fondness.
Breakfast was oatmeal (not instant), cream of wheat, wheatena. These were all hot cooked every morning. You ate what was put in front of you with no food left on the plate. We were always told there were poor people in Europe who would love to eat what you have in front of you. So that ended any balking about food.
What everyone remembers are the "Mickies". During the summer we would rob potatoes out of the house, start a little fire at the end of the block in the lots, When there were red embers, the potatoes were thrown in and blackened. You would turn them around with a stick to cook them evenly. When they were finished you removed the black skin, added salt and oh, were they good.
The area where we lived had regular air raid drills. Men that belonged to the CDVO (Civilian Defense Volunteer Organization) became air raid wardens. When the siren went off, homes were darkened and if there were any lights shown on the street, the air raid wardens would tell you to put the lights out or get dark shades.
As kids everyone collected newspapers, tin cans, rags, etc. and brought them over to the CDVO office. Clothing was collected for poor people and the Europeans. Nothing was allowed to be wasted as all types of supplies were needed for the war effort.
All the kids volunteered and as an end of summer treat we were taken by the office to the Yankee Stadium to see a baseball game.
THE PLANE CRASH
About four blocks away from us a two seater army plane crashed into the ground early in the evening. The two pilots were killed automatically and debris was scattered everywhere.
I didn't know of anyone killed during the war but where Grandpa lived in Brooklyn there were soldiers killed. If the body could be brought home, the wake was held in the house. The closed casket was place in the living room and a wreath was placed on the front door to signify a soldier was being waked inside. The cortege then left the house en route to church for the burial mass. A gold star was then placed in the window to signify a fallen soldier.
Some soldiers were buried overseas in US graveyards (we went to see one in Anzio, Italy when were there last year); sailors were buried at sea.
CLOTHING
Every mother knitted and you wore handmade sweaters, mitten, socks, gloves, hats. Clothing was wool as synthetics were not available. Boys wore knickers and when they got older, they had long pants usually made from corduroy or heavy cotton. Girls wore skirts that came up to mid knee. Winter we wore long brown cotton stockings that were held up by rolled elastic bands above our knees or your mother made you a garter belt.
So many thoughts have been running through my mind that it is difficult to keep them straight.
HOMEFRONT
My brother reminded me to tell you how he won his MacArthur Medal for gardening. At the end of our block there were empty lots that no one knew who owned them. Steve staked out an area, dug it up and planted all types of vegetables. A little fence was put around it and it was his to take care of. I'm sure the medal came from the CDVO office.
SHOES: Steve remembers going barefoot in the summer or having sneakers. I don't remember the upper part of the shoes to well, but I do remember the soles were leather and the heels were rubber. My mother had a shoemakers last and she would nail cleats (just like what is on tap dancing shoes) on the heels and the toes of the shoes. If you had a hole in the leather, every Sunday night she would cut out heavy cardboard and insert it inside the shoes. The style was not fancy, standard Buster Brown lace-ups. They were meant to last and not wear out. I can still hear my mother telling us that 10 years from now you won't remember what is on your back, but you will remember what is in your mind. That ended our thoughts of being fashionable.
School was different then. In the upper grades the girls had cooking where you made cinnamon toast, apple sauce and a few other dishes. You learned the order to wash dishes, set a table, etc. Boys would go to shop. Sewing lessons started in the 6th grade where you learned how to make a simple blouse, apron, jumper etc. By the 8th grade, graduation meant the class decided on the style of dress they would make, the amount of material they needed, etc. I can still see that dress in my mind's eye and somewhere there are pictures of it. It was white organdy, had a key hole neck, a peplum around the waist and a gathered skirt. It was all made by hand and whether you could sew or not, you made it. Eighth grade also meant that you started reading and memorizing Shakespeare. Our class learned The Merchant of Venice and I can still recite by heart The Quality of Mercy.
GAMES
You had board games like checkers, Chinese checkers. Played cards such as Old Maid...can't think of the rest of them now. You read and trades comics which cost 10 cents each. There were games with baseball cards such as taking them and slapping them against a walls. If the picture came up, you had a point. Or you could flip the card with your hand on to the ground. If the picture came up, you had the point; this required skill the other game was just luck. At night you would play hide and go seek; jumped rope, boys played stick ball. To get around you would walk or roller skate. These skates were the clamp on to the shoes type and had steel wheels. I didn't get a bike until I graduated grammar school. Radio was very important. Friday nights we would listen to The Shadow Knows, Inner Sanctum, The Great Gildersleeve, I Love A Mystery. Kids were outdoors a lot more and had a tremendous amount of freedom....as long as your mother knew where you were.
CHURCH
Another important aspect of our lives. Every Saturday afternoon, winter or summer, you walked over to church and went to confession. I remember a friend of my brother, Tommy Tulley, who, when he finished Confession went into the vestibule and drank all the holy water believing he would stay good for the week. Sunday everyone went to the 9 AM Children's Mass. You wouldn't dare go to a later mass. Ascension Sunday there was always a procession and you wore a white dress to participate in it. I think I have covered all my notes and realized there were lessons we learned from the war.
1. You never waste food or money. If you can do without a desired object, that is better than indulging yourself.
2. You never used bad language as that was an indication of a poor vocabulary. To this day I can't get a curse word out of my mouth; it may be in my mind, but it will never get past my tongue.
3. You went to church as it is part of your life. There was a time I couldn't go to mass when my kids were not acting the way they were brought up. I knew the answers to their problems would be found in what the church taught them, but I couldn't explain it to them or perhaps they wouldn't even listen. When life straightened out and I went back to church and confession, it was such a welcome relief to be there. To this day we go to Mass every Sunday and I go to church the first Friday of every month. It is just part of my life. So there it is, Philippa. I'm sure some other thoughts will enter my mind, but this has been one fun project.
PPS
I asked my neighbor what did she remembered of WW11. As for a youth culture, "our youth culture came from the home; what mother said was our culture". This woman was 19 when the war began and went to USO (United Service Organization) dances at the church. These were chaperoned by the priests or nuns, soft drinks and cookies were served. The soldiers left around 10 PM and then the girls were sent home but always in groups. There was no fraternizing with the soldiers. She did marry after the war to a local fellow. He went in early and spent 7 years in uniform.
-stress the innocence
--no drugs, alcohol, lots of family, movies were good-happy
The Greatest Generation- Tom Brokow
- kids buy POW’s beer, cigarettes. POW’s give kids things from repaired lifeboats