Robert L. Dunn
Dan Hood
Personal interview with Robert L. Dunn
Q: How old were you when the rationing first took place?
A: 10 years of age
Q: What items were rationed?
A: Clothing, sugar, meat, and one could only receive four pairs of shoes per year, one for every season.
Q: How many items of rationed goods could you receive per year?
A: Stamps were given to our family of four, and each time there was a purchase the cashier would tear out the stamp himself to prohibit fraud.
Q: Was there a need to have a sugar rationing card along with the regular rationing cards?
A: Yes, you needed to receive your sugar rationing cards from a government agency along with your regular rationing cards.
Q: Where did you register for rationing cards?
A: In town at a certain city building which I can not remember the name.
Q: How much did the rationing change your daily lives?
A: You learned to substitute things in your life such as instead of having meat every meal; you would have more pasta and non-rationed items. We learned to make a lot of our dough products and many other necessities at home, so yes it was a large change but we became accustomed to the rationing.
Q: Are you familiar with the term Victory Gardens?
A: Yes, most people had a Victory Garden. My family had one, and it does help supply your vegetables and helped my family quite a bit. You could can your tomatoes and other vegetables also.
Q: Could you sell your vegetables from your Victory Gardens?
A: No they were used for personal use only. However some people had truck farms which supplied enough for the farmer to sell.
Q: Because gasoline was rationed, did you have one car per family?
A: Yes, the wealthy people had one car. The amount of gasoline someone could get was based on their occupation. My father worked in a war plant which manufactured propellers and piston ring, and they received extra gas stamps to get to work. The four or five men my father worked with would ride together and switch off driving every few days.
Q: Do you remember receiving extra clothing stamps as a kid?
A: Not really, but kids my age had very few clothes to begin with. For instance, I only had one outfit and maybe two or three pairs of trousers. When we went to school, we did not have uniforms, but we had to wear respectable clothing.
Q: Do you remember listening to President Roosevelt’s fireside chats?
A: Yes, he only held them when he felt their was a need to inform and raise the spirits of the American public.
Q: Is their any certain fireside chat which you still remember today?
A: The only specific talk was on D-Day. I remember listening when certain battles were occurring because Roosevelt was always there to reinforce the public optimism. I can also remember Truman addressing the public after the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.