Shirley Pruett
Chris Pruett
Transcript:
Interview with Shirley Pruett
Q: What were the sacrifices that you and your family made during World War II?
SP: We had rations for everything. Coffee, gum, and sugar. Even tires and women’s hose were rationed. My brother used to bring tin cans to school to be reused and we also saved newspapers. You had to have rations for shoes and for gas, and people used to carpool together, much as they do now. Because of rations everyone had to have a garden. When you went to the butcher, if he liked you, he would give you extra bacon by shaping it like a pork chop so others wouldn’t know. Also, your family was allowed one book for every family member.
Q: What else can you tell me about your time on the home front?
SP: Well, we every family had stars in their windows. They got a blue star for family members currently serving and a gold one if that soldier had died. Also, information was very limited and controlled by the government. The newspapers were censored and the news updates at the movie theater were issued by the government as well and also censored. There was always a fear of spies, so the war was only discussed in the family. My friend’s brother actually came up with code words in order for his mother to be able to locate where he was in Europe.
Q: What did you do to entertain yourselves back then as children?
SP: A lot of the time we pretended to fight the “Dirty Japs” as we called them back then. That’s what we called them back then. Most of the time we did activities outside and sometimes we read.