by The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing Through American History 1900 to the Present (pdf)
ity starting in 1931, attributable in large part to several winter carnivals
and travel promotions. The Winter Olympics in 1932, held at Lake
Placid, brought skiing further into the limelight. Less active games and
fads spread across the country as well, including miniature golf starting in
1930, as well as card playing and jigsaw puzzles.
Despite the inability of most people to travel for leisure, the thirties
saw a host of travel innovations that aided in getting people to more
remote locations in much quicker and luxurious or convenient ways. The
Greyhound bus line was inaugurated in 1930, and the largest ocean liner,
the Queen Mary, was launched in 1934. In 1938, the Queen Mary
crossed the Atlantic Ocean in just over three days, a record at the time.
World’s Fairs were popular travel destinations during this period: Chi-
cago in 1933, New York in 1939, and San Francisco, also in 1939. These
fairs offered an opportunity for attendees to see the latest in technology,
entertainment, art, and architecture.
Leisure time was filled with inexpensive pastimes. Many families played
board games such as Monopoly, enjoyed card games such as Bridge, and
completed cardboard jigsaw puzzles. Reading, listening to the radio, and
writing letters were popular as well.
In December 1933, Prohibition was repealed and drinking was again a
legal activity. Consequently, the price of alcohol decreased and therefore
became more commonplace. Taverns became popular places to gather for
the working class, whereas the middle and upper class preferred to drink at
home. Cigarettes remained popular and were still seen as a chic accessory.
T H E
1940S
‘A Successful Victory Garden is a Blow to the Enemy’ could be found on
government-issued posters along with Rosie the Riveter and Uncle Sam.
Growing vegetables locally eased wartime demands on the transportation
system, as well as augmenting available produce for processing C-rations and
108
DAILY LIFE
K-rations for the troops. The Department of Agriculture called for 18 mil-
lion victory gardens beginning in 1943 to help feed the military and allies.
Individuals and communities responded, producing close to two-thirds of all
the produce consumed in the United States between 1943 and 1945.
Significant contributions made by people on the home front included
salvaging and recycling materials. Recycled kitchen grease was collected to
help make explosives, medicine, rubber, and nylon for parachutes. During
the war, empty cans and license plates were collected to help produce
tanks. Toothpaste tubes were saved for the lead content. Another govern-
ment slogan was, ‘‘Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.’’
Americans were encouraged to contribute 10 percent of their pay to-
ward the purchase of war bonds. Despite emerging from the Depression,
this was not generally difficult for many Americans. More people had
more income than ever before. Although the salaries were low, there was
not much available to purchase because of war-time rationing.
Every neighborhood had a civil defense warden. Thousands of men
and women volunteered to protect the country by making sure their
neighbors followed air-raid and blackout precautions during drills and
scheduled blackout times.
Most everyone who had a telephone during the 1940s had a party line.
With this type of line, several residences would share a phone number,
and the number of rings would indicate which family should answer the
call. Although listening in on other people’s calls showed bad manners, it
did occur and it was often the source of town gossip. High school days
were not filled with much dating because most young men were serving
in the military, so party-line eavesdropping was a substitute for entertain-
ment. Girls would also go to the movies in groups, sobbing through the
news reels that had current combat films from all over the world. This
was calculated propaganda to inform the public of the conditions of war
brought on by America’s enemies, in turn creating a strong determination
from the public to support the war effort.
Attending grade school in a one-room schoolhouse was still common
outside of the bigger cities. The country was still mostly agrarian aside
from key manufacturing industries. Many farm children were unable to
attend school during the war because extra help was needed running the
farms. Summer vacation was in response to farms that needed children to
help with the chores and harvests. Many of the one-room schoolhouses
had no running water or heat. Children would take turns going out to the
pump and using the necessary house, one for boys and one for girls. In
the winter, the boys would take turns bringing in coal or wood to stoke
the pot-bellied stove that produced heat for the classroom. City kids
The 1940s
109
generally had larger schools with indoor plumbing, even some laboratory
equipment in the higher grades.
SOCIAL OCCASIONS
American society was disrupted by the war. Spare time was dedicated to
the war effort in many different ways. The USO and Red Cross provided
opportunities for civilians to contribute to the war effort. Established in
1940, the USO included the Young Men’s Club of America, the Young
Women’s Club of America, Salvation Army, National Catholic Commis-
sion Service, National Jewish Welfare Board, and the National Travelers
Aid Society. The USO operated mobile and stationary canteens, visited
hospitals, and entertained the troops around the world. The Red Cross
served understaffed hospitals, sent relief parcels to the troops, and col-
lected blood plasma.
Everything in support of the war effort became a social occasion. Neigh-
borhoods would work together to collect tin and rubber and in victory gar-
dens and sharing produce. Ladies’ community and church groups taught
each other how to ‘ make, do, and mend.’ They would turn men’s suits into
ladies’ suits, make hats for church and going into town, and put up canned
goods. Even shopping and cooking economically became a social occasion.
Like adults, teenagers contributed to the war effort. Some worked in fac-
tories after school, whereas others volunteered to make care packages for the
troops. They still found time to socialize. Dances, movies, and sing-alongs
were group activities for all to enjoy. Dances were held in high school gyms
and the USO on weekends. Thanks to big bands and swing music, the jitter-
bug became the favorite dance of teens. Neighborhood dances became quite
popular, with speakers strung outside around the block. Churches and high
school gyms were also favorite dance halls for local teenagers.
Movies were usually attended in groups or double dates. The movies
helped the teenagers to both connect with the war and escape from it.
Sing-alongs were another popular diversion from the realities of life dur-
ing the war. Teenagers would sing together sitting around a campfire or
gathered in someone’s living room. They wou
ld sing wartime favorites
such as ‘‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B’’ and ‘‘Don’t Sit Under
the Apple Tree with Anyone Else but Me.’’
HEALTH AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES
Leisure activities were limited during the war. Every effort went to sup-
port the war, and baseball was no exception. War bond drives were
110
DAILY LIFE
Jitterbug. The Jitterbug referred to vari-
movements. Fuller skirts, low-heeled
ous types of swing dances, such as the
shoes, and bobby socks were commonly
lindy hop and the East Coast swing, that
worn by women. The mambo, a dance
were popular during the 1940s. These
that emerged during this period, com-
energetic dances were done in nightclubs
bined the athletic moves of the jitterbug
and dance halls to the sounds of big
with the smooth flow of the rhumba.
bands. The dances had fast, bouncy, and
The jitterbug was extremely popular
sometimes acrobatic movements. It was
with service men. Whenever they had
not uncommon to hear about jitterbug
leave, they were found at nightclubs and
injuries for those who were unfamiliar
USOs, jitterbugging the night away.
with the moves. The clothing worn for
They popularized the dance in both
this style of dancing needed to be com-
England and France when they were
fortable and allow for exaggerated, large
stationed there.
sponsored by baseball teams. Baseball provided entertainment on the
home front and served as a connection to home for those serving around
the world. Equipment was gathered and shipped to the troops overseas,
and many coaches, umpires, and players enlisted, including Joe DiMaggio,
one of the greatest hitters and centerfielders of all time. Baseball games
were considered so important to morale that the Japanese tried to jam ra-
dio broadcasts of the games.
By 1943, half of the professional players had enlisted. Older baseball
veterans and even a one-armed outfielder, Pete Gray of the St. Louis
Browns, were recruited to fill the void. Wood was in short supply so it was
difficult to find bats. Rubber went to military use, so baseballs became
soggy and unresponsive. Baseball, the American game of games, made an
interesting diversion during the war.
With most able-bodied men between 18 and 26 off at the front, the
favorite American pastime turned to who was left: women and African
Americans. The emergence of the All-American Girls’ Professional Base-
ball League helped. A pioneering new sport for women, this was a tough
sell to the public. These ladies not only had to exhibit enough athletic
ability to keep the game interesting, but, in the conservative society of the
1940s, they also had to show refinement and become proper role models
for young girls. The image of the sport and its participants was so impor-
tant, the league prepared a document titled, A Guide for All American
Girls. Suggestions in this document included the necessary components of
The 1940s
111
a beauty kit including a daily beauty routine, exercises for beauty, fitness,
posture, relaxation, wardrobe choices, etiquette, sportsmanship, and public
relations. The greatest emphasis was to appear wholesome and polite.
Major League Baseball had lost its excitement because of inferior
players and equipment. The league did not allow African Americans to
play, so they created their own leagues. The Negro League packed games
across the country. African Americans were kept out of many military
occupations, and, thus, more experienced players were able to stay in the
game. They became very popular during the war and competed in a Ne-
gro World Series that pitted the winners of the Negro National League
against the winners of the Negro American League. The series was played
every year from 1942 to 1948.
The African-American players were so good that the Major League
began scouting the Negro League. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier
when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. That was the begin-
ning of the end for the Negro League as more players crossed over.
When the Japanese first attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941,
three scheduled National Football League games were underway. At New
York’s Polo Grounds, the public address announcer interrupted a celebra-
tion for star running back Tuffy Leeman, telling all servicemen to report
to their units. The same announcement was heard at Chicago’s Comisky
Park. Reporters were told to check with their offices at Washington’s
Griffith Stadium. The announcer paged high-ranking government and
military personnel in attendance but did not mention the attack.
As with the other professional sports teams, hundreds of football play-
ers enlisted to support the war effort. More than $4 million in sales of
war bonds were driven by the National Football League in 1942, and a
halftime rally at the Steagles-Bears game in 1943 raised an additional
$364,150 (Algeo 2006, 98).
Football was so popular and important for morale that innovative tac-
tics were taken to preserve the game. Travel restrictions attributable to the
war effort made it impossible for fans to follow their favorite teams. To
keep the excitement up from the crowd and give fair advantage to both
teams, during the 1942 Army-Navy game played in Annapolis, half the
midshipmen were assigned to cheer for West Point (USA Today 2007).
Teenagers’ free time was usually spent in team sports in school, outdoor
activities such as hiking, camping, swimming, skating, and sledding, church-
sponsored activities, or neighborhood get-togethers and dances. Golf
and tennis were supported mostly by upper-class families and private
high schools, but courts were not regularly available to lower-income
families.
112
DAILY LIFE
Whereas boys could choose from a number of organized activities
including baseball, soccer, swimming, sailing, rowing, basketball, and
football, girls often had only badminton and basketball available as a com-
petitive sport. As the All-American Girls’ Baseball League emerged, so
did the All-American Girls’ Basketball League. Winter sports were popu-
lar in the northern part of the country. Sleds and toboggans slid through
the snow, and Americans skated on any frozen pond or creek. In addition,
skiing was available in mountainous northern states.
Postwar activities were influenced by a rising standard of living, techno-
logical advancements, and new fashions and fads. Cross-country skiing was
more popular than before the war thanks to returning soldiers who used it
as a necessity throughout Scandinavia and the Alps during the war.
Generally speaking, the upper and upper-middle class spent more time
in museums, dining out, at the theatre, concert hall, golf course, and col-
lege football games. Lower-class families tended to appreciate baseball,
boxing, and horse racing. When Detroit re
sumed production of automo-
biles in 1946 and gasoline was no longer rationed, the open roads pro-
vided opportunity for ‘ escape’’ and Americans took to the highways. With
movies still a key entertainment venue, drive-in movie theaters sprang up
across the country to meet the needs of Americans on wheels.
People had the freedom to move about the country and the means
with which to do it. Getting away for a weekend or week of vacation was
becoming popular. People went to the beach, to the lake, to the moun-
tains, just getting away. The end of the war brought a sudden upswing in
the number of national park visitors. Visitors to the national park system
jumped from 11.7 million in 1945 to 25.5 million in 1947 (Sellars 1997,
173). Favorite driving destination vacations included Niagara Falls, Luray
Caverns, and Yellowstone National Park.
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