LETTER: Supporting the War Effort – 1941

To those of you who are diehard Democrats or Republicans, I urge you to read JFK’s inaugural address to the nation in 1961. His statement, “Ask not what your country can do for you,” should also be part of your mindset today.

As a nine-year-old child, I recall being asked to conserve anything of value for the war effort. We saved all forms of grease, paper, brass, copper, lead, etc.

I recall being taken to Horn Hardart in downtown Brooklyn toward the end of the war when sugar was still rationed. They employed an individual whose sole purpose was to sit on a tall pedestal facing a tall table holding a bowl of sugar. If you wanted sugar with your coffee, you would walk to that person, and they would carefully put a teaspoon of sugar in your coffee. That was it, do not ask for two because you would not get it.

There was a phrase back then called “Junking,” which was used when you rented a two-wheeled cart with the help of an older person and pushed that cart up and down the streets of your neighborhood, looking for the aforementioned items that would produce income for the household. The time was still the Depression era. Boom Time had not yet arrived.

The big grocers at the time were The Great Atlantic and Pacific Co. and Safeway Stores. A&P, as it was known, sold shoe repair kits containing a heel, leather sole, glue, and nails. My Dad surprisingly produced a steel foot mounted on a pedestal. Being Italian, I was not surprised that he knew how to remove the heel and sole, clean the perimeter of the stripped shoe, glue and place the sole over it and “nail away.” The heel was the easiest part. He cautioned me to be careful when nailing, ensuring the nails were driven into the steel where they would bend over and secure the sole. We needed “Shinola” black shoe polish to stain the heels and sole followed by a waiting period of twenty-four hours before we could wear the shoes again.

I cherish those memories.

Again, support your President in these times of concern.

Sincerely,

Raymond Maratea

Formerly of Candor, New York