Densho Digital Archive - Phyllis Fechner Interview (denshovh-fphyllis-01-0011)

<Begin Segment 11>

RP: Yes. Did you, were you involved like many others in collecting materials for the war effort?

PF: Oh, we collected glass. Actually, we picked up bottles and sold them so that we could go to the movies or something. And we collected papers. We had paper drives. And, oh, you couldn't get, metals (...) we didn't have aluminum cans. They were tin or somethin' but glass and paper drives. I remember those.

RP: What can you share with us about the, the rationing that took place during the wartime and did it have any impact on you?

PF: Yeah. My mother was a very good cook so we didn't do without anything. But I remember the sugar stamps. And (Mom) drove us around to pick up the bottles although if she had had a problem with the tire, wouldn't have been able to get more because rubber was rationed. And what else? We had chickens. And she got the chickens and pulled their heads off and we had chicken to eat, and eggs. Five times.

KP: Not yet. It's a quarter of.

PF: [Referring to chiming clock] Oh, quarter, oh, okay. That's the three-quarter hour. Okay. I just started winding that thing again the other day. [Laughs] If I had known this was gonna happen I wouldn't have. So anyway, we had, (...) was it meat rations? I remember butter. Oh, I liked butter so much. And they came out with oleo. (And) it was a white pillow like thing full of like lard. And you pinched this pill and it was orange and then you had to keep squeezing that thing until it was all yellow. And then you thought it was butter. And I can't remember other than the sugar and the rubber that were rationed that really impacted us. And that man grew the vegetables so we didn't worry about that either. So we were pretty well off compared to some others. Just the three of us, my mom, my brother, and me.

RP: Do you recall any blackouts or any drills that took place in school or...

PF: No, I really don't. I guess we were too far from the shores and that sort of thing. And I don't remember air raid drills, like crawling under a desk, I don't remember any of that. Not, I'm not saying we didn't have 'em but I don't remember 'em.

RP: Do you remember any rallies in school, patriotic events or things to support the...

PF: Rallies, oh, must have had rallies. They had pep rallies but they were all for the game, you know, the football or something like that. No, I don't remember anything like that. And parades were patriotic parades. My brother and I were raised to be very patriotic. My dad was. And he had five brothers and they all went in to the First World War. And so he was very patriotic. That's why he just had to go into the Second. And we, (John and I), had four sons and they're all the same way, very patriotic. And (John) too. Fly the flag with the light on the flag, all correct.