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Home Front Letters: Joan Novak

Joan Novak writes from Baxter, Minn., that she was only 10 years old when the war began. Her mother will be 100 in December. However, Joan remembers much about those years.

“I do think the economy is going to have a severe setback some time in the future. It will not be as bad as the depression, but the younger set will be devastated. They are not used to going without. Too much easy credit is out there floating around to cover their every whim. I think it will be a good thing if it does not last too long. The world needs a ‘come-up-ance,‘“ she says.

I asked her what she remembered of women’s affairs during the war.

Cosmetics were not a priority with me at age ten. Nylons were almost impossible to get ... Silk stockings were still in vogue (if you could get them). Leg makeup was used by the women. Some even drew lines down the back of the leg to make fake seams. Needed help and a steady hand for that.

When my mother worked in the defense plant, she sewed copper wires on the dials for submarines. It was piece work. They got paid for how much they put out. A quota was set, and if they went over, they got more money. The women had breaks of ten minutes in the morning and ten in the afternoon. They cut the cigarettes in half so they could finish smoking before the ten minutes were up. Bathroom smoking was permitted.

We did not have a car, but we lived close enough to work so my dad and mom could walk. They had an hour for lunch and came home to eat. Ma would prepare things to eat the night before, and I could finish cooking or heating the meal. When the factory whistle blew, every kid in the neighborhood knew they better be home for dinner.

The first big purchase after my mother went to work was a big white refrigerator. Up to that time, we used ice for keeping things cold. I remember taking the red wagon and walking to the ice house to buy a big block of ice. Then we would ask the clerk for a chip of ice to eat on the way home. Sure was glad to get a refrigerator.

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