Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article
Historic Treasure of the Week -
June 12, 1983
By Dick Tuttle
Vigo County Historical Society
Scarce goods were rationed during war
The historical treasure of the week includes a World War II ration book and ration tokens. The ration book, from the estate of Grace Compton Piety, was donated by Mr. and Mrs. L.E. Kester and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hilton.
Rationing--a means of distributing goods, items, services on an equitable basis, according to needs and available supplies.
Rationing is usually applied during periods of shortages due to war or extreme economic situations. Such as the case during World War II, when severe shortages in consumer goods developed because of the demands of defense.
Rationing boards were established in counties, the number depending on the population. Vigo County initially had two such boards, independent of one another, completely staffed, and operated by a volunteer board composed of several business, financial and industrial leaders.
Among those serving on the boards were Stanley Stohr, Shannon Buntin, William Cahill, Forrest Sherer and many others. Willard Blockson ran the north board, Dick Tuttle the south.
There were two items placed on the ration list early in the war; tires and gasoline. And the black market flourished in these two items, although less in gas than in tires. People couldn’t seem to understand why they couldn’t buy tires when they were needed and on display in most tire stores.
Rubber was one of the basics on which the armed forces operated. Transportation was vital, and rubber was needed not only for tires but for tanks, ships, planes and trucks. When tires were needed, it was necessary to visit the ration board and get a permit to buy a new or recapped tire. New tires were largely reserved for trucks, buses, doctors’ cars, tractors and farm equipment. Civilian consumers, Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public, had to be satisfied with recaps, which were adequate if you had a worn casing that could be recapped.
Gasoline coupons were classed A, B, or C. The minimum quantity, the A coupon, entitled the owner to four gallons a week. The coupons came in books and were dated. The service station owner got only as much gasoline to sell as he had coupons redeemed. Oil companies had to account in the same manner.
Other items rationed included meat, particularly bacon and beef; most canned goods, sugar, shoes, woolens and coffee. Some items were rationed because of short supply--lack of workmen to work in the fields or unable to import from abroad. The latter was due to most ships being used to transport troops and materials to war zones.
The southside ration board was located in the annex of the Cruft School at Eight and College. The northside board was in the TRW building, 120 S. Seventh St. Neither building was remodeled to meet the requirements of the ration board, the operation was adapted to the quarters.
During canning season, families needing more sugar for canning were allowed some extra quantities. The application was made to the board and approved under the regulations established by the Office of Price Administration (OPA) which was largely responsible for the rationing system. The War Production Board (WPB) also set some standards, such as rubber, and all industrial supplies.
As food quantities were somewhat limited because of the lack of farm manpower, many food items were rationed, others were not and were just hard to find. To alleviate the situation, those at home were encouraged to plant “Victory Gardens.” Back yards and empty lots had flourishing gardens, with much of the produce canned for winter use.
One of the products to come out of the war was synthetic rubber. Some tires were made of this, but it lacked the toughness of rubber. Synthetic rubber is still in use today, to a lesser degree as plastics and other products have taken over many of the uses of rubber.
Most citizens lived with the rationing program, with some sacrifice. This was accepted as their contribution to the war effort. But the black market flourished in tires, cigarettes, hosiery (nylon when to war in a big way), and liquors. Alcohol was used in the manufacture of munitions, and bourbon and rye whiskies were in very short supply. When available, some retailers required the purchase of a bottle of very peculiar liqueur or an odd after-dinner drink before selling a bottle of whiskey.
Some of the conservation efforts t save tires, gasoline and autos (on which production had been suspended) included car pools, share-the-ride, bicycle to work, walk to work, and similar projects. Civilian auto mileage dropped one-third in a year after rationing started. Yet, the black market and theft of ration stamps from ration boards increased each year of the war.
There was little complaining. When neighbors were aware of someone apparently driving as usual and getting tires, it was often reported. From such reports, investigations uncovered theft rings and prosecution followed.
Loss of ration stamps, real or contrived, was a matter the boards considered and most often a period without stamps was sufficient to bring consumers in line. Extensive promotion programs by OPA and the WPB concerning all types of conservation and rationing acquainted the public with the problem and the value of cooperation.
The Museum of the Wabash Valley 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.