Banding together during WWII

Here is an article posted to the Millbury Sutton Chronicle today which brings to mind similarities between our current situation and WWII.

Banding together during WWII

Special to the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle

By Kristen Livoti

I have had a song stuck in my head lately: “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree." It might not spring to mind immediately for you, but since I tend to feel that I was born in the wrong time period, I am often singing big band songs. This song was made popular by the Andrews Sisters during World War II and I can’t help feeling that that there are so many similarities between our current situation and the 40s that we might learn from looking back at that time period.

Ladies fashions were becoming more practical and slacks gained in popularity as women entered the workforce. Songs were uplifting and dances were considered morale boosters. The USO, or United Services Organizations, provided entertainments to soldiers and USO clubs were everywhere. Everyday home practices were geared toward supporting our troops as well the greater good of the country. Victory gardens, which I have heard much mention of lately, were encouraged to supplement the public supply, as well as to boost morale, and people learned to utilize food scraps in inventive ways. Children collected metal scraps in their wagons, and ration cards/books were provided for buying supplies. For those of you not familiar with a ration card, there were limits placed by the government on how much a person or family could purchase. This could be items such as butter, jams, coffee, meat or something like gasoline. People learned to do without and share with their neighbors for the war effort. Here is an example of a ration card donated to the Millbury Historical Society by the Donald Russell Family.

Currently, we are not able to be as social as they were in the 40s, but there are definitely ways we can learn from our current and past experiences. It is my hope that folks will learn to appreciate and be less wasteful of our resources. No need to run to the store for a missing ingredient when we can look to the past for more resourceful baking. For kids, we could create a ration card (there are certainly items now that we do not have an unlimited supply of) and then create menus based on what you have in the house.

Here is a recipe for a wacky cake. I don’t remember where I first saw the recipe, but I have baked it for years and adapted it over time. This cake was popular during the depression and wartime as it did not need any eggs or butter. Baking soda and vinegar are the rising agent and remember, in the digital age, you can always look up substitutions when you don’t have an ingredient on hand. I think this cake is richer with brown sugar, but if you don’t have it, you can substitute 1 cup of white sugar with 1 tablespoon molasses for light brown sugar or 2 tablespoons if you need dark brown sugar. For this recipe, you can always use just white sugar, as well.

Wacky cake

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup light brown sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa powder (I like Hershey’s)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup warm water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 and 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Put all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl

Add wet ingredients to dry and mix together until smooth

Put in a 6-inch cake pan and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

Once you’ve baked your wacky cake, why not start letter writing, whether to your child’s grandparent or a friend two blocks over? This helps support our postal service and also gives them something to look forward to each day. Try growing vegetables from kitchen scraps. I currently have two romaine lettuces growing on my kitchen window. Plant a victory garden or bake a loaf of bread. You can make an easy Irish soda bread which does not require yeast (which is hard to find right now) or take it up a couple of levels and make your own sourdough starter. Put on some Glen Miller and have a family “USO” dance at home or maybe a virtual one and invite your friends.

https://www.millburysutton.com/news/20200629/banding-together-during-wwii