Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Remembering the Homefront
Wow, was it really 70 years ago that I signed up as a naval merchant? Back then, my family was just emerging out of the Great Depression. At the time, my family was just barely getting by: Dad had applied for welfare, Mom was in a working camp, or was it the other way around? I'm losing my memory. Anyway, we were starting to get better with what we had and were even picking up. Then, the call came out for war and Dad could leave the camp he was in and worked in a factory. I was able-bodied and thought I was ready to serve the country. As a side bonus, my family would get a few extra dollars to help them get by. When I got there, was I in for a surprise . It was all danger and bombs, bu I wouldn't change a thing. The action and adventure and the possibility of death at every turn, simply exhilarating. Did any of you have any nice stories from home or did you have the same grim reality as I had?
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Well, Matthew, I pretty much joined the army the moment Canada declared war on Germany (even if I wasn’t sent into battle until 1943). So, I didn’t experience any more of Canada’s homefront than what I learned of from the letters my Ma and Pa sent to me. And yes, some of the letters I received back from Canada were quite “sweet”, especially if you’re reading it in a stuffy concrete bunker somewhere in bloody Italy in the middle of June. It turned out that my Pa, a very experienced logger who had broken his leg in a logging accident before World War One, had been promoted to senior position inside his logging company. With many of the loggers leaving to fight in the war and inexperienced youngsters filling in their positions, the company needed experienced old loggers like him in the senior positions. Even better, the company was cashing in record sales by producing lumber for the war effort, namely for guns, boats, buildings, and bridges. I heard the pay was great and that my Pa had even bought a bigger house in Edmonton. By Jove, there was no grim reality for my folks back home!
ReplyDeleteMore or less Matthew. I was in a similar position you were in where my family's business was suffering. Yet I was not motivated to join the war till I saw a poster about the Royal Canadian Air Force. Also, my parents encouraged me a bit to join the army to make money. This was to keep the family business going. So, I had two things to do, it was for my personal satisfaction and for my family!
ReplyDeleteAs the depression finally came to an end, my father began to make quite the profit for his crop. My mother wrote to me, telling me that they began buying new appliances (with some form of caution, to avoid margin calls), and that she began to make a good amount of money in the factory she was working in. She was responsible for building weapons for the Royal Regiment of Canada. Just like her, quite a few "housewives" got their jobs back, doing things that men did. The flappers were still alive, even though it has been 15 years or so! Once again, they show their skills to the men, and demonstrate equality between the sexes.
ReplyDelete(Major Rey Hypolito T.)
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean it seems like it was just last week that we got out of the depression and into ww2. Life was getting better but I was getting board so I decided to enlist and what a great idea that as. Now I’m missing an arm and a whole bunch of my best friends. But then again I suppose that the fact that Canada won the war and everything is at peace I can be at peace soon too. I don’t know which one is better; having died with my friends or living to my ripe old age.