52 Ancestors: Unusual Source - U.S. War Rations

My parents, Gordon and Gerry (Martin) Levy, met at Fresno High School in about 1943 - dad was a senior, Mom was a sophomore.  Shortly after my dad graduated in June,1944 he went away to Stanford to start his college career.  Of course, Mom missed him terribly so she did what people did in those days, she wrote letters to her man.  With social media and e-mail today, those hand written letters are virtually non-existent but, fortunately, my dad inherited the "pack rat" gene and saved the letters she wrote to him.

Gerry Martin and Gordon Levy, c. 1944

They look so young in this photo but it would have been about the time they were writing to each other.  Note:  My mother apparently did not have the "pack rat" gene as I haven't located any of the letters he wrote to her.

My latest project has been transcribing the letters she wrote to him and I've learned a lot about my mother from these letters.  I could research for years and years and without this unusual source I would never have learned details about her cousin Norma, whom she spent a lot of time with, and Norma's parents, Winnie (Dick) and John Hoey.  And who would have guessed her overuse of the exclamation point!!!!!!  But most of all, I would have never understood just how much this young woman who had just turned 16 loved my dad. ♥

As I transcribed letters yesterday, I came to a very interesting section where she wrote on September 2, 1944:

Just went down to get the steaks!!!  Beautiful 2 inch thick T-bones!!!   This isn’t common knowledge but we don’t have to pay the points until we get them!  Also I think the place should be reported to the A.P.A. for the prices they charge!!  Not because they’re high but because they’re so low!!!!  Please don’t think we’re too awful – we’re not you know!!!

Of course my radar went up as I typed the part about common knowledge and then - what?  Points?  So I did what any person in 2021 would do and immediately started researching.  And sure enough, I started learning about meat and cheese rationing in World War II.  

I came across a blog at www.sarahsundin.com that was very interesting.  On March 29, 2018 she wrote this:

Rationing of meat and cheese was an important part of life on the US Home front.  A complex and constantly changing system kept grocery shoppers on their toes.

The United States produced meat and cheese for her civilians and military, and also for her Allies.  During World War I, food shortages were a serious problem, with hoarding, escalating prices, and rushes on stores.  When World War II started, the government reduced deliveries to stores and restaurants, instituted price controls, and urged people to voluntarily reduce consumption.  Britain had already instituted a point-based rationing system and had found it effective, so the United States decided to implement a similar program in 1943.  Rationing made sure everyone got a fair share.

Did Mom or Dad ever talk about this?  While I knew there had been rationing, I didn't really think about the fact that it could have affected my parents or even grandparents.  But, apparently, it had.

And the blog went on to say:

War Ration Books Two, Three, and Four contained blue stamps for processed foods and red stamps for meat, cheese, and fats.  Each person received 64 red stamps each month, providing 28 ounces of meat and 4 ounces of cheese per week.  The stamps were printed with a number for point value and a letter to specify the rationing period - such as C8.  Rationing calendars in newspapers declared which stamps were current and for how long.  To prevent fraud, the stamps had to be torn off in the presence of the grocer.  Stamps were good for one, two, five, or eight points, with "no change" given, so the shopper had to be careful to use the exact number of stamps.  The system was simplified on February 27, 1944, when plastic tokens were issued as change.

Each cut of meat was assigned a point value per pound, based not on price or quality, but on scarcity.  These point values varied throughout the war depending on supply and demand.  "Variety meats" such as kidney, liver, brain, and tongue had little use for the military, so their point values were low.  On May 3, 1944, thanks to a good supply, all meats except steak and choice cuts of beef were removed from rationing - temporarily. 

You can read her complete blog HERE

And then it hit me - I'd seen War Ration Books somewhere around my house so I went on a hunt to find them.  There they were - the property of my husband's maternal grandparents, Pearl (Grumer) and Marcus Burket Byrd.

Pearl (Grumer) and Marcus Byrd, date unknown

I have to laugh - "Do not lose it".

Never pay more than the legal price - how did you know what was legal?

My mother's letters to my dad have proven to be an unusual source and I had no idea the things I'd learn.  Who knew?