Thomas brought Libba and newborn Joe B home from the Tri-County Hospital and I remember (in monochrome) the simultaneous delivery of a new clothes washing machine. Watch out! Here we go again because that was July 1945 and according to some sources washing machine production had been suspended by the war effort no later than June 1942 and did not resume until 1947 (or possibly 1946). Thomas could have found a way to purchase a washing machine at practically the instant the war in Europe ended. It could have been second hand. Manufacturers were allowed to continue research and development during the war so the machine could have been available as a favor from the local automobile and appliance dealer Hub Covington, etc.; or etc.. Or this memory might be the combination of two or more childhood recollections; or the information in the internet sources might just be wrong.
The following is a quote from WikiPedia.
In 1942 a rationing system was begun to guarantee minimum amounts of necessities to everyone (especially poor people) and prevent inflation. Tires were the first item to be rationed in January 1942 because supplies of natural rubber were interrupted. Gasoline rationing proved an even better way to allocate scarce rubber. By 1943 one needed government issued ration coupons to purchase typewriters, coffee, sugar, gasoline, bicycles, clothing, fuel oil, silk, nylon, stoves, shoes, meat, cheese, butter, lard, margarine, canned foods, dried fruits, jam, and many other items. Some items—like new automobiles and appliances were no longer made. The rationing system did not apply to used goods (like clothes or cars).
Again from WikiPedia:
The War Production Board (WPB) ordered the temporary end of all civilian automobile sales on 1 January 1942, leaving dealers with one half million unsold cars. Ration boards grew in size as they began evaluating automobile sales in February (only certain professions, such as doctors and clergymen, qualified to purchase the remaining inventory of new automobiles), typewriters in March, and bicycles in May. Automobile factories stopped manufacturing civilian models by early February 1942 and converted to producing tanks, aircraft, weapons, and other military products, with the United States government as the only customer. By June 1942 companies also stopped manufacturing for civilians metal office furniture, radios, phonographs, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, and sewing machines.
Rationing in the U. S. ended in 1946. Rationing in the United Kingdom continued until July 1954.
The car that Thomas, LIbba, and Joe B came home from the hospital in that day was a black 1941 Ford 4 door sedan that had likely been purchased new in the year prior to Pearl Harbor. The rear door latch was on the front of the door and it was hinged at the rear so that if the door was opened at speed it would catch the wind like a sail and open wide with a jerk that might launch anyone holding on to the door handle out into the world. That is exactly what happened to brother JD on the town square in the rain with groceries just purchased at the Dixie Home Store. A little speed and centrifugal force and a life lesson was learned by everyone involved. JD was not hurt much if any.
The next car was a 1949 Mercury 4 Door Sedan (purchased from Cliff Morgan's East End Motors) with the same rear hinged rear door configuration. One day in the very early 1950s I helped to unload the backseat of the car after it returned from town and I left the right rear door open while I carried armloads inside. Before I returned Thomas drove the car into the brick garage with the door open. I had started working on the farm and he took deductions from my pay each week until I had paid in full for replacing the car door, which took a really long time. That was the first time that I fully understood the Thomas Code. It would not be the last time I saw it at work though it happened rarely.
We did get Joe B and a washing machine at the end of World War II. I would love to know if Virginia's memory of her family's stories can shed light on the timing, and how was the household laundry done prior to that day? I remember well seeing lard rendered in a wash pot over an open fire. I also remember soap being made from lard and lye and/or wood ash. I think that I remember Glen being involved in one or the other or both. But I don't have a separate memory of wash day. Are you there Virginia?
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