OH 1185 | Oral History

OH 1185

His experiences on the homefront as a teenager in Elgin, Illinois, during World War II. Education and childhood in Elgin; local reaction to the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; air raid drills and blackouts; attempts to make people war conscious; spy hysteria; censorship of mail; harassment of German Americans; gasoline rationing; scrap drives; war bond drives; Victory Gardens; rationing of tires; scarcity of automobile parts; black market activities; clothing shortages; Boy Scout activities; effects of having a brother and sister in the military; wartime entertainment for teenagers; high school war bond dances; V-E Day celebrations; V-J Day celebrations; attitudes toward Japanese; adjustment of brother and sister to civilian life.

About this Oral History

Physical Description 105 pp.
Terms of Use Open
Interviewer(s) Sarah Canby Jackson
Date of Interview June 18, 1997

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