Many little things to cover in these last few weeks. Today, I wanted to discuss the War Ration Books that our grandparents were issued and used during World War II. I have one of Maude Olofson Linn's books and two of my other grandparents' ration books.
Briefly, the War Ration books were used throughout World War II to limit the goods that Americans could buy, diverting those products to the war effort. I've learned that FOUR different ration books were issued: Book 1 May 1942; Book 2 January 1943; Book 3 October 1943; and Book 4 July 1943.
These books, issued by the Government through Ration Boards, were valuable to the owner. It was the only way in which certain goods could be bought. Rules were clear: The book had to have the owner's signature, kept in a safe place, could not be transferred on penalty of a fine or prison.
Below is a scan of Maude's War Ration Book Four, front and back
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The front shows Maude's signature and the number of her ration book as 555594. The back gives some stern warnings about buying goods. At the bottom is an important message: "When you have used your ration, salvage the TIN CANS and WASTE FATS. They are needed to make munitions for our fighting men. Cooperate with your local Salvage Committee."
The colors don't show on the inside of Maude's Ration Book. But there were green and blue stamps used for canned goods, baby foods, and dry goods. Most of her blue stamps were gone, and half of her green ones were used. In addition, there were red stamps to be used for meat. Grandma had used all but 9 of her red stamps. In addition, there were a couple of pages of black stamps that had barely been used. They were designated as Spare stamps for future additions.
Sorry for how dark these photos are. Brown, thin paper with black printing. I hope that, if you enlarge them on your computer, you can read them.
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Peter Linn filed for a raise in his pension on March 18, 1931, and had to answer specific questions about his family history, medical history, military history, and work history. Below is a scan of this form with Peter's signature.
Peter first describes his family: Maude, 3 children at that time, father living, brother and sister in good health. Next, Peter indicates that he had measles, mumps, chicken pox in his childhood and was treated for ulcers and bleeding ulcers several times. He describes having influenza and yellow jaundice and was hospitalized for it. He denies having any venereal disease and describes his work on the farm, both with his father and then on his own.
Because this is Peter's first-hand account of his history, it should be fairly accurate with dates, people, and hospitalizations.
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The original of the following photo is in one of my uncle's possession, but I'm happy to share my photocopy with you. It shows Peter Linn in his World War I uniform and the words "United We Stand". Above are the words "World's Great War for Democracy" and below "Private Peter Edward Linn, Company E, 349th Infantry, 88th Division, American Expeditionary Forces Over Seas" and finally, "Liberty and Justice".
I'm open to tackling any individuals who are related to us, tracing and researching as best I can in our short time left. Please comment or send me a message with any questions you have or people you'd like to know better.
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