Luzerne County Memories

Luzerne County Memories

Part 9

PART 9:

* The Old Nanticoke High School

* Dress Codes

* One Particular High School Memory

* Rationing and Shortages in the Early 1940s

* War Bonds

THE OLD NANTICOKE HIGH SCHOOL

The old Nanticoke High School was razed this past week [written July 4, 1999]. It is now a pile of rubble. In later years, it was a middle school, but old timers referred to it as the high school. A CVS drug store is to be built on the lot. I attended the school from 1939 to 1943.

Nanticoke was not a small school (my graduating class had over 250 members) and was not much different from other schools in Luzerne County. There were two courses of study from which to choose: Classical (academic) and Business. All classical students took Latin, and Business students took French. Unlike today, there were only six business courses: 2 years of bookkeeping, 2 years of typing and 2 years of shorthand. Business students filled their schedule with algebra, chemistry and physics. Business students today take courses such as Business English, Business Law, Business Math and Computer Science.

There was no air conditioning at that time. Often times during the spring and summer, classes would be disrupted by bees flying in the window. Outside noise could also be disruptive. These problems don't exist in our climate controlled schools, today.

Today, schools have cafeterias where breakfast and lunch are served. There was no cafeteria in the 30's. We had a lunch break where everyone went to the homeroom. Milk was available and was ordered one week in advance. The cost was 25 cents for the week, and the milk came in thick half pint bottles. It was delivered by the milkman early in the morning and sat in the hall until just before lunchtime when it was delivered by boys from the study hall. The milk was always warm. The senior class sold candy bars, and a senior would come to the room with a box of assorted bars from which the buyer could choose. All candy bars were 5 cents each.

There were four interscholastic sports for boys: football, baseball, basketball and track. There were no inter-scholastic sports for girls. The cheerleading squad was made up of mostly boys. Other than chorus and band, there wasn't much for girls to join. When one thinks of the 15 or 16 high school sports today (even water polo in some schools), it boggles one's mind.

DRESS CODES

Hazleton Public Schools will have a dress code next year. Other schools had a dress code of sorts for the past few years. We had a dress code back in the 30's, too. It was formulated, instituted and enforced by MOM and DAD!! Mom, especially, always said, "Your have to look nice when you go out." Girls, back then, always wore dresses or skirts and blouses while the boys, at least some of them, even wore neckties. Male teachers wore shirts, ties and suits and the female teachers wore dresses. Today, some students wear loose fitting clothing and some school administrators are afraid they could hide some sort of weapon or something. We never had that fear 60 years ago. There are a few girls, today, who wear immodest clothing. Some of the attire is not unlike a barbed wire fence ... it keeps you off the property without obstructing the view. Denim was not worn to school. Denim was used in mining clothes and bib overalls which were worn by farmers and little boys.

This casualness has carried over into the church. Today, the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader had a front page article in which many clergymen expressed concern about the way people dress to go to church. I admit, even I am uncomfortable when an usher is dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. Most people would not go to a wake or anniversary party in that attire but go to worship that way. In the 30's, the men wore shirts and ties to church, and the women even wore hats! (Not recommended today, but I thought I'd point out the difference.)

Back then, it was a sign that you respected others by the way you dressed. It's true, as the folks say, that God doesn't care how we dress, but on Sunday, we are the worshippers and should dress accordingly. (Sorry, I don't mean to offend anyone. Anyway, my wife just set fire to my soapbox.) :-)

ONE PARTICULAR HIGH SCHOOL MEMORY

On December 8, 1941, the student body was called to the auditorium to hear President Roosevelt address Congress to ask them to confirm that, "A state of war has existed" between the United States and the Empire of Japan. We teenagers may not have grasped the gravity of the moment, but the demeanor of our teachers indicated it was serious.

In the ensuing months, as many of those present would enter the armed services, we would come to realize how important that moment was. Most of those entering the service were going away from home for the first time, and some would not be returning.

RATIONING AND SHORTAGES IN THE EARLY 1940s

The doomsayers predicted dire events for Y2K including food shortages are fuel shortages. There are those people who can say, "Been there, done that." I am referring to those who experienced the home front during WW2.

During the early 1940's, there was rationing and shortages. Gasoline and tires were rationed. Those who had cars were limited to about 3 gallons of gas per week. Tires were almost impossible to get. It forced some people to put their cars on blocks for the duration.

For the dishonest person who was willing to pay 5 cents per gallon above the regular gallon price of 12 to 15 cents, gas was available. I remember going for a ride with a friend who drove to Wilkes-Barre to a station on what is now the Sans Souci Parkway and observed him buying a full tank of gas at the black market price.

Leather was a scarce commodity and shoes hard to purchase. It meant the shoe repair shops did a record business. There were While-U-Wait shoe repair shops which had little booths in which a customer could sit while his/her shoes were being repaired. People were too modest to sit in public without shoes. (Modesty...a word which is entirely foreign to many of our present generation.) We were able to buy rubber soles in the 5 and 10 cent store. These were cemented with rubber cement to the shoe. Unfortunately, when the shoe was worn and flexed a few times, the toe came loose and would flap when one walked.

Women's nylon stockings were very scarce. When my older sister heard that a store had nylons, she raced from the house hoping to buy a pair before the store sold them all. She always kept a bottle of finger nail polish handy, not for her nails, but to stop runs in the stockings.

Some foods that were rationed were meat, sugar, coffee, and butter. There were no supermarkets at that time and the small "mom and pop" stores would try to save some of these items for their regular customers. (It was illegal to do so, however.) The owners were exasperated when strangers came to buy these scarce items when they were available.

Spam, however, for some reason was not rationed. It was first produced in 1937 and a great deal was sent to Russia and England under the lend-lease agreement. A vast amount was used by the armed forces. (The ship on which I served had about 200 men. One of our cooks was Walter CUREKA, from Plymouth. He knew quite a few ways to serve Spam to the crew. For example, we had fried Spam, or diced Spam in powdered eggs, or diced Spam in cream sauce (in lieu of dried beef) on toast for breakfast. Then, for the evening meal on Wednesdays and Sundays, we had Spam sandwiches.)

I only remember the shortages before 1943 because that was the year I went into the navy. I do remember a shortage of vegetables, particularly potatoes. (Yes, Mr. Quayle, there is an "e" in the plural. :-) ) When we ran short, we reverted to the depression practice of using gravy on a slice of bread. It wasn't so bad. At that time, the government encouraged everyone to plant Victory Gardens and many people did. The garden not only provided fresh vegetables, but it gave the people a feeling of doing something for the war effort.

Periodically, the town would hold a scrap drive on a Saturday morning. There was a shortage of metal, especially aluminum. I wondered at the time, if the mother of the little boy/girl knew that her child was bringing her aluminum pan to the drive. Things got a little ridiculous when some store owners required us to turn in an empty toothpaste tube before they would sell us another.

WAR BONDS

The government encouraged all citizens to buy War Bonds and would sponsor musical troupes to put on a show for that purpose. The show was usually held in the local theater or the high school auditorium. Admission was a War Bond or War Stamps. Since a bond cost $18.75, it was almost prohibitive for a person whose weekly salary was not that much. Employers, with the employees permission, would deduct 25 or 50 cents per pay until there was enough for a bond. War stamps, which cost 25 cents, were sold (even in some schools) and pasted in a book for that purpose. When the book was filled, it could be redeemed at a bank for a bond.

More to Come Soon.