Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know it's been almost a year since I last posted. Time gets away from you...and a year is nothing when we've been talking about a century ago anyway, right?
I've been wanting to get back into things, and I figured I had the perfect reason today. Today is Grams' 90th birthday. It's been a tough year for her and her family. Her dementia has made things sad, frustrating, and sometimes funny for everyone. She lives in a world where those whom she loved - her husband, her sister, her mother - are still alive and well.I hope that, in some small way, this blog also keeps her dad, Howard, alive. She will likely never read it, but I feel like putting these letters out in the universe keeps that flame still burning. I plan to continue where I left off with publishing posts on the date of the letters. This time around, it'll just be 101 years later instead of 100.
So...on to the history part of it. I know this is completely out of context - and not even the right war - but I found something that tied this blog together with Grams. The picture above shows that Grams had a whopping $1.80 in war stamps from World War II.
Here's a little bit of info on WWII War Stamps, stolen from Wikipedia.
The United States Treasury Department began to issue a series of war savings stamps in late 1942. The war savings stamps introduced during World War II were released in five different denominations – 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents, one dollar, and five dollars, all featuring a Minuteman statue. Individuals accumulated their war savings stamps in various collection booklets provided with the purchase of a stamp. Filled collection booklets could later be used to purchase Series E war bonds. For example, a full 25-cent booklet contained 75 stamps and was worth $18.75, which was the initial price of a $25 war bond. Thus, a full 25-cent booklet would be exchanged for a $25 war bond with a time to maturity of ten years.[8]
The promotion of war savings stamps during World War II was closely tied with the promotion of the Series E war bonds. In order to mobilize the home front to support the war efforts ideologically and financially, the Treasury Department’s primary message revolved around patriotism. With support from the advertising industry, which donated $250 million worth of advertising during the first three years of the campaign,[9] war bonds and stamps permeated everyday life. Advertisements appeared as posters on trolley cars, songs on the radio, and movies featuring Hollywood stars like Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope.[9] Utilizing the concept of market segmentation, numerous campaigns were developed to target different populations such as women, immigrants, and children. The Treasury developed classroom material that highlighted the positive impact of war savings stamps while enforcing math skills.[10]
I also got curious about Grams' address: 2323 Goddard Rd. Her house, in the Old Orchard neighborhood, was walking distance from the University of Toledo, where she attended college in 1948 or so for a year before she married my grandfather. Strangely, it's also near Calvary Cemetery, which is where many of the relatives on the other side of my family are buried (no relation to the Goods). The adorable English tudor house was built in 1929 (Thanks, Zillow!). According to the 1940 census, the Goods lived at another place, so they likely had moved into the home recently when Grams was collecting the war stamps.
Happy Birthday, Grams!
