I had no idea that my grandmother Seligman was an Asst. Sector Air Raid Warden during World War II.I could not find much on the internet about the duties of these wardens, but I think they were responsible for insuring that during air raid drills, the neighbors complied with the Civil Defence regulations.
I can remember hearing my mother talk about rationing of most staples such as sugar and meat and even gasoline, tires were hard to get so retreads came into general use. There were paper drives and collections for many things made from metals of all kinds. Savings bonds were widely sold as a patriotic gesture, it was a first time savings vehicle for many during that era.
The attack on Pearl Harbor I am quite sure was what spawned the need to create this department and from what I can determine was manned (and womaned) primarily by volunteers. Take note that card refers to "him" as though women were still considered "second class".
I was so impressed by this card that I just had to share with everyone. It would appear that although my grandmother's house was always neat and clean, she was a bit of a pack-rat. I am glad she was!
2 comments:
Your Grandfather was the block air raid warden [too young for WWI & too old for WWII ... On 7December'41 they were at Griffith Stadium to see a Redskin game; they knew something was wrong when the public address system incessantly paged Admiral this, General that, Senator whosis, Secretary of ___ ehatsis, etc., but didn't find out what 'til later; Dad tried to enlist the next day, but was told "Too old". Being Area Warden made him your Grandmother's boss in effect ... good luck ! ... Every home was required to have blackout shades/curtains and during alerts [real or practice], wardens were responsible for patrolling their
assigned areas to ensure compliance ... there could be absolutely no light showing from any building or other source. Things don't change much: the place to be in DC to see the powers that be are Redskins games & Opening Day of the baseball season ... which was absent for many years, but back, now -the only difference was then they didn't allow assholes to throw out the first pitch on opening day- soon to change ... nice thing about growing up when and where I did, we had tickets to everything ... Mussie and Homer Musselman had season Redskins' tickets and our next door neighbor, Carl Sickles was VP of the Pipefitters' Union and had a reserved box right next to the 3rd base [visiting team] dugout] and I could go whenever I wanted !!)
As far as paper drives ... I got to meet Rita Hayworth at the Washington Monument at a rally for those who won chevrons and certificates for collecting the most paper over the course of the year ... I may be one of the last who remembers who Rita Hayworth was !
COOL!
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