 
Tponetom
Member
Username: Tponetom
Post Number: 25
Registered: 06-2007
| | Posted on Monday, July 02, 2007 - 3:51 pm: |    |
Detroit had something to offer anyone and everyone in the Forties.
I do not know when the word, “oxymoron” was born. It would easily describe the euphoria of
the country coming out of the Depression and at the same time the despair of our young men
dying in foreign countries. Gee, does that sound familiar? Well, that is how it was. Lots of
work, lots of money and very little to spend it on. Rationing was rampant but so was the Black
Market. Gasoline was around 20 cents a gallon but if you had to buy BM ration stamps, it would
cost you and extra 25 cents per gallon.
I had a part time job after school that paid me 6 dollars a week. A few days before shoe rationing
began, I bought a pair of wing tip oxfords for $ 5.49 from Flagg Brothers Shoe Store. It was
THE store for hepcats to buy their shoes. The price included a ‘dye’ job that was usually
universally, ox blood, in color. I had a talisman attachment to those shoes. I finally discarded
them around 1995, with a tear in my eye.
Schmitz and Shroeders was the men’s clothing store for suits and accessories. $ 29.95 for a
brown gabardine ‘Drape’ suit. Now wait a minute. You just did not buy it off the rack. You
tried it on and then the tailor came out to check the fit. He might say something like, “Just a
minute son, that jacket looks a little too long on you. Oh, you have a ‘long’ let me see if I can find
a ‘regular’ for you.” And he would come back with a ‘regular’ which was shorter in length. Then
he would measure the length of the trousers. He measured my right leg and then, surprisingly, he
measured the left leg as well. Hmmm. That one was 3/4" shorter. (When I got hit by a car about
4 years ago and broke my leg, the leg stopped growing. The bottom one/third of the femur bone
is that of a ten year old boy. That is another long story.) What is remarkable is that it took a good
tailor to tell me that my left leg was shorter than my right. Go figure.
When you walked down any street in Detroit, you would look at the front room windows of every
house, the maze of blue stars made you proud, the scattered silver stars made you pause and the
gold stars were a shroud of reality that could not be altered.
Entertainment venues were erupting. The Avenue Burlesque, National Burlesque, and
Empress Burlesque were all downtown. Club 509 on Woodward, downtown, the Gay Haven on
W. Warren, Mickey’s Show bar on W. 7 Mile and the Sweetheart Bar on Cass or was it Second?
And there were many, many neighborhood hot spots. The Connors Show Bar and the
Conn-Warr Bar were popular. Why three Burlesque shows? I think they were for the
convenience of all the 18 year old, baby-faced service men who looked more like 14 or so, who
would not be served in some of the bars.
I have, many times in the past, thought those war years were just a rehearsal for many
encores to come, and sadly they did. |
Jb3
Member
Username: Jb3
Post Number: 61
Registered: 06-2007
| | Posted on Monday, July 02, 2007 - 6:27 pm: | |
Thanks Tponetom! |
Eastsideboy
Member
Username: Eastsideboy
Post Number: 4
Registered: 06-2007
| | Posted on Monday, July 02, 2007 - 7:17 pm: | |
Where did you grow up? |
Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 1599
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Monday, July 02, 2007 - 8:59 pm: | |
The end of the war. Yup, I remember it, although I was just short of my 9th birthday. It had rained earlier that day, and I was pushing a toy PT boat (all toys then were 'war' toys) through a nice puddle behind our house on Sorrento near Fullerton. My mother ran up to me excitedly hollering "The war's over!", over and over.
We climbed into the family car, a '40 Chevvy, and headed toward downtown on Grand River. By the time we got to Oakman, the cars were all heading downtown all across the street....there was no westbound traffic at all, and no room for them.
Horns honked. People were on roofs, trunks, running boards, rumble seats, and hoods. Quickly manufactured signs appeared everywhere: "We hit the Jap pot" and "We REMEMBERED Pearl Harbor" were two that I recall. By the time we hit the Boulevard, everything was stopped and backed up. We sat there for a good hour, honking the horn, shouting, shaking hands, and a lot of dancing in the street. Guys in uniform were hugged, kissed, and God knows what after dark.
By the time it got dark, around 8 or so, Dad pulled away from the crowd and somehow found a restaurant where we went in and had dinner. That was a big event for me, as we hardly ever went to restaurants in those days. Think I had a burger.
Most important, I knew that my brother and two dear uncles would be eventually coming home safely (dad was a WW I vet), and they did.
Helluva day. I'll remember it always. |
Bulletmagnet
Member
Username: Bulletmagnet
Post Number: 754
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - 10:18 am: | |
Thanks for sharing that memory, Ray1936. I wondered what Detroit was like at the end of that war. It would be one of the places in time I would love to travel back to. |
Mikeg
Member
Username: Mikeg
Post Number: 992
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - 11:53 am: | |
While Detroiters celebrated VJ Day in the streets near their home, there were many other Detroiters who were far from home that day, still in the service of their country. There was for them, a brief time of celebration, but as you will read, the focus immediately turned to making a rapid and orderly return to civilian life.
On VJ Day (Aug. 14, 1945), my father was a US Coast Guardsman aboard the USS Davenport, which was docked in Reykjavik, Iceland. When the unofficial word of the unconditional Japanese surrender came in the pre-dawn hours of the morning, the noise of sirens and whistles in the harbor woke the crew, who at first thought that they might be under attack. Later in the day after the official announcement, the crew of the British destroyer HMS Shikari invited the USS Davenport crew over for some “grog” to celebrate the end of the war.
I have a photo of the teletype messages that the USS Davenport received that day from the Secretary of the Navy (James Forrestal) and the Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet (Admiral Jonas Ingram). It was read aloud by the ship's captain and later posted for all to see. Here is that teletype and a transcription follows it.
From: Secretary of Navy
To: All naval ships, stations and units
All hands of the United States Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard may take satisfaction in the conclusion of the war against Japan and pride in the part played by them in accomplishing that result.
The demobilization of the Armed Forces of the United States and the return to conditions of peace will create problems taxing patience and control almost as great as the tensions of war.
I ask that the discipline which has served so well to bring this democracy through hours of great crisis be maintained to the end that nothing shall mar the record of accomplishment and glory that now belongs to the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.
(Signed) James Forrestal BT 142301 AR
From: Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet
To: All ships, stations and units in the Atlantic
I congratulate the officers and men of the Atlantic Fleet for a job well done. I am proud of your tireless efforts and of the splendid results achieved. On this memorable day let us all give thanks to Almighty God for bringing complete success to our armies. We now face a difficult period of readjustment in which the virtues of loyalty and patience must be emphasized.
Let us maintain the high standards of performance and leadership achieved in war while all commands concentrate on material and personnel excellence in reorganizing to meet post war conditions. It is my fervent hope that you will have early opportunity to visit your homes and be reunited with your families. BT 142302 AR |
Bulletmagnet
Member
Username: Bulletmagnet
Post Number: 762
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - 6:00 pm: | |
Thanks for the details Mikeg. That helps color in the big historical picture. Let us hope a letter similar to those will come to our forces in our lifetime. |
Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 1606
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - 6:11 pm: | |
During the war when I was in grades 1-4, I acquired an early habit of reading the newspapers regularly. Well, I probably turned to the comics first, but yes, I did read the news articles since the war interested me (with relatives serving).
That started a habit I cannot break today. I must start my day by reading the local newspaper from page one to the want ads. When I was still in Detroit (pre-84) I subscribed to both the News and Freep.
I'm a little saddened that newspapers seem to have had their glory days, as fewer and fewer people read them due to TV and the internet.
Their loss. |
Bulletmagnet
Member
Username: Bulletmagnet
Post Number: 764
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - 6:21 pm: | |
Hey Ray, remember during the war, the papers in this country wanted the U.S.A. to win. That’s another thing that has changed here. Sad.
Happy 4th of July, Ray! |
Tponetom
Member
Username: Tponetom
Post Number: 35
Registered: 06-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - 7:07 pm: | |
3-D Detroit Newspapers.
In the forties we still had the Detroit Times as well as the News and Free Press. Free Press had open boxes with a tarp cover on Bus Stop corners.
More than a few 'free loaders' would lift their hand up to the box, feigning the dropping of three pennies in the box, and then taking a paper. Home delivery of the Times or News cost 28 cents, 3 cents for the daily and 10 cents for the Sunday. The carrier, (me,) received a penny for the daily and 3 cents for the Sunday. With a 50 customer route you should make $ 4.50 a week, but you could depend on 2 or 3 customers not paying. Guess who took the loss.?
And yes, Ray, the morning paper habit is still there.
Mikeg: Great Addition!
I had a classmate, 17, in our Junior year, December, 1944. He enlisted in the Navy with his parents consent. He served on the USS Indianapolis, which delivered the first atom bomb. He did not survive the sinking on its return back to base. Celebrations or not, there were more tragic stories than I care to think about. |
Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 1607
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - 11:08 pm: | |
"Hey Ray, remember during the war, the papers in this country wanted the U.S.A. to win. That’s another thing that has changed here. Sad."
Yeah, that got turned around during Vietnam and it hasn't changed yet.
Tpontom, that sinking of the Indy was one of the most dramatic stories of WW II. Fascinating that you knew one of the victims of that tragedy.
Detroit Times was up to a nickle and 15 c for Sunday by the time I got my route. LOL |
Bulletmagnet
Member
Username: Bulletmagnet
Post Number: 766
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - 11:50 pm: | |
Any of you old news boys here care to tell us a little about your trusty steed, the velocipede? |
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