Posted on 08/06/2011 3:27:01 PM PDT by nickcarraway
“No place was too small, too isolated or too ritzy to have a Victory Garden.”—from V for Victory: America’s Home Front During World War II by Stan Cohen Given the enthusiasm with which Americans on the home front generated victory gardens during World War I, a conflict in which there was little likelihood that our existence might be threatened by any of the combatants involved, it is little wonder that our people responded with even greater patriotic fervor after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The two great oceans that had for so long insulated us from the enemies of democracy offered little protection from the modern long-range weaponry being rapidly developed and deployed by Japan and Germany. This was a war that we had to win and win decisively.
During those bleak hours, when all the resources that we could spare were diverted to war efforts against the Axis powers, Americans were asked to do what we have always done: “Lift your head, square your shoulders, set your mind right, and get on with the business at hand, no matter what your talents or passions.” Women flocked to factories to do jobs that men had done before donning uniforms and marching off to war. Men unable to serve in the military—for whatever reason—volunteered for myriad home-front duties. Children gathered scrap metal to be converted to the war effort. People suffered gas rationing and food shortages.
On the domestic front, life was a long way from normal. By January of 1942, the urgencies of the time were felt by essentially every household. Metal of every sort—tin, aluminum, steel—went into the war effort, and tires were immediately put on the list of rationed items, followed soon by gasoline. By November of 1943 the list had grown to include automobiles (for civilian use), motorcycles, bicycles, stoves, typewriters, footwear, silk, nylon, gasoline, and fuel oil, and items familiar to every kitchen: meat (however it came), coffee, lard, sugar, butter, cheese, canned food, even jams and jellies. It was belt-tightening times, and Americans pitched in and cinched the best they could. USE IT UP, WEAR IT OUT, MAKE IT DO, OR DO WITHOUT was the mantra of the day.
In spite of all the rationing and the deprivation, few Americans went without food during these trying times, largely because of the victory garden.
Even without government encouragement, with the outbreak of hostilities, Americans from coast to coast seemed instinctively to know what to do: start growing things. Nobody knew how long the conflict would last or to what dimensions it might grow. The boys were going off to war, so everybody who was left had to pitch in and do whatever was necessary to support them and our allies and to make sure that life continued however it could on the homefront.
Just as in World War I, victory gardens popped up everywhere: in backyard corners, window boxes, rooftops, sunny spots wherever they could be found. Churches, schools, and factories found room for planting. Vacant lots. Parks. Parking lots. Any place would do to grow a few vegetables. (To illustrate the extent to which people engaged in the national passion: San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park had 800 gardens at one point during the war.) Soon enough, though, government agencies became involved, encouraging Americans all across the nation to start victory gardens. Seed companies and other businesses began distributing seeds, tools, and instructions to communities and individuals.
Newspapers and major magazines (Saturday Evening Post, Life, and Ladies’ Home Journal, for example) supported the victory-garden effort, offering instructions to their readers on how to grow vegetables in gardens large and small and how to preserve the surplus. Again, as in WWI, patriotic posters aimed toward the “soldiers of the soil” appeared everywhere.
In 1943 Eleanor Roosevelt planted a garden on the White House lawn, inspiring millions of Americans to follow her lead. That same year the The War Food Administration was established to oversee national efforts through its National Victory Garden Program, which had five principal goals:
lessen demand on commercial vegetable supplies and thus make more available to the Armed Forces and lend-lease programs.
reduce demand on strategic materials used in food processing and canning
ease the burden on railroads transporting war munitions by releasing produce carriers
maintain the vitality and morale of Americans on the home front through the production of nutritious vegetables outdoors
preserve fruit and vegetables for future use when shortages might become worse
There is no way to gauge the overall value of American victory gardens in the war effort, but their impact was immense, whether judged in terms of their economic or psychological contributions.
Official estimates are that by 1944 our victory gardens were producing almost half of all vegetables grown in the country and that at their peak over 20,000,000 such gardens were in action, with a total production of over a million tons of vegetables during the course of the war. If you ever find yourself wondering about whether this country can take care of itself, just consider those figures. Yeah, yeah, I know: But if they didn’t HAVE those things to text on, they might be taught to handle a hoe . . . .
Paul Ruffin, Texas State University System Regents’ Professor and Distinguished Professor of English at SHSU, lives in Willis. He may be reached at eng_pdr@shsu.edu.
The Fenway in Boston still had their “Victory Gardens” well into the 1960’s.
In fact, Boston’s Gardening show on PBS was called “The Victory Garden”.
That was when “Victory” wasn’t a dirty word amongst the liberals, and the enviroweenies hadn’t yet taken over Boston’s “Green Spaces”.
grrrrr.
My great grandmother taught me all about victory gardens. She said that people who didn’t have a victory garden were viewed with suspicion.
Long as your name wasn’t Roscoe Filburn.
I was born after the war; But m,y folks never stopped having a victory garden. Growing up in the projects in Buffalo our backyard was 30’ by 50’. Because we grew it and canned it, we ate better than most.
Now here in Maine, we grow most of our own food.
A few years ago I renamed my front veggy garden to;
.......THE JOHN GALT MEMORIAL GARDEN....
They should do more of this type stuff in the First Lady’s food deserts.
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