August • 2010 • NEWSLETTER

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Dear ##firstname[Friend]##,

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Everyone from the World War II era was touched by the conflict in some way, or perhaps you have a relative or ancestor who helped push the Allies to victory. To celebrate the 65th anniversary of Victory in Japan Day, which marked the end of World War II on Aug. 15, 1945, and is commonly known as V-J Day, we’re giving this month’s newsletter a patriotic flavor.

—John Burlingham at Reminisce

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In this issue:

• Victory Rings Out in Ashland
• Picture from the Past
• Stirring Up Memories
• Time Capsule Trivia
• Over the Back Fence
• A Thought to Remember

Victory Rings Out in Ashland

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By Don Boyd
Gun Barrel City, Texas

The courthouse bell in my hometown of Ashland, Ohio, was always rung to announce high school sports victories in the 1930s and ’40s.

On Aug. 15, 1945, when we heard on the radio that Japan had unconditionally surrendered and the war was finally over, it was only natural that we jump on our bikes and head for the courthouse to ring out the good news.

As we were ringing the bell, a reporter stopped by and took our picture (above) and obtained names and ages. He wrote an article about the event that appeared later in the local newspaper.

The boys pictured, from left, are Dave Bothoman, Tom Stafford, Phil Rogers, Dick Dilgard, me and Don Staley, all ages 10 to 14. Six years later, Don would be the best man at my wedding.

Click here to see more Nostalgic Stories.

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Picture from the Past

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Home at Last! These four pals, representing several of the armed forces, got together for a souvenir photo of a fake bar scene in Times Square, New York, after arriving in 1947. Pictured, from left, are Bob Salmaggi, Richie Cias, Jimmie Holtzman and Eddie Salmaggi. Jim shared the photo from his home in Tampa, Florida.

Click here to see more Pictures From the Past.

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Stirring Up Memories

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By Susan Ognibene
Snyder, New York

When I started teaching in 1969, an acquaintance gave me some of her “leftovers” from her teaching career. Among the items was a letter from the National Dairy Council dated April 1944 and addressed to elementary school principals. It accompanied this brochure (at right), titled “We Share Our Ice Cream,” informing students and families that some ice cream was being temporarily diverted to World War II armed forces as a means of maintaining morale and good nutrition.

Black Forest Ice Cream Pie Recipe

It was a valuable lesson in self-sacrifice for young children and an excellent means of showing how they could aid in the war effort.

To make great use of your ice cream, check out this mouthwatering treat and other fabulous summertime recipes, all online, from our partners at Taste of Home.

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Over the Back Fence

Amusing morsels and bits of wisdom overheard and read here and there.

Aircraft Factory: Night Shift

Anita Nichols of Louisville, Kentucky, shares this inspiring poem by Frances Frost that captures the emotions many war workers must have felt in the 1940s.

The walls are shaken like monstrous rattles;
And never halting their furious battles,
The great machines, as midnight starts,
Roar out their rage with hot steel hearts.

Outdoors, the night is lit with stars.
In here, the titan of all great wars
Beats in the blood, sharpens the eyes
That build new birds for avenging skies.

I’ve a son in the air and a son at sea,
And the younger fellow looks much like me.
The elder—twenty—looks like his mother.
They’re sons of America, brother and brother.

My hands are steady upon my lathe,
My heart is strong with a workman’s faith.
Swift and brown, the hot oil pouring,
Washes parts that will soon be soaring.

Other fathers as well as I
Think of their boys as the night ticks by
And wonder if somewhere across the Earth,
Where the hell breaks high on the young soul’s worth,

Those kids we’ve loved from their first loud breath
Are laughing straight in the face of death,
And if they’re thinking, with hearts that lift,
Of their dads who fight on the midnight shift.

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Time Capsule Trivia

Although state and county fairs were typically held in September and October in the good old days, August is the month of many fairs in the modern era. Try to match the clues with the movie title that includes the word “fair.”

1. Rex Harrison plays a snobbish phonetics professor who agrees to a wager that he can make flower girl Audrey Hepburn presentable among members of high society in this 1964 musical.

2. One of Elvis Presley’s lesser known movies, this 1963 film’s tagline included this phrase: “Swinging higher than the space needle with the gals and the songs…” The film, set in Seattle and also starring Joan O’Brien, Gary Lockwood and Yvonne Craig, includes the songs One Broken Heart for Sale and A World of Our Own.

3. This 1945 musical, a remake of a 1933 film, features the Oscar-winning song It Might As Well Be Spring and stars Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes and Vivian Blaine, among others. The film was remade again in 1962 with Pat Boone, Bobby Darin, Pamela Tiffin and Ann-Margret playing some of the lead roles.

4. Co-directed by Gene Kelley and Stanley Donen, this 1955 musical features Kelley, Dan Dailey and Michael Kidd as three ex-GIs who meet in New York City 10 years after their discharge and find they have nothing in common. That is until a program coordinator wants to bring the three men together on a live TV show. Musical highlights include Cyd Charisse’s Baby, You Knock Me Out and Dolores Gray’s Thanks A Lot But No Thanks.

5. In this 1952 film, Percy Kilbride and Marjorie Main reprise their roles as the wacky parents of “the family that made laughter a national pastime.” At a county fair, he enters a trotter in a horse race and she competes in baking to raise college tuition for their daughter Rosie.

Movie titles: A. State Fair; B. It’s Always Fair Weather; C. Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair; D. It Happened at the World’s Fair; E. My Fair Lady.

Click here for the answer to Time Capsule Trivia.

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A Thought to Remember

Whatever you do, do it with all your might.

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