1940's Experiment

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Coal gas had been used as a means of powering delivery vans during the first world war and in the late 1930s Citroen, in France, had designed a car which had a built in gas generator rather than a conversion bolted on. It looks quite elegant.
38_Citroen_Traction_Avant_DV-06_AI_04.jpg

Complete with bag of coal
 
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Thanks for the link Steve. I enjoyed that.

I remember my mum's old magazines that showed pattern layouts for cutting the fabric for ladies' clothes from old men's suits.

My sister grew up in feed sack dresses. I in handmade jeans made from dad's old ones. McCalls made the patterns and they came with a variety of collars, sleeves, and trim.

We had a large garden and chickens, mom canned everything, and so we always ate pretty well. When dad and I went to the feed store, mom sent a patch of fabric, and we had better not come back with the wrong fabric.

During WW II, everybody was involved. Aside from raising your own food, schools had paper and tin can drives. Moms canned and made clothes. My dad was an air raid warden captain. We pasted stamps in a book until we had a full book. Then traded the book for a war bond.

I still have dad's gas mask and helmet, a half filled war bond book, and ration coupons and tokens.
 
For those of my generation who had parents who grew up during the Depression, our parents knew what they had to do during WWII. They had already lived through it during the Depression. Nothing went to waste. Leftover food often became hash the next night. My mother already knew portion control when she became a wife. :angel:
 
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Without wishing to be being political, the system used from the late 1920s through the 1930s in Russia lead to severe shortages even before the war.

For sure, who can argue that. The rationing continued thru out the end of 1948, maybe longer, cannot remember. The system was not approved by people, such is tyranny. But millions died during that time due to starvation, millions. So, I just cannot feel bad when I read about Depression years. For many in Soviet Union the food people had here would have been a huge Holiday feast. Sadly.
:(
 
I know that there are those who follow the "Meatless Monday" trend ... thinking it might be fun to do "Depression-era Tuesdays." This would mean adhering to only buying/preparing ingredients that are in season, local and common--so no exotic ingredients unless you live where the ingredients are available...kinda like the 100-mile challenge. Anyone in?
 
I know that there are those who follow the "Meatless Monday" trend ... thinking it might be fun to do "Depression-era Tuesdays." This would mean adhering to only buying/preparing ingredients that are in season, local and common--so no exotic ingredients unless you live where the ingredients are available...kinda like the 100-mile challenge. Anyone in?
I mostly do that anyway. I don't feel deprived because it's the way we always did it. Nothing tastes as good when it's flown thousands of miles as it does when it was grown a few miles up the road (or in your own garden). It makes seasonal produce a treat. I always look forward to the very short English asparagus season (and budget for it) and only ever eat asparagus then. The best thing to come out of Peru was Paddington Bear, not asparagus :)

I went shopping today and out of interest looked at the display of apples in the supermarket (I usually buy my fruit and veg from the greengrocer). The English apple season is just getting into its stride. The s/market had apples from Chile, France and Germany but not a single English apple!
 
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I went shopping today and out of interest looked at the display of apples in the supermarket (I usually buy my fruit and veg from the greengrocer). The English apple season is just getting into its stride. The s/market had apples from Chile, France and Germany but not a single English apple!
Quebec grows a lot of apples. I usually find a one to three week window when I can buy organic Quebec apples.

Why would I want apples from the southern hemisphere at this time of year. Those apples must already have been stored a half a year. We get those here too. I don't buy them.
 
I've enjoyed reading through this thread. Here's a link to some recipes and booklets that outlined the rationing efforts in Canada during the time of the Second World War.

Canada Rationing

My grandparents were young adults during this time and their influence on my own youth does still carry forward at times when I strive to make a good economy of the resources we have.
 
i guess my maternal grandfather was the only one who used the black market to supplement their rations. :ermm:

geez, he must have bought a lot of stuff to keep it all going by himself.


actually, my mom said that since he owned a bar and was his own bartender, he used to get an occasional freebie or extra rations from the restaurant next door, or from a customer short on cash.
 
Well, my mum would probably have used the black market to get some extra chocolate, but she was in a strange country and I don't know if she could find it.
 
Mom's family had farms. Dad's family were not well off and I am sure they made use of whatever they could get their hands on, either legally or illegally. My Paternal Grandmother was the Queen of the 40 pound buffet visit.
 
I mostly do that anyway. I don't feel deprived because it's the way we always did it. Nothing tastes as good when it's flown thousands of miles as it does when it was grown a few miles up the road (or in your own garden). It makes seasonal produce a treat. I always look forward to the very short English asparagus season (and budget for it) and only ever eat asparagus then. The best thing to come out of Peru was Paddington Bear, not asparagus :)

I went shopping today and out of interest looked at the display of apples in the supermarket (I usually buy my fruit and veg from the greengrocer). The English apple season is just getting into its stride. The s/market had apples from Chile, France and Germany but not a single English apple!
I generally cook using what I have on hand, and usually that means what I've taken out of the garden. I too only eat asparagus when it is in season here (harvested from the fence lines--not the store). I remember only eating things that were in season growing up and that still makes sense to me, except I really like having fresh limes and lemons...
 
i guess my maternal grandfather was the only one who used the black market to supplement their rations. :ermm:

geez, he must have bought a lot of stuff to keep it all going by himself.


actually, my mom said that since he owned a bar and was his own bartender, he used to get an occasional freebie or extra rations from the restaurant next door, or from a customer short on cash.

Bucky, there was a boat-load of bartering. My guess is that your grandpa was grand central for those seeking a trade. :) My dairy-owning grandma would have definitely bartered after she gave what she gave to the war effort.
 
Bucky, there was a boat-load of bartering. My guess is that your grandpa was grand central for those seeking a trade. :) My dairy-owning grandma would have definitely bartered after she gave what she gave to the war effort.
My grandfather bartered (well, accepted barter offers) in exchange for medications (he owned a pharmacy). Sometimes he'd come home with a chicken, a gallon or two of milk (including the cream), other times with a braided rug or a woven rag rug. He accepted what people could afford to offer in exchange for their medications. I still have one of those braided rugs and a couple of the rag rugs. My mother used to tell me stories of the things her dad would unload from the car after a day of rural deliveries. My grandmother was a gifted cook, seamstress, and very frugal. She also was a very optimistic and loving person. I don't think my grandfather made dandelion wine because it was so great tasting--on top of living in a very remote part of MN, my grandparents also lived in a dry county.

Because of the changing demographics where over 80% of the population in NA live in urban/small towns, most people would be hard pressed to adopt a self-sufficient lifestyle. We do our best to grow as much of our food as possible, and we'd probably do okay if we were suddenly faced with the hardships our ancestors faced during the Depression and WWII, but it wouldn't be fun. I would hate to go without Internet!
 
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I would miss the Internet the most. I likely no longer have the stamina and strength to live off the land., but I do have the knowledge.
 
Sort of along the line of efficient gardening and 1940 I hope. Anyone try the hanging basket tomato, strawberries AS SEEN ON TV thingy? I did. Not good, lol. It looked good in the TV infomercial. I may try it again someday as I bought two full sets. Not good. It came out...not good. lol.

I also was into "square foot" gardening back in the late 80's. I think PBS even had a series about square foot gardening. I may try that again someday. That is truly 1940's inspired vegetable gardening. Maximizing space.
 
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