Just a Kid from Hell's Kitchen - In Remembrance of TC Murray

FDR created more alphabet soup agencies to address the problems of the war. The Office
of Price Administration, the OPA, is perhaps the one that most Americans my age
remember. Conservation of supplies needed for the war effort was the major objective of
the OPA. Rationing of these essential war materials, therefore, became nonessentials for
those of us over here. It seemed to me at the time that almost everything was rationed –
everything from soup to nuts. Yes canned goods, including Campbell’s soup and
Planter’s peanuts, were limited. The local butcher had limited supplies of meat. I heard
reports that horsemeat was substituted for beef in some steak houses, and rumors
abounded that cat was served in select Asian restaurants. Ugh! Ladies had to forget about
nylons. Parachutes took priority. Both mom and Aunt Betty smoked cigarettes and were
only too happy to roll their own in support of the war effort (for less than a dollar one
could purchase a Bugler, do-it-yourself cigarette maker kit, replete with a rolling
machine, a package of tobacco and the paper). Nothing like, rolling your own. The OPA
issued tokens and ration books containing stamps for items that would help us win the
war. Like Prohibition, the “black market” flourished. You could get nylons and other
scarce commodities at the right place (if you knew where to look) and at an inflated price.
Caveat: Violations of OPA regulations could result in a $10,000.00 fine and
imprisonment. If mom ran short of OPA stamps, Max Ciffer, our grocer; Al the butcher;
or Marty, the shoe-store owner on 9 th Avenue and 52 nd Street, would be more than happy
to “help out” a fine Irish lady. We survived the Great Depression with our “meatless” and
“wheatless” days. Sacrifice was called for, and most assuredly, we were up to the task.
The bottom line for wars, like almost everything else, is money. We learned this during
our Revolution and from the wars that followed. The United States had to finance the
largest war in history. Financing the war was done to a large degree by the selling of war
bonds. Like the Liberty Loan drives of World War I, bond drives were held throughout
the war and brought in considerable revenue. As an elementary school student, I
remember buying a twenty-five cent war stamp each week and pasting it into a bond
booklet. Some months later, my fellow students and myself, achieved our goal of filling
the booklet with seventy-five stamps – enough to convert the booklet into a war bond at
the 60 th Street Post Office. We did our part and felt good about it. Major bond drives
were held many times during the war in New York City. Times Square was one of the
focal points for these drives. Movie stars entertained and for purchasing a twenty-five
dollar bond you might get an autograph from Betty Gable. Why, for a hundred dollar
bond, you could wind up with a kiss from the G. I.’ s favorite pinup girl. Battery Park
was another favorite spot for bond drives. The purchase of a bond would get you a ride in
New York Harbor on a L. S. T. (amphibious troop transport) – quite a high indeed!