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The Beer Meister: A Fourth of July tea party

Fireworks, franks, festivities: Americans mark July Fourth

<p>The Fourth of July, 1941, was pretty much a flop.</p><p>For weeks the people of Wyoming Valley had been looking forward to an air show, as well as the usual Independence Day festivities. But rainy, overcast weather grounded the planes, and it was difficult to picnic, set off fireworks or do much of anything else on so soggy a day.</p><p>It appears that everyone just shrugged off the inconvenience, though. Seventy-five years ago today, folks had more important concerns than the loss of some holiday entertainment.</p><p>With German troops occupying much of Europe and North Africa, and Japan growing increasingly threatening in the Pacific, Americans rightly feared that war would soon engulf them as well.</p><p>The U.S. was not &#8211; technically speaking &#8211; in the war yet. That was still five months away. But a glance at newspapers of 1941 shows that tucked in among the daily reportage was the occasional story about a nation getting inexorably ready in case the worst came.</p><p>In January, public officials began studying about precautions to take should there be air raids. That same month the 109th Field Artillery was called up for federal service. Defense contracts of many kinds were being signed with the area&#8217;s industry. A plant at Berwick announced that it had just built its 1,000th tank for the Army.</p><p>None of that was comforting news.</p><p>Preparedness wasn&#8217;t just something that someone else was doing. It was filtering down to the average household as well. Later in the summer of 1941, federal authorities ordered a 10-percent reduction in the gasoline available to civilians. The more astute probably realized that the next step would be rationing of fuel, and perhaps of other commodities as well to provide for the military.</p><p>Young people were not exempt. The area&#8217;s high schools were already requiring boys to take wrestling and radio operation, while the girls studied first aid. The military draft that would take millions out of their civilian lives was being set up, and men were being assigned priority numbers. Some didn&#8217;t want to wait. The area&#8217;s Marine Corps recruiting office reported record enlistments.</p><p>Organizations of all kinds were finding ways to help meet what looked like an inevitable national emergency. Nurses began joining the military, ready to go wherever needed. The local Boy Scouts formed an &#8220;emergency safety corps,&#8221; while the USO raised money to help make the lives of service men and women easier.</p><p>No one knew exactly what was coming. Late in the year a &#8220;Reserve Defense Corps&#8221; began 24-hour patrols of the area&#8217;s bridges, believed to be likely targets of enemy bombs. Communities began practicing blackouts, dousing all lights to confuse the enemy overhead. A school for air raid wardens, who would supervise the blackouts or &#8211; worse still &#8211; the response to actual air raids was opened.</p><p>Even before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, restrictions were kicking in. Wyoming Valley merchants were advising customers to shop for Christmas early because of rumors that production of civilian goods would soon be reduced or halted entirely. Fearing &#8220;hoarding,&#8221; grocers began limiting the quantities of staples like flour and sugar their customers could buy.</p><p>Is there a message for our time in the year of 1941 and its &#8220;missing&#8221; Fourth of July? Maybe! At the very least, we should enjoy our holidays when we can, and perhaps think back to our predecessors who made those holidays possible for us.</p><p>Hey, have a great Fourth!</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Remember When </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TOM_MOONEY-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Remember When </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Tom Mooney</p><p>Remember When</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Tom Mooney is a Times Leader history columnist. Reach him at tommooney42@gmail.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Remember When: July 4 wasn’t always about fireworks and backyard barbecues