No. 55 April, 2008
December 7, 1941
Recollections of the Second World War
By Louette Wippermann Ostermann
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
December 7, 1941 - I was one month short of turning eight years old, when the news came over the radio that we were bombed and at war. I was attending Elm Grove School, Township of Mosel, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin on the shore of Lake Michigan.
In spring when the snow melted, a neighbor girl and I took our coaster wagons up and down the country roads from the neighbors to collect newspapers for the scrap drive. The money we received was put into stamps for bonds. In fall we went around the area picking milk weed pods from the roadsides and meadows. These were turned in for cash and for stamps, also. The downy milkweed fluff was used to insulate bomber jackets and other light weight items for the military.
Another source of money for stamps was the huge pickle patch my father planted. It produced well. I weeded the patch and picked the cucumbers. Small pickles brought 3 cents per pound, medium 2 cents, and the large one cent. It was an advantage to pick thoroughly each day so the pickles didn't get too large.
Living on our large dairy farm meant we were quite self sufficient for most foods except the rationed sugar and coffee. My father saved on his gasoline stamps by using the horses as much as possible. Therefore he was able to trade with the city relatives for sugar stamps so the fruits we raised could be canned for winter. I remember my aunts giving up their ration of shoe stamps so growing children and men could get shoes. Our home was heated with wood and some coal on cold winter nights. The kitchen cook stove used both gas and wood.
Our farm was two miles from Camp Haven, a training camp for army personnel. It is now the Kohler Whistling Straits Golf Course that Tiger Woods visits often. Planes would fly over Lake Michigan trailing long white nylon targets. The soldiers would do target practice on them. When practice time was over, the targets would be released and dropped in the area. We collected them, they were very sturdy material, lasting for years and years. Mattress covers, pillow cases, or anything else needing tough material were made from them. Nothing was wasted.
German prisoners of war were housed nearby and worked at the Lake shore Canning Company. My Dad was able to hire some of the young fellows, some only in their teens. They came with the canning company trucks for pea season, to load the pea vines by hand on the trucks. This was back breaking work. The men were happy to do it, as they said "it is better to be a prisoner in America than to be fighting war". They really didn't want to fight and never attempted escape. Technically they were to eat food provided for them. But at our house, my father insisted who works here, eats here. They relished the sumptuous meals served to them.
My fifth grade teacher, Mrs Violet LaRouche taught us how to cut old wool coats into slippers for men in the Veteran's Hospital. My first crochet lessons came from her as she taught us how to single crochet around each piece and then sew them together, fashioning the slipper.
I remember feeling really important and patriotic as we did all these things and scrimped or gave rationed items for the war effort. I had several cousins who were overseas fighting. They were my heroes.
Written for the Sheboygan Historical Research Center. 2007
copyright, 2008, Louette Wippermann Ostermann
Louette, 74, the mother of ten children, lives in Sheboygan on the Shore of Lake Michigan. Her interests include family history, genealogy, her children and grandchildren's activities, Lutheran church work, playing piano, traveling, writing letters, and making quilts.