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Ration calendar for such products as; sugar, tea, coffee, and butter20th Century, August 1943
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Credits:Oshawa Community Archives
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Ration Book Stamps20th Century, 1939-1945
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Credits:Oshawa Community Archives
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Ration Book20th Century, 1939- 1945
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Credits:Oshawa Community Archives
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Items such as liquor and beer were rationed separately and civilians were required t get a permit to purchase these items.
"You couldn't get a lot of things. No bananas, oranges sometimes. There were plenty of apples. Even cans of fruit with sugar, jams, and jellies all needed a coupon because sugar was rationed. I'm not sure about beer and liquor. I know there were only so many allowed each month. You could get it but you had to have a permit to buy it. Anything that had sugar in it you had to have a sugar coupon. A lot of people saved their sugar ration because they canned fruit. My mother didn't can anything. Things were tough, really tough. We just came out of the dirty thirties and then there was the war." -Murray Mackay
"You could buy 26 ounces of booze a month and you shared it with friends." - Lee Rolson
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Liquor Permit20th Century, April 1, 1952
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Credits:Oshawa Community Archives
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Gasoline was also rationed during the war effort through the use of Gas ration coupon books.
"Of course we tried [cutting back on gasoline]. We had no pleasure trips, just back and forth to work." - Clara Lucier
"I vividly remember my father's windshield sticker was 'AA' which allowed him the least amount of fuel of all the various categories. People like doctors, etc. had, I think a 'D' sticker which was probably the largest." - Bill Wells
"We didn't get enough gas for recreational driving if you had to drive a certain amount of miles to work." - Elmer Lewis
"Dad had an 'AA' sticker on the car because he picked up so many passengers to drive to work in Ajax. Dad had to pick up 3 or 4 people to qualify for the 'AA' sticker." - Murray Mackay
"Tractor gas was dyed purple and you were fined if you were caught using it in your car." - Oshawa Senior Citizens Centre
"They used to put purple die in the gas for tractors - Farmer's Gas. If you got caught with purple gas in your car you got in a lot of trouble. A lot of people just put their cars away for the war. My-father-in-law would save up all his coupons for the year and go to Parry Sound in the summer. People put their cars away because you couldn't get tires. They didn't last either - they were made of reclaimed rubber" - Murray Mackay
"On our days off we would borrow, beg and steal to get gas coupons to go skiing at Mt. Tremblant. To get gas to go to Montreal you had to scrounge around. If you were in the back seat you put your feet into paper grocery bags to keep warm - heading to Mt. Tremblant."- Lee Rolson
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Gas Rations20th Century August 31, 1943
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Credits:Oshawa Community Archives
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Rationing affected not only the civilians but also the small businesses in the area as it was difficult for all to get supplies.
"It was hard to get supplies you didn't know if you would get your shipment. You worried day to day... In those days friendships paid off." - Lee Rolson
"Cavalry Baptist and Gospel Hall on Nassau St. gave chocolate bars for attending their programs. The children were very disappointed if they ran out and gave popcorn instead." - Oshawa Senior Citizens Centre
"We'd all go down to Ward's to get nylons. Sometimes we couldn't get nylons so we'd get liquid makeup and put that on our legs and draw a line down the back. We used eyebrow pencil for the line."- Marion Manning
"It was difficult to get stock to sell during the war years. If a shipment of nylons came in we had to ration them out." - Lee Rolson
"At 14 years of age I obtained a part time job in North Loblaws on Simcoe St. North. There were a number of things not rationed but [rare] stocks of peanut butter and shortening and lard [were sometimes available]. Whenever a local came to [the] store that included these things, one of the store employees would be required to bring a cart load of the items onto the sales floor. I had to bring one such load of Crisco onto the floor and within seconds of my appearance, I was pinned against the load by a throng of screaming, clawing, pushing, punching women that had absolutely no regard for my well being. When I was able to escape, my clothes were askew, my store apron was gone and my black bow tie was vertical instead of horizontal. It was truly frightening." - Bill Wells
"Everybody was in the same boat. There was more camaraderie." - Murray Mackay
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People lined up down the street to purchase War Bonds20th Century 1939-1945
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Credits:General Motors of Canada Archives, Oshawa
Oshawa Community Archives
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General Motors of Canada girls demonstrating what can be made out of very little20th Century 1939-1945
General Motors of Canada, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Credits:Arms for victory, General Motors of Canada Limited; Oshawa Public Library R.S. McLaughlin Branch
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Salvaging (R6)20th Century, July 10, 2006
Credits:Oshawa Community Archives
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Comic strip to help influence salvaging of lard and fat20th Century 1939-1945
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Credits:Oshawa Times- Gazette, 31 August, 1943, Canada
Oshawa Community Archives
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"Me, my brother and some friends were standing near the spot where fat was dropped off when a lady dropped off a pot of fat. She said to give the movie tickets to us." - Stan Hall
"Children took items such as string, milkweed, rubber and newspaper to school. They had competitions by row to see which row of children brought the most." - Oshawa Senior Citizens Centre
"They used to have rubber drives, and we would take rubber and aluminum pots and pans and take them to the Armory." - Murray Mackay
"Tires were in short supply. They were used until they were completely worn through. Then a patch called a boot would be applied - these produced a rough ride - noisy too!" - Oshawa Senior Citizens Centre
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Advertisement asking for scrap metal, with proceeds going to the Red Cross20th Century, January 13, 1944
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Credits:Oshawa Times- Gazette, Canada
Oshawa Community Archives
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