Cecelia Stolowski
How was your family affected by World War II?
We were rationed a lot of food. We had small amount of sugar and so on.We also had rations of gas. The way we would purchase the rationed items was by a coupon book that we would get once a month.
Was anyone in your family in the war?
Not that I know of.
Where did you go to school?
I went to Hill Top School in Wilson County.
What was school like during World War II?
We had to walk 5 miles to school. We had to walk through pastures when it was freezing cold and when it was dark outside. The teacher would pick us up from that 5 mile point. At school we were all in one classroom. All the grades were put togther in one room even though the school house had two rooms. The room was about 1800 square feet. It was also bulit out of wood and the roof was tin.
Was the war discussed at school by the teacher?
No. Never. The teacher didn't want us to be afraid of what was going on.
What really stand out in your mind from World War II?
The black outs. They would have black outs were you had to hang heavy clothes over the doors and windows so that you couldn't see. It was already just a lamp burning, you know a karosine lamp.
Did your family discuss anything that was going on in the war?
They really kept it away from the kids. They didn't want us to be scared about the war.
What kind of home did you live in at that time?
It was a two bed room house.The girls had to sleep in one room and the boys slept in the other. It didn't have running water and we had a karosine lamp, no refrigerator, a wood stove. The house was built out of wood and the roof was made out of tin.
What would you use since you didn't have a refrigerator?
Well, if we wanted meat or chicken we would have to butcher it. We would have to butcher it and clean it to have it for dinner. Most of the time we would have beans and stuff that wasn't meat. We usualy had meat on Sundays only.
What were prices like during the War?
I really don't remember cause it was so long ago. It was cheap but at the same time expensive to the people who didn't have money.
Was it important to go to school?
My parents really didn't care. If we went to school fine if we didn't that was ok. We had to stay home and work anyways.
What would you do when you had to stay home and work?
We would have to stay home and pull corn, harvest the hay and stuff like that. Dad would go to the market so we would have to pull squash, okra, and tomatoes.
Was that what made up your income?
Yes.
How did you get to the market?
Dad had a real old beat up looking truck.
Did ya'll have any social gatherings like we do today?
The only thing that we would have would be like for Christmas, Easter, or Mother's Day. All my aunts and uncles would come over. Thats the only time we would have social gatherings.
Were did you an grandpa meet?
We met at a Lubianski's dance hall.They were having a town dance and we both were at the same place at the same time.
When did ya'll get married?
It was October 9,1948. I was 18 at the time.
Then did grandpa go to war after ya'll got married?
Yes. His job during the war was picking up dead bodies and bring them back.
Where did he work after the war?
He went to work for the Pearl Brewery. He worked in the plant for 36 years as a bottler. He then retired from the can plant.
Do you think World War II seems as important as war today?
I really don't know because war was never talked about. We had no radio's or TV's so we never knew what was going on.
This interview has been an eye opening experience for me. It has shown me that times have changed greatly. My grandmother has endured a lot of hard times which has made her the great person she is today. She is a very brave and knowledgeable person even if she was only able to attend school until her freshman year. It shows me that one person can go threw many changes in a life time. She has gotten the pleasure of seeing houses that have no indoor plumbing to now living with plumbing, AC,televison, and a large amount of technology. It is hard to imagine that they lived off of taking crops to the market. Today it would be impossible to live off the money they had. I know if I could be anyone from the past it would have to be my grandmother because the past has made her such a great person.
Schoenherr, Steve.
World War II Timeline
http://history.acusd.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/start.html (April 9,2003)
This is an amazing web site when it comes to looking at the WWII and the events that happend over the years. When you go into this web page it has a timeline that you can click on and it will go into detail about the important events during that year.
Pearl Brewery Company
http://www.beercollections.com/BCTX620.htm (2000)
This web site is a great historical page. It tells the history behind Pearl Brewery Company. It tells when it was opened and what has happend in between the years of its opening and close in 2001.
Joos,Cassandra.
Women's Work Experience During and After World War II
http://www.u.arizona.edu/ic/mcbride/ws200/claud-joos.html
An amazing web site on the lives of women during WWII. It tells how women were housewives, nurses, and much more during the war. It tells that men weren't the only people who fought in the war.
Truman Presidential Museum & Library
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/50yr_archive/50yr10948.htm
This web site is great site to see what was going on October 9,1948. It is a great example of how the world has changed over the years. It also displays how the presidents job has hardly changed over the years. They still have the same problems today as they use to have.
Nachuan, George.
World War II Greenbelt
http://www.otal.umd.edu/~vg/mssp96/ms18/project3.html#society
This web site is a good site to show what black outs were during the WWII. When you go into this site click on Society on the main page it will take you to an article on society and in that article it tells about black outs. It also shows what people would use during black outs.
Long, Christopher.
TSHA Online
"The Handbook of Texas Online." http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/WW/hcw12.html
(December 4,2003).
The history and back ground of Wilson County is explained on this web site. It is a good way to learn about how Wilson County came around to what it is today.