Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park

Baking on the WWII Home Front During WWII production of consumer goods in the United States was a lower priority than military production and with good reason. In order to feed soldiers serving overseas, people living on the American Home Front had to live with food rationing and other daily sacrifices. For example, sugar was rationed beginning in May 1942 until 1947. These limitations made household cooking very challenging. Sugar was particularly missed at holiday time, ...when the tradition of sweet desserts tempts everyone’s tummies. Many home front cooks were forced to be very creative with their recipes. As a magazine article of the period states, Sweet nibbling is yours and not a grain of rationed sugar required. Sugar hides in molasses; it’s in the corn syrup, in the honey’s gold; in the maple’s nectar. Better Homes and Garden’s 1945 cookbook recommended using bacon, smoked ham, and sausage fats in place of half the shortening in cake and cookie recipes. They also suggested poultry, beef and fresh port fats could be used in chocolate cookies, nut and fruit cakes. Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park has a few examples of wartime cookbooks and recipes in its museum collection, including the one below. Holiday Coconut Balls 1/3 cup corn syrup teaspoon maple flavoring cup currants cup raisins 1 cup moist coconut Stir the ingredients together to make a stiff loaf. Pack in a small cake tin. Chill in the refrigerator and roll into small balls. Dust with confectioners’ sugar. Source: Rosie the Riveter WWII Front NHP On the Home Front Holidays Cookies and More! Image: Public Domain

"This December 7th, National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, three local survivors of World War II’s Day of Infamythe attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941will share their stories as part of a virtual ceremony filmed primarily atop Mount Diablo. Sponsors of the yearly event, including local land trust Save Mount Diablo, California State Parks, Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors Chapter 5, and California State UniversityEast Bay, are proud to present a virtual celebratio...n this year beginning at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on Monday, December 7th. In a 45-minute video, three local East Bay survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack will recount their experiences that fateful day. Speakers will then pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives and honor those yet living, Lest We Forget the tragedy that befell the country nearly eight decades ago and the way we came together after the attack."

Remembering Pearl Harbor 79 years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt declared December 7th, 1941 a day that would live in infamy. Today we remember that day and those who were lost. We also remember everything that began on December 8th, 1941. Unprecedented mobilization began in every facet of American life now that the distant threat of war had reached American shores. Normalcy was upended and reinvented as wartime life stretched ahead of everyone for an unknown length of ti...me. This year, echoes of 1941 sound more familiar to more Americans than they have in decades. A global pandemic changed people’s day to day experience overnight. It has disrupted everyone’s life to some degree. We all await a finish line that is uncertain and may not be obvious when we arrive. When the pandemic has ended, effects will linger. Time for grieving will be necessary, for some more than others, and remembrance of past tragedy can serve as a testament to the depth of our compassion and the resilience of our spirits. We invite you to join us in our remembrance, and hope that you find something you need today in memories of the past. For more information about Pearl Harbor and the WWII Home Front, these are great places to start: https://www.nps.gov/rori/learn/index.htm and https://www.nps.gov/valr/learn/index.htm

Temporary Suspension of Information Tabling At Rosie Visitor Education Center Starting Monday, December 7th, 2020 Due to a current statewide regional stay-at-home order, tabling at the Rosie Visitor Education Center will be discontinued until at least Jan. 4th, 2021. This order may be extended based on future conditions. Please continue to check our website for updates. ... www.nps.gov/rori See more

Happy birthday, Kay! As we approach this Thanksgiving holiday, we want to wish the happiest 97th birthday to our amazing Rosie docent and volunteer, Kay Morriso...n! We are working to share as many Rosie stories as possible, but we can't do it without your help! Please consider donating at https://bit.ly/Rosies-forever She made history...working for victory as a Journeyman Welder from 1943 - 1945 in Kaiser Richmond Shipyard #2. We miss seeing her and listening to her speak at the Visitor Center about her experiences on the home front, and we know she misses seeing all of you! Stay safe, and stay thankful... Happy Thanksgiving! #wecandoit #rosietheriveter #honor #wwiihistory #rosieforever #rosietrust #thankful #thanksgiving #legacy #rosie #WWII

In recognition of Native American Heritage Month, we remember with gratitude the contributions made by the people of the Acoma and Laguna pueblos of New Mexico to the city of Richmond, California, and to the defense industries in Richmond during World War II. The connection between the two communities began when the Acoma and Laguna people negotiated a verbal agreement with the Santa Fe Railroad in 1922. The agreement permitted the railroad to build its tracks across Acoma a...nd Laguna land at a suitable distance from the pueblos in exchange for the promise of jobs with the railway. Acoma and Laguna people rode the train from their long-established homes in New Mexico to the end of the line in Richmond, CA. The railroad provided housing for these workers and their families in boxcars in an area that came to be known as the Santa Fe Boxcar Village. By the early 1940’s and the US entry into World War II, as Richmond’s population boomed due to an enormous expansion of ship building and other defense industries, the Boxcar Village housed between 30 - 60 families. The Laguna boxcars were painted gray, the Acoma’s were painted a burgundy red, but the two groups got along harmoniously. Families built outdoor ovens so they could continue to make traditional foods and breads. The children learned English at school and spoke Keresan at home. The community held its own elections, continued traditional practices and maintained close ties with their home pueblos in New Mexico. Men and women worked for the railroad, in the Kaiser shipyards and in other industries supporting the war effort. Following World War II, the railroad company built tract houses, complete with traditional wood ovens, for the people of the Santa Fe Boxcar Village and the boxcar houses became a thing of the past. In 1982, the village was officially shut down. According to Ruth Sarracino Hopper who grew up in the village, 90% of the people returned to their pueblos in New Mexico at that time. One resident, Kurt Medina, persuaded the railroad to move his tract home to San Pablo, California, where he continued living in it for almost 30 more years. For more information about the Santa Fe Boxcar Village, see the oral interviews on this topic at the UC Berkeley Regional Oral Histories Project. https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/BancroftNativ/OralHistories Photo courtesy of Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park, RORI 5208 [The Bertha Hicks Papers consist of: three (3) 3.5" x 3/5" color photographic prints of the Richmond, CA Sante Fe Indian Village (also known as "Boxcar Village"). Dated August 1968. Photographs include images of Bertha's family members. Bertha Hicks was resident of the Santa Fe Indian Village from 1943-1956 and a former employee of Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front NHP.] Bertha Hicks Oral History: https://tinyurl.com/y6xw62xa