"We must save them to protect our soldiers in case there is a gas attack by the Germans," said Gussie to her husband, Alvin. The children, too young to understand this discussion about the Great War, were playing a game of tiddledywinks on the worn wooden porch as their parents conversed quietly while rocking gently in the porch swing after a busy day of working on their farm.
"I heard talk down at the barbershop that the farmers are going to save the shells of nuts too," said Alvin.
"Well, I guess if everyone does what they can there will be enough to burn to make the activated carbon needed to make the protective gas masks for our soldiers," said Gussie. "This year I'm not going to add the stones when I can the fruit, even though I think the fruit tastes better with one added to each jar."
Alvin smiled as he thought about the peaches that were ripening in their fields and the sign he'd seen in front of the high school earlier in the day that said, "Do your bit, Save the Pit."
Now, go check out what other bloggers have written for their SSS - Peach. Just click on the link above. If you are able, I hope you will be able to enjoy some peach shortcake like this one available at a local farm store as you read the stories.
It is amazing how WW I brought communities together and caused them to improvise. Great job on the SSS. I like it.
ReplyDeleteIn spite of the terrible things that happen during war times, there are also positive things that take place and bonding of people as they try to make do when a loved one is away fighting the war.
DeleteI'm glad you liked the story.
really! I did not know about that (the role of peaches in the war effort)... very informative. and a good Six, the 'invitation' to visualize a farm porch c. 1918 is irresistible.
ReplyDeleteIt is one of those pieces of history that I didn't learn in school. The internet fills in the missing pieces again for me.
DeleteEveryone really did try to do their part then, didn't they? Well told!
ReplyDeleteI hope people will always have a desire to do their part, and not just in times of war.
DeleteThanks for stopping by.
How right you are for it was the Great War and WW2 that really got everyone back home all doing something to help the war effort (I'm referring to the UK as I came from there). We kept chickens during WW2 and one poor chicken laid an enormous egg which my brother and I sold raffle tickets for to aid the war effort. I can't remember how much we raised but the Authoities sent a letter back thanking us for our help in the war effort.
ReplyDeleteThat is so interesting about you and your brother selling raffle tickets for the enormous egg. Do you still have the letter from the Authorities? What a great memento. I was quite young when WWII ended, but I still remember seeing some of the OPA red ration tokens, and hearing my mother explain some of the things that were necessary to do during the war, like blackout curtains, and her sacrificing shoes for herself because I needed two pair each time because of my club foot that being corrected. I was probably 4-6 years old when she was telling these things to me.
DeleteA great story . It's amazing how people come together in a time of crisis and the ideas they have to help in a small or large way. Not everyone can physically fight in a war , but there are so many things they can do to help.
ReplyDeleteThat is so true. My own father wasn't allowed to go overseas and fight because he was flatfooted, but he was in the army serving in the military postal system. There are so many stories about women making socks for those that were serving during the war, and women who took jobs in factories because the men were off fighting the war, just to name a few.
DeleteLoved your story , Pat. It was nice to get a glimpse of those times through you story and comments. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I'm glad you enjoyed the post and the comments.
DeleteThis was a fascinating piece of history told in wonderful story form! This was something I'd never heard about before, so of course I had to go and read more, I love the Internet! Now I have to see if Papa Bear is aware of this. He read my story and saw the photo and is now asking for peach cobbler this weekend. :-) The peach shortcake you are showing here looks delicious too!
ReplyDeleteLike the others, I am proud of how citizens of our country came together during those wars, everyone did what they could. My father and my uncles served in the military during WWII and my mother worked as a telephone operator in Portland, where she was staying with her sister. I wish they both were still alive to share more of their memories from that time. There is a point to the quotation "United we stand, divided we fall", something everyone in our country really needs to think about now.
Oh, I'm glad you and your husband enjoyed learning about this piece of history. My husband wasn't aware of this part of history either.
DeleteWas it Portland OR where your mother lived? That is where my grandparents lived during WW 11. My grandfather worked in the shipyards there. My mother and I lived there too for a while before the end of the war.
I so agree with your last statement about the need to stay united. It seems that there are so many fractions, and so many people who do not know about the past.
Didn't know that - very interesting. Love how you bring in these bits of history.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lisa. I'm glad that there are things that I am learning and sharing through blogging.
DeleteI just got educated. I didn't know about the pit campaign for gas masks, and I hadn't heard of putting a pit in the jar for flavor. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that a little SSS could share a little bit of knowledge.
DeleteI like this piece of history that you have shared with us. It is educational and has a natural flow of fiction. Well done, Pat. And, by the way, that peach dessert looks yummy.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Val. I feel like such a beginning in trying to write fiction, but every once in a while things click.
DeleteThe peach shortcake with ice cream was very delicious. The picture was taken last summer, but I will be having another one sometime this summer at the same little stand.