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Branford Battery H
As a Baby Boomer growing up in the 1950s, I often heard references to World War II. My father did not serve in the military, but the culture surrounding the war – the music, the fashions, the cars – formed a backdrop for my childhood in Branford. A girlfriend and I would pack our dolls into our bicycle baskets and ride to a nearby wooded area, pretending that our husbands were fighting in the war and we were escaping the enemy.
At the 2nd annual John Loeb Lecture Series earlier this month, Town Historian Jane Bouley brought that time in Branford to life in her talk, “On the Home Front: Branford During World War II.”
Described as a “hidden jewel” by presenter John Bimonte, Bouley has served as town historian for 30 years, specializing in post-Civil War Branford. A good part of the audience of approximately 100 that filled the auditorium at the Blackstone Library smiled and nodded as she described Branford during World War II.
Sally E. Bahner
John Loeb
Bouley acknowledged the veterans in the audience, including John Loeb, who was stationed on Guam handling “secret papers” that ultimately led to the end of the war with Japan. After the war he served as a Captain in the Army Air Force Reserves.
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Memorial on the Green
In all, 1,403 men and women from Branford served in all aspects the war. That was 18 percent of the population, which was around 8,000 at the time; 82 men from Battery H served all five years and 36 men were killed in combat. Memorials to remember the town’s World War II veterans were placed throughout town at Branford High School and at The Community House, which was rededicated in honor of the veterans in 1981. A three-paneled wooden memorial on the town Green, built around the flagpole with names of those who served painted on it, existed until around 1956. Bouley said its whereabouts are now unknown.
Bouley drew a picture of Branford in the early 1940s just before the start of the war.
The bulk of the population was concentrated around the center of town, Bouley said, Stony Creek and Pine Orchard were mostly for summer residents. The children of World War 1 veterans were teenagers. The town was growing, the Depression was ending, and factories were in full tilt production. England and France declared war against Germany in September 1939. The US was discussing whether to join them, then Pearl Harbor took place on Dec. 7, 1941, and the decision was made. No one in Branford died at Pearl Harbor, though some were serving there.
Martha Quinlan gave a Bible to all servicemen going to war. Mothers of servicemen received stars to display. In the Birbarie family, five sons served in the military.
The Branford Review was the town’s primary source of news and maintained a column on those serving in the military once war was declared. “It was the mainstay,” said Bouley, whose grandmother, Alice Taylor Peterson, served two stints as editor. People also got their news via the radio, including FDR’s weekly talks. News was carefully censored, said Bouley.
Once war was declared, there was a total commitment. “The war infiltrated every aspect of daily life,” said Bouley.
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Teachers at H.S.
It turned out that the school system was the hub of the war effort. (Branford High School, which later became Branford Junior High School and is now Sliney Elementary School, was built in 1928.) Because there was a shortage of teachers, in 1941 it was deemed that married women teachers must be hired. A photograph of teachers included Virginia Moessmang, who coached girls’ basketball at Branford High School for 34 years; Ruth Frishkorn; and Eunice Medlyn – all recognizable to the Baby Boomers in the audience.
Janitors and construction workers were also in short supply and the cost of doing business increased by 25 percent. School let out at 1 p.m., so students could work in the factories; 450 did so and 25 percent of the senior class went to war after graduation. Football was discontinued, but in a photograph of the basketball team, members display basketballs with the years 1943 and 1944.
Raymond Pinkham, superintendent of schools, was known to be sensitive to the effect of the war on the students.
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Scrap pile at H.S.
Schools were involved in salvage drives (overseen by Defense Council, an umbrella agency that coordinated various wartime activities) drew in the whole community with 200 tons of scrap iron collected from abandoned trolley lines and everyday materials. Teachers staffed the draft board, which kept raising the age to serve in the war. Students sold war bonds and war stamps and helped run blood drives. Bouley added that singer Kate Smith of “God Bless America” fame, raised $39 million in ward bonds during a single weekend.
Victory gardens were popular in the community. “There was lots of sharing,” said Bouley.
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Observation Tower at Pawson Park
Observation towers sprang up after Pearl Harbor as a reaction to the constant potential threat. The first one was located on Cocheco Avenue in Indian Neck. Another was in Pawson Park, made from the wood from Brainerd’s windmill in Stony Creek.
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Women Manning Observation Tower
Staffed by many women and men who could not serve in the military, the observation towers contained charts with pictures of every kind of aircraft. Rumors of submarines in Branford Harbor and Lanphiers Cove were never substantiated.
Auxiliary police were hired to supplement the police department. Air raids were held in preparation for enemy attack. Houses were equipped with blackout shades. Cars’ headlights were painted half black. Wardens patrolled neighborhoods to ensure compliance during the blackouts; 13 blackouts took place in 1942 alone.
Much of this activity was under the auspices of the Branford Defense Council, which had a budget of just $500.
Casualty stations were staffed by 200 volunteers. The Gray Ladies knitted garments and made bandages and the Comfortable Society at First Congregational Church collected clothes under the moniker “Bundles for Britain.”
Branford’s manufacturing plants were in full military mode. Malleable Iron Fittings (MIF), Branford’s largest manufacturer, employed 1,400 people casting landing gear for airplanes and mortar shells, along with “secretive work.” Women had worked at MIF prior to the war and they were there in force due to men being at war. MIF closed in 1971.
Atlantic Wire, which closed in September 2008, manufactured balance cables, timing devices, and telephone wire. AC Gilbert, which had five buildings on Branford Hill, manufactured mortar shells, while Johnson Boatworks in Short Beach made boxes for the shells. The Stony Creek Theater was turned into either a manufacturer of parachutes or something related to parachutes – the exact nature is not known.
Despite the amount of attention being paid to the war, there was abundant entertainment. Big Bands serenaded listeners and dancers, and movie-goers viewed lots of war-related films, which were always accompanied by censored news reels. Many movie stars and sports figures served in the military. The Branford Theater during that time was located next to Dunbar’s soda fountain (the building is on Main Street, next to Wachovia Bank). (Editor’s note: For those who love the music of this era, the Glenn Miller Army Band via the Yale Jazz Ensemble will hold a concert Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. at Woolsey Hall in New Haven.)
Rationing, instituted in February 1941 and managed through the schools, was a huge part of daily life during World War II. “It was a complicated system,” said Bouley. “It couldn’t happen today.” The Rationing Board was administered by John B. Sliney who later became Branford’s first selectman.
People became used to doing with less. First, sugar was rationed; of course people hoarded it. When meat became rationed, a Black Market developed locally. Some in the audience chuckled knowingly when a butcher on East Main Street was mentioned. Sausage and baloney became popular. People were limited to three pairs of shoes a year, which doesn’t seem too bad even today.
Rubber of course was rationed, so a permit was needed to buy tires. Gasoline consumption was limited to four gallons a week, later three gallons. “Most people, even then, relied on public transportation,” Bouley said. Buses were most popular since the trolleys were becoming obsolete.
The Office of Price Administration (OPA) decried that prices on 8 million products were frozen. In Connecticut, the program was directed by future governor Chester Bowles. It was also responsible for rationing.
Coffee was also rationed and canned goods, because they were made of steel required a red stamp for purchase. Cigarettes were in short supply so they could be sent overseas for the soldiers (hence contributing to longtime dependence, added Bouley). Silk stockings were valuable since 15,000 pair were used for parachutes; nylon stockings became the norm. Liquor, turkeys, coal, wool, and chewing gum were also in short supply. A shortage of hair dye, said Bouley led to “the disappearance thousands of blondes.”
Since paper-based products were used for boxes for shells, there were no paper bags.
Housing construction was also limited, said Bouley, showing a photo of one of the few houses built in Branford during the war.
Telephone use was restricted, especially for long distance phone calls.
The “Save Fats” campaign became popular. Connecticut alone saved 500,000 pounds a month. Housewives were encouraged to save bacon fat and such, and then bring it to their butchers who paid 4 cents a pound. The fat was subsequently made into soap.
However, Bouley said, there were plenty of weddings and no long engagements. That led to the birth of 76 million babies between 1946 and 1964, 74 million of which are still alive. The Baby Boom led to a predictable shortage of schools, so many of Branford’s schools were built in the 1950s.
When fire sirens signaled the end of war with Japan on Aug. 14, 1945, the town celebrated. Cars drove around with cans dragging, the Stony Creek Fife and Drum Corp marched to the center of town, Short Beachers marched to Nellie Green’s bar. , and many went to church at midnight.
The Re-employment Council was created in the aftermath of the war to help find jobs for returning veterans.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was not addressed or even identified. Some vets became active in veterans’ organizations. Others never again talked about the war. Bouley brought it all back to life.
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An interesting perspective on Branford, WW II and its aftermath can be found in Julia Collins' book "My Father's War." It's about Jerry Collins who went to Branford High and Yale and served with the Marines in the Pacific.