Salvage Drives
During Victory Days, Oct. 3 – 5, 2008, salvage centers will be set up throughout the perimeter of the living museum to demonstrate salvage drives. While we will not be collecting fat or tin, we will have salvage drives for cans and/or bottles purchased onsite. If you are interested in volunteering (to work at a salvage center, set-up, sponsorship, etc.) please e-mail April Christl at thvictorydays@aol.com or send her the volunteer registration form on this website. |
One of the aspects of the WWII home front that will be displayed at Victory Days is the Salvage Drive. The sacrifice and contribution shown by the men and women who went to war was obvious to everyone, but those who remained at home also contributed in a variety of ways. Collecting salvage was one way mothers, fathers, wives and children and tried to help the soldiers as the focus at home turned to war production.
Americans salvaged thousands of tons of scrap during the war in response to a shortage of vital types of goods.
What types of things were collected?
Metal drives collected tons of metals, including tin and aluminum. Old pots and pans, tin can, any types of metal, were collected. Empty toothpaste tubes were even collected for the tin that was in them. A Portland, OR public relations expert, Jack Bristol, told an Oregon State Defense Council official to "drive home to the individual that what he saves is important. One discarded toothpaste tube is admittedly not worth a tinker's damn --- but if all the tubes that are squeezed dry and discarded in Portland every morning were gotten together, they would constitute a respectable poundage of pure tin."
Cloth was also in short supply during the war. All cotton was commandeered for the armed forces, so civilians turned to materials such as rayon for new clothing. Silk and nylon stockings were recycled to help produce powder bags and parachutes. A young lady going out on a date or to an event might use her eyebrow pencil to draw a line down the back of her leg so it looked as though she had on silk stockings.
Rags were shredded to make shoddy, a fibrous material that could be used to make blankets or uniforms. Shoddy was also used to make roofing felt for bombed homes in England.
The amount of rubber salvaged from one old tire made several pairs of boots for paratroopers or several gas masks. A thousand old galoshes (rain boots) provided all of the rubber needed for one bomber or could help make the treads for an armored tank. 165,000 pounds of rubber was needed to outfit one battleship. Young people in towns all over America collected rubber, rags, metals and newspapers, all for the War Effort. 
One of the more unusual items to be salvaged was fat and grease. Meat markets or butcher stores were salvage sites for housewives’ excess fat. Women were told to use what they needed to care for their own families, but they were asked to save what was left. When they had a pound of fat, they took it to a fat salvage site and turned it in. Why salvage fat and grease? There are significant amounts of glycerin in fats, and glycerin was an important ingredient in explosives. Imported oils were significantly affected during the war, and glycerin was also used in other war necessities, such as antiseptics and skin treatments.
Young people played a particularly large role in the salvage drives. Boy and Girl Scout organizations and groups formed at elementary and high schools collected tons of scrap from all over America. Victory Days will have several opportunities for guests to see salvage in action.
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