America Calling - US Civilian Defense

Gentle Readers...Now may be a fine time to query...

Among Other Items of Miscellany in Life

What actually was a Blackout During WWII?

One Gettysburg, PA resident and a World War II Veteran recalls blackouts and drills this way: "These drills were meant to prepare Americans in potential air attacks." The first signal all "yellow" siren warning gave alert that volunteers had about 15 minutes to get nearby emergency shelters ready and ready for "lights out" (black out) by turning out all lights, pulling the blinds and snuffing car lights in your areas of patrol or watch. 15 minutes following the "yellow" siren warning, a "blue" siren warning meant actually turning the lights out (black out). Now, if the "red" siren warning was sounded, you knew enemy planes were nearby somewhere and the searchlights were supposed to be lit."

Fortunately, Providence Happens In America, Even During WWII!

We are delighted to report that No Red Siren or Blackouts were actually necessary, except... of course, during Drills in the United States!

Not so very fortunate were other countries of the world during WWII.
Many

experienced constant and devastating 

demolishment by barrage after barrage of Air Raids.

Below you'll hear brief recollection from one who actually witnessed
the absolute horror and sheer terror of aerial warfare.
 The strafe of

fighter planes and the flair of munitions were seen
juxtaposed amidst the beauty of England, ...

Now, let's move from this sodden ground and onward a bit. 

We must not continue without emphatic comment that, while there were no actual air raids in the United States, there most certainly were infiltration attempts into America and among her citizens during WWII.  Through espionage Spy Rings, Covert Operations and multiple other attemps to access her shores, America remained united, stalwart and strong through times of increasing struggles during this tremendously harsh era of war.

So then, what shall be your next question of miscellany? 

You know the answer to that...

engaged and intently gentle readers!

Who or By What stroke of benevolent genius and grace united American valor in uncommon protection of themselves and their shores in the fight against predatorial enemy advances?

America Ingenuity Came A-Calling!  (That's who or what!) 

May 20, 1941 marked the United States' renewed, revised, yet all new emergence for a  federal emergency war protection agency known as the Office of Civilian Defense (OCD).  As America hurtled nearer involvement in World War II, President Roosevelt, 'neath the gentle influence of  Eleanor Roosevelt, herself,  created this Office by Executive Order 8757.  The OCD would co-ordinate state and federal measures for protection of civilians in the case of war emergencies!  President Roosevelt appointed the Mayor of New York, Fiorello H. La Guardia, as the Director of this Agency.

The OCD had four operating units and...Mayor La Guardia

further established the following entity by Administrative Order, 9:

December 1, 1941, the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) was created as part of the Office of Civilian Defense. Major General John F. Curry served as the first National Commander. During World War II, the Civil Air Patrol engaged civilian pilot resources to aid the war effort! It was reported Civil Air Patrol pilots sighted 173 enemy U-boats and sank two, during WWII.

The OCD served in preparation and protection of the civilian population, should Americans find themselves under attack, on American soil....

American Democracy At Her Best! 

Aptly supervising protective functions such as special fire protection, the OCD also provided services and instructions for blackouts and a plethora of other war needs from housing, public morale and transportation to child care.  Other OCD jobs included establishing and supervision of air-raid procedures, in the event of an attack.

Through promoting volunteer service, and co-ordination with other federal departments, the Office of Civilian Defense and Volunteers proudly and duly served the needs of a country engaged in dire war.

We Bid A Huge Fare-Thee-Well and thank-you

to the Office Of Civilian Defense and Volunteers

of yesterday! 
Humbled by their efforts,

Every American Rested A Bit Easier

at work and home
whilst they were busy

Protecting Americans

And American Soil

during WWII.

GOD BLESS AMERICA...

In Summary...

OBEY YOUR AIR RAID WARDEN NOW?

Hubba, Hubba and Kisses.

Note:  The Office Of Civilian Defense (OCD) was terminated by Executive Order 9562, June 4, 1945 whilst The Civilian Air Patrol (CAP) proudly maintains a truly worthy relationship with the USAF today.  With the aftermath of World War II, The Civilian Air Patrol became a civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force engaging in endeavors of benevolent nature.

Ten Hut! Air Raid Drills, Black Out Drills and The US Office of Civilian Defense

May, 1941

DEAR AMERICA:

Ten Hut!

We Are The U.S. Office of Civilian Defense.

We've got your backs and your shores!

THERE IS GONNA BE A WAR!

Love, Regards, and Best Wishes

US Office of Civilian Defense!

Join us next, as we SALUTE the capable efforts, and role of the US Office of Civilian Defense WWII  Era!

ALL OF ME...CAROLE LOMBARD

One witness reported...

"It was a beautiful clear night and you could see for miles. It hardly seemed minutes before the plane faded away over the Charleston range when I saw a flash and then big tongues of flame rising from the mountainside. The plane cracked in two like a piece of kindling wood."  

Shock spread throughout the nation.  War time America!  Exactly when every man, woman and resource of hope, inspiration, sustenance, empowerment, humor and joy was so desperately needed on the homefront and in the campaigns....an element SIMPLY CEASED TO BE, IN THE SPAN OF A MOMENT.

Songs by Crooner Russ Columbo
Said to be Carole's Great Love

January 16, 1942, Carole Lombard, accompanied by her beloved mother, was returning home to California from a successful World War II Bond Drive Rally in Indiana at the behest of  then President Roosevelt. Some say "by the toss of a coin",  heads or tails, homeward bound by train or plane was determined.  That's it then...determined by a simple gesture and perhaps exactly as Lombard had wished it to be... in a plane, along with fate to accompany them, they knew their last entombment of life.

As they boarded the Transcontinental and Western Airlines DC-3 airplane that would take them home, Caroles' final words to the admiring fans and crowds wishing her well and adieu were a reflection of her ever selfless dedication to her country in a time of dire need..

"Before I say goodbye to you all, come on and join me in a big cheer! V for Victory!"  And the crowd blushed, cheered, applauded and bade their, indeed all of Americas' legend... goodbye.

After refueling in Las Vegas, TWA Flight 3 took off and 23 minutes later, crashed into "Double Up Peak" near the 8,300-foot (2500 m) level of Mount Potosi, 32 miles (52 km) southwest of Las Vegas. All aboard, 19 passengers and three crew, were killed.

The Great Carole Lombard had died.

Shocked silence and devastation reverberated world wide in the wake of news announcing Carole Lombard's death.  Fans, admirers, family and friends retreated into a somnabulant pose as they mourned the loss of their heroin, their legend and the girl next door.

After her death, the Van Nuys News ran an unusual front page tribute: "Down deep in their hearts, those who had chatted with her over the back fence or across a garden row knew that Carole Lombard wanted more than anything else to be a model housewife and a good neighbor. And she was just that. She was a lovable person, just as much at home in blue denims and gingham's as she was in furs and jewels.".

Gone forever to mortals, was one of the most amazing Actresses America had ever possessed. While her life was, fleeting, her stardom remains enduring and enchanting, with the bittersweet melody of  the essence and epitome of a tragic ending. Carole's was a story that never made a full play unto the end...literally, some still say, by the flip of a coin.

In a world where mere written words fail emotion and are lacking inexplicably in the most part, what I actually mean to say here, communicate, or divulge, I find it best to share the aura of the woman, Carole. But remember, gentle readers? This is presented through the myopic vision of one who dearly admires her legend, is a sentimental and soft hearted sort identifying with her on so many levels. Knowing full well that there are those among us who yet inhabit today and can recollect or verify vague and indeed vivid memories of Carole Lombard far better than I,  please bear with me as I am merely and only able to study her from history, and share with you, gentle readers,  gleanings.  In sharing, I will spare "many the's minutia" and particulars which made up her life in total, naturally.  I hope to inspire, within your very hearts, a totally new emotion,  the thrill of revelation and unveiling of an Iconic Legend who once inspired thousands...this woman, and unforgettable character of altogether Carole Lombard....an American Legend.

Carole was writ large in signifying, expressing and embodiment of one of the Greatest American Legends of All Time. She was then embued with a flavor seemingly of other worlds beyond our grasp and is now truly in every sense of the word...celestial.

Alongside any loyal coterie of Lombard fans, it can easily be agreed that Carole was a classic and timeless beauty with undefined sexual allure for her own time and history. For all intents and purposes, she was always charming and verbose, witty and intelligent, playful, capricious, hinted at intrigue and remarkably kind hearted.   Admired and loved by many, as well, for her genuine sense of humor and direct language, she had won American hearts in a time when the country had been drowning in the Depression .  Her High Spirits and love for the world, apparent bounce and energy coupled and tippled together have touched my heart and found me tossing back a few 'ello and oh' deah endearments. She too, was the girl next door.  What an unrestrained contagious and remarkable approach to life, Carole possessed!

Razzz Ma Tazzzzzzzz, I Did IT..Again! LOMBARD!

I Said I Wouldn't Do "An Exposé" on the 1930s and 1940s Hey Day again for just a bit.
I was actually off  of the wagon for an hour or so...
then contrarily and  Goodness Gracious, 'Mes amis'!

By Darn, if I am not, good and righteous, back on the wagon again!

Jeff, most debonair, handsome and fine gentleman of the Social Club,

here's to you and the wicked good inspiration...

The Paying of an Homage to the Legend and memories of  Carole Lombard

all

whilst launching a

tuppence of whispered yet, "blissfully kissed memories on the brow"

to the one who dearly loved

her most tenderly of all...

Clark Gable

and only a million adoring, thronging fans.

Hitch Your Star to the Wagon

Whilst the Fireworks of  Romance and Intrigue Unfolds

and soon

Let the Star Power Begin?

Carole Lombard, An American Actress

"You're getting to be a habit with me!"

For all intents and purpose

I'm not going to "Take it on the heel and toe" 1930s style, just yet!


Hubba, Hubba
Jolene

Going Rogue With Vintage Bungalow Gal!

First off the top...anyone want to get down and dirty with retro ingenuity as Jolene goes Rogue?  That's right! You've heard it here for the first time! Vintage Bungalow Gal, Jolene, is going Rogue and you're invited!

Prepare for Utopian enthusiasm, global enlightenment and immersion as we get cracking again, gentle readers!

Rogue along with yet another sidelong glance, into the glamorous and attitude filled era of the 1930s and 1940s! Let's turn on the heat and fire up the range whilst you prepare to read and experience one of the most scintillating journeys you've ever taken!   Shall we discover, together gentle readers... a few inventions of gadgets, gizmos, and history?!



Second off the top,...not necessarily fodder for the fainthearted,  I simply hadn't known it before or perhaps had taken it for granted, but I can confidentially declare that..."History can never be pronounced dead and we shan't be surprised to find that it remains in most excellent of health and a guiding beacon to all in a plethora of ways!" . 

We tend to remember the 1930s and 1940s in a plethora of ways, don't we? WWII images and reminders of the "Era of The Greatest Generation", the Dust Bowls' effect, Victory Gardens and Swinging to Big Bands, I'd suppose, are carved into and unto our remembrance of this generation. The impact of these once in a life time images and memories all too often means we fail to see so many of the amazing changes the era was experiencing in "making their world and the future more livable"! Many inventions derived of yesterday, we oft times assume always were and don't question their beginnings.

I do now know and also fully understand, after indoctrination and browsing through tons of old sepia photographs, color pictures, seeping and searching like a brew of warm liquid tea through varied portals of yesterday, all for the genuine pleasure and a wee bit of writing for this blog, that yet more surprising  findings of this era often challenged of my own pre-conceived assumptions, as well! Nice run on sentence, non?

What of the "the Americans of the 30s and 40s"?  I'd hazard a guess they greatly appreciated awakening from a society that once, in an earlier day, may have encouraged deep slumber in any number of ways.  Awakening, pleasantly surprised, only to find themselves in a society that rained and purveyed upon them all the nuances and the multiplicity of ingenious inventions!

As we go Rogue, we'll begin to look at those beginnings,...let's start at an age when Television was in her infancy and radio still provided virtuosity, variety and giddiness when times would allow....

From FM radio, drive-in movies and the jet engine of the 1930s, we re-introduce:

Inventions of the 1930s

1930-The first quick-frozen vegetables, fruits, seafoods, and meat were sold to the public for the first time by Birds Eye Frosted Foods®.
1930-General Electric introduced the electric kettle with an automatic cut-out
1930- Sunbeam Mixmaster  first mass marketed after patent in 1928
1930- Scotch tape
1930- First Shopping Cart which was improved for years as is any and all good in life
1930- First Television Commercial
1931- U.S. patent for World’s first electric dry shaver.
1932- First tape dispenser with a built-in cutter blade
1932- First parking meter (what were they thinking?!)
1933- The first flexible stainless steel, all-metal ice tray
1933- Polyvinylidene chloride or Saran (After World War II, met approval for food packaging)
1933- Synthetic surfactants. Each part of the "miracle molecules" executed a specific function--one pulled grease and dirt from the clothes, while the other suspended dirt until it could be rinsed away. This discovery was introduced in a detergent called "Dreft"
1933- First Drive In Theatre
1934- Monopoly claims
1934- Road Reflector or Cats Eyes
1935- First Canned Beer
1935- Automatic answering machine
1935- Scotch Brand Cellulose Tape
1935- Radar Patented
1935- In-Sink-Erator Garbage Disposal premiered after ten years in the making
1935- First automatic refrigeration system for long-haul trucks
1935- Prontosil, the first sulfa drug, by a German Scientist
1936- First Sun Screen
1936- Colt Revolver Patented
1937- The process called Xerography (Photocopier)
1937- CBS begins its TV development and The BBC begins high definition broadcasts in London
1938- Freeze-dried coffee was first produced in 1938 leading to the development of powdered food products
1938- LSD Synthesized
1938- Ballpoint Pen
1938- Teflon
1939- First Presidential Speech Showcased at Worlds' Fair
1939- First Successful Helicopter
1939- Electron Microscope
1939- View-Master
1939- Automated teller machine
1935/
1942- Found polyethlene, Acrylic or polymethyl, Nylon, Neoprene (silk and rubber synethics), Silicone and Polyester patents

And then along came the time of  WWII when the freeze-dried process was developed commercially when it was used to preserve blood plasma and penicillin,  and electric rice cookers...may we re-introduce:

Inventions of the 1940s

1940- Color television system

1940- JEEP !

1940- America’s most successful depilatory lotion, NAIR

1941- Aerosol Spray Can

1942- Bazooka Rocket Guns (I went Rogue)
1943- Tide detergent and introduced years later as the first heavy duty detergent
1943- American microbiologist made the drug streptomycin
1943- Silly Putty properties found

1944- Kidney dialysis machines

1945- Slinky
1945-Microwave oven
1945-The Atomic Bomb which turned the world in veritable madness (Rogue again!)
1946- Mobile Telephone Service
1946- The modern day espresso machine was created
1946- Bikini-Gadget, Gizmo, Electrifying, What Have You (Rogue here!)
1946- Automation
1947-Pocket calculator (four-function, mechanical)
1947-Transistor
1947-Polaroid camera
1948- Patent for a method of the mass production of penicillin (An Ounce of Rogue here!)
1948-Long Playing Record
1948-Plastic version of FRISBEE!
1948-Holography

1948-The Dream of Velcro was born, yet not patented until the 1955s. Ahhhhmm...Just saying is all!

1949-Atomic clocks

1949- Cake Mix
1949- 45 RPM Record
1949-Silly Putty ® Mass Produced, selling faster than any other toy in history with over $6 million in sales for the year. Ohhhhhh, darling...call me putty in your hands!

And here, some wicked bad prices, from across the country, both far and wide... that may look most excellent today, my gentle readers, but a fortune to the purveyors of connoisseur of yesterday...prohibitively expensive!

1930s and Prices...

Electric Toaster $9.95 1932

Electrolux gas Refrigerator $144.50 1939

 (Note:  With the advent of Freon, the refrigerator market enjoyed growth during the 1930s.)  Separate freezers became common during the 1940s, the popular term at the time for the unit was a "deep freeze". But these devices or "appliances" did not go into mass production for use in the home until after World War II).
Westinghouse Cleaner with attachment kit $39.95 1939
Westinghouse Wringer washing machine $59.95 1939
Tappan Gas Range $69.95 1939
Emmerson 5 tube bedroom radio $9.95 1938
Philco Auto Radio $24.95 1938
Electric Flat Iron $1.49 1935
Electric Movie Projector $3.95 1935
Fridge Six Cubic Feet all steel cabinet stainless steel super freezer
New GE Thrifty Six (I'll have Seven!)
Philco Radio "Complete with built in Ariel Tuning system, ultra high fidelity and able to pick up stations from countries around the world Air, and Police and shipping all in a single bound!"

1940's and Prices...

Electric heaters $8.50 1946
Record Player / Radio Combination $59.00 1946
Hearing Aid $59.95 1946
Portable Sun Lamp $32.59 1946
Tappan Gas Range $69.95 1939
Emmerson 5 tube bedroom radio $9.95 1938
Philco Auto Radio $24.95 1938
Electric Flat Iron $1.49 1935
Electric Movie Projector $3.95 1935
Kelvinator Washer Wringer
"With our Washer Wringer home laundry becomes an easy task"
$54.95
Tappan Gas Range
"With glass door which allows you to see your cooking , split oven and flexo speed baking"
$109.75

As I  forayed many vast runs into history, expended much remarkable time and quality into the research which underpins this tome (wink)...I can say, the discovering of each detail has been enlightening and remarkable!  And here too, I must add a caveat...this lovely article is not a substitute or supplement for a complete American History of Gadgets, Gizmos, Electric and Electronics or menue! But, rather a stimulus to history appreciation and a barring of impediments in our rich history.

Hope you've found this bit 'o the blog fanciful to scan about and through, comfortable to curl up with, enlightening to read,  food for fodder, tickling to the funny bone and thoughtful of yesterday once more. If you like,...give me some Skin as from the singing diddy in this blog, by the remarkable Andrew Sisters! Feel free to download, access, grab your partner or Skip To The Lou as you may feel necessary.

Show me a good blog anytime, and I'll show you a thinker and a doer.

Hubba!

Ordinary Behavior? Anyone?

                

For Whom, anywhere, can actually believe that we are on this earth to behave...in all

good endeavors... ordinarily rather than extraordinarily?

Jolene Vintage Bungalow Gal

Let's Not Just Talk About It!....Time To Get Cooking!

Let's Not Just Talk About It You Little Dickens!...Time To Get Cooking NOW in any number of delicious, electrifying and electrific ways!

Grab your helmets, grab your schtick, grab your aprons and holy cow, do hold on to those pin-up gal posters as we get set to bear down upon the world of appliances, gadgets, menus and gizmos of the 1930s and 1940s.

Await us will you? 

We Most Heartily Promise, Gentle Readers to

return in a Gillette moment....with "Schtick Happens"...

Who Is Le Brigand?

Le Brigand, Contributing

Her Eminence Magnifique Scoundrel

Mon Dieu! Could Her Eminence Magnifique Scoundrel, Le Brigand....be ze dirty rotten scoundrel?

To your many queries, may we say...

  Le Brigand offers a world of adventure to our gentle readers.  With the determination of Amelia Earhart, with the curiosity of Anais Nin, with the forthrightness of Eleanor Roosevelt, the moxy of Katherine Hepburn, the raucousness and irreverence of Joe Dirt (best left alone), the intensity of the flaring sun and the passion of a million saints all smattered together with the wicked good humor, wit, intelligence, intrigue and mystery of the world ...

there you will find

Le Brigand.

She graciously shares our everyday lives with whimsical musings of and from her be-dazzled everyday world.