Articles

Many entertainers popular during the war years just happened to be born in May including Kate Smith, Bing Crosby, Irving Berlin, John Wayne and Bob Hope. They provided uplifting entertainment to the troops with their U.S.O. productions and radio shows often broadcasted via shortwave to remote locations. Kate Smith known as The First Lady of Radio was one of the most popular singers of her time and recorded 3000 songs, more than any other performer. Born on May 1, 1909, she is best known for God Bless America written for her by Irving Berlin. It soon became the unofficial national […]

What events do you typically celebrate in May? Perhaps you thought of Mother’s Day, Memorial Day or even, school graduations. Yet if you had a copy of Chase’s Calendar of Events, The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months, which is my new best friend, you would have discovered many, many events to celebrate. Some are obscure, others funny and some are very surprising. I always enjoy exploring each month’s selections as they are both educational and enlightening. But I was especially excited to learn about National Military Appreciation Month which is celebrated each May. Did you know […]

Do you have a sweet tooth? Most of us do and according to the United States Department of Agriculture, the average American consumes between 150 to 170 pounds of refined sugar in one year! During WWII your sweet tooth would have taken a serious hit as sugar was the first rationed commodity and this continued until June 1947. Each sugar ration stamp was good for two pounds of sugar over a four-week period, providing twenty-four pounds of sugar per person, per year if it was available. In 1945 the ration amount was cut to fifteen pounds per household with an […]

In 1914, Lilian and her twin sister were born in Paris and in 1930 she moved with her British family to Brazil. She worked for the British Embassy in Rio de Janeiro at the onset of WWII eventually monitoring German shipping movements in the harbor. In 1943 she returned to England to join the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and became a wireless operator. Fluent in French, she came to the attention of (SOE) Special Operations Executive and agreed to work for them as a British special agent. Using the code name “Nadine”, she joined the Historian network in France in […]