Sacrifice and Prosperity:
Tullahoma's experience during World War II (continued)
Rationing was another result of the war that many people remember. Mary Searcy Couch Hopkins remembers working in her father's store during the war. She recalls that bananas were difficult to get. Jane Smoot of Manchester also recalls the difficulty in getting bananas. Robert Ratcliffe, whose family owned Clayton Shoe Store, rembers how difficult it was for the store to get shoes to sell. He states how people would line up outside the store just to use their shoe ration. Individuals were allowed three pairs of rubber-soled shoes every two years, and he states that people would buy whatever they had to sell.
During the Tennessee Maneuvers, Don Northcutt of Manchester recalls how children were ordered to stay in their yard while soldiers were around their property. There was a fear that they would get run over by tanks and other large vehicles if they strayed outside their yards. He also recalls that during the maneuvers, the soldiers got word that the boxing champion Joe Louis was going to fight that evening. He remembers how the soldiers began to gather around his grandfather's house as dusk settled. They quietly sat around the yard in the hopes of hearing a bit of the fight. He recalls how his father took the radio and sat it on the porch so all the soldiers could hear the contest. After Louis defeated his opponent, the soldiers thanked the family for their southern hospitality.