Non-Consumer Gems From a World War II Scrapbook

by Katy on September 5, 2014 · 5 comments

WWII scrapbook

My mother recently gave me a vintage scrapbook that she gleaned from the pay-by-the-pound Goodwill Outlet. (Actually she was giving it to my sister, but I dove in and scooped it up for myself.) It’s full of wonderful World War II era magazine articles that encourage the make it do message of the time.

Check out the article about how to replace umbrella fabric!

how to replace umbrella fabric

Here’s a detail shot:

how to recover umbrella

But it’s not just umbrellas that got the make-it-over treatment:

Old dress into new

So great, right?

Clothing makeover

And from an article about Victory Gardens, a guide of how to store your home grown vegetables:

How to store vegetables

There’s just so much great stuff in this scrapbook. The wartime magazine articles were messages/propaganda from the U.S. government, but there’s no reason why fixing instead of replacing can’t work for today’s over-consuming culture.

And urban gardens? That’s soooo 2014.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

Karen September 5, 2014 at 10:06 am

Yes, there were good things to come out of the war, such as a “sacrifice and can-do” attitude, and breaking down of employment barriers for minorities (even though Rosie the Riveter was told to quit her job when the servicemen came home from the war).

I found a wartime era pamphlet centered on making do with foodstuffs. Have to love recipes for mock meatloaf and mock apple pie; saltines figured highly in both. We are spoiled now and could learn a lot from our mothers and grandmothers!

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Diana September 5, 2014 at 9:17 pm

Can you please post how they recommend a pit, outdoor cellar or trench…as in how to build…and in what climate? This is cool!

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lori September 6, 2014 at 5:05 am

This is awesome, I love it. We need more of this in the world today!

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barbara jerineck September 8, 2014 at 4:21 am

Oh gosh, I should have gone to Goodwill just before your mom! I love this kind of books, especially the illustrations.

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Lynda February 24, 2024 at 6:02 pm

Those ghastly mittens! That hood!

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