Ruth Webster
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Not Available
The following story was taken from an interview conducted by Mr. Grant Sorensen, a student at Ordean Middle School and great-nephew of Ms. Ruth Webster. The narrative tells of historical events from Webster’s childhood.
Ruth Esther Webster was born on September 11, 1918 and lived in the Hermantown area while growing up. When asked of her memories of World War II, she remembers driving down to the Duluth Depot to see her cousin and a friend off to war. They were taking the train. They never came home. The war also affected the way they lived at the time.
Many things were rationed, you could not just go buy anything that you wanted. You received stamps for the things that you needed. You still had to pay for them, but the stamps let the government know that it was your turn to buy these things that were in short supply. Sugar and gasoline were also rationed.
She also remembers getting stamps for new shoes once a year. They did not make appliances or cars, because the steel plants were making steel for guns, tanks, and ammunition. Webster says they were very hard times and you had to plan ahead.
She worked in a small restaurant and listened to the radio at noon every day for the war updates. On November 7, 1941, she heard that Pearl Harbor had been bombed.
