American Council for Food Safety & Quality

The War Years 1940-1949

The nineteen forties are pretty well defined by World War II. U.S. isolationism was shattered by the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt guided the country on the home front, General Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded the troops in Europe. General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz led them in the Pacific.

At the same time these great men were leading our country, DFA had their own set of leaders. President/Chairman Bert Katz served from 1922 to 1946), C.W. Griffin from 1946 to 1947, and President/Chairman T.O. Kluge from 1947-1962.

The decade began ominously with the Association being indicted in 1941 by the United States Justice Department under the Sherman Antitrust Act. Ably represented by Mr. Mose Lasky, DFA successfully resolved the issues brought by the government. Much time and effort was spent dealing with the wartime agencies supporting the war effort. Although the war diverted much of the attention of the industry, the rise technical issues began to emerge. A rigid plant sanitation program was inaugurated as well as new requirements for micro analytical tests of figs. The Association hired Don Little as its first full-time sanitarian. However, industry progress was uneven. In 1946, during the first meeting after the war the industry defeated a motion to study a plan for in-line inspection of dried fruit. As the industry adjusted to the post war economy, the Association commented on the diminishing affect of wartime stimulation on the marketing of dried fruit and the need to develop new markets. In particular, programs under the Marshall Plan were discussed as future export opportunities for the industry. Mr. Paul Mariani recommended that DFA establish a clearinghouse for information for members seeking to participate in pool car shipments of dried fruits.

Some highlights of the 1940’s:

January 11, 1940 – 32nd Annual Meeting The Presidents annual report made the observation that although the Association and its members individually have been beset with many obstructions to the normal flow of business, “the Association has continued to function effectively and was giving ample evidence of its value to the members”. They also touched on matters with respect to international complications, the war price fixing along with numerous legislative proposals and enactments, and interpretation of regulatory laws such as National Labor Relations Act, the Walsh-Healy Act, the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the Wage and Hour law.

March 1, 1945 – 37th Annual Meeting The Secretary reported on the principal activities of the Association, including various inspection services, plant sanitation and technical research. Particular attention was called to inline fig procedures meeting new Food & Drug micro analytical tests requirements were discussed. Members were also advised that a rigid plant sanitation program would be inaugurated shortly to assist members in meeting Food & Drug requirements.

March 3, 1949 – 41st Annual Meeting At this meeting there was lengthy comments on efforts to improve the export outlets for dried fruits, activities under the Marshal Plan, the dried fruit export program under which export payments were provided for some exporting of prunes and raisins to certain ECA countries.

The 1940’s also included some new and notable members who companies are still very active and strong supporters of DFA. They include Nish Chooljian of Del Rey Packing, Paul Mariani of Mariani Company and Joseph Rabino of Valley View. These companies are still very active members today, including holding positions on the Board of Directors.

Some other interesting highlights of the decade include:

At the beginning of the decade, Big Bands dominated popular music. Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman led some of the more famous bands. Bing Crosby's smooth voice made him one of the most popular singers, vying with Frank Sinatra. Dinah Shore, Kate

Smith and Perry Como also led the hit parade. Be-Bop and Rhythm and Blues grew out of the big band era toward the end of the decade. Although these were distinctly black sounds, epitomized by Charlie Parker, Dizzie Gillespie, Billy Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald, Woody Herman also performed blues and jazz.

Radio was the lifeline for Americans in the 1940's, providing news, music and entertainment, much like television today. Programming included soap operas, quiz shows, children's hours, mystery stories, fine drama, and sports. Kate Smith and Arthur Godfrey were popular radio hosts. The government relied heavily on radio for propaganda. Like the movies, radio faded in popularity as television became prominent. Many of the most popular radio shows continued on in television, including Red Skelton, Abbott and Costello, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, and Truth or Consequences.

In popular dancing, the Jitterbug made its appearance at the beginning of the decade. It was the first dance in two centuries that allowed individual expression. GI's took the dance overseas when they went to war, dancing with local girls, barmaids, or even each other if necessary.

Rosie the Riveter was the symbol of the working woman, as the men went off to war and the women were needed to work in the factories. GIs, however, preferred another symbol, the pin-up girl, such as Rita Hayworth or Betty Grable.

Pictures were mounted on lockers and inside helmets to remind the men what they were fighting for. Wherever American soldiers went, even the first to arrive would find a picture of eyes and a nose, with the message, Kilroy was Here. After they returned, Kilroy began to mark his place on the walls and rocks of public places. More than one pregnant woman came into the delivery room with "Kilroy was here" painted on her belly.

The forties were the heyday for movies. The Office of War declared movies an essential industry for morale and propaganda. Most plots had a fairly narrow and predictable set of morals, and if Germans or Japanese were included, they were one-dimensional villains. Examples are Casablanca, Mrs. Miniver, Lifeboat, Notorious, Best Years of our Lives, Wake Island, Battle of Midway, Guadalcanal Diary, and Destination Tokyo. Citizen Kane, not fitting the template, was one of the masterpieces of the time. Leading actors were Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Bette Davis, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, Ginger Rogers, Jimmy Stewart, Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Lana Turner. Walt Disney's career began to take off, with animated cartoons such as Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942). During the war years, the studio produced cartoons for the government, such as Donald gets Drafted (1942), Out of the Frying Pan into the Firing Line (1942) and Der Fuehrer's.

At the end of the war, only 5,000 television sets, with five inch black & white screens, were in American homes. By 1951, 17 million had been sold. The Original Amateur Hour, a revival of a popular radio show, was the first top-rated show in 1948 . Milton Berle's slapstick comedy, Texaco Star Theater, was credited with creating the demand for televisions. Its greatest rival was Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town.

Kukla, Fran & Ollie kicked off children's television as Junior Jamboree in 1947, followed by the Howdy Doody Show.

SPORTS

World War II had its effect on sports as all able-bodied men between 18 and 26 were expected to serve in the military. Rubber went to the war effort; consequently, balls were soggy and unresponsive. Wood was in short supply, leading to a shortage of baseball bats and bowling pins. Even so, professional sports were encouraged to continue, to improve the morale of the troops.

President Roosevelt signed the Green Light letter, supporting baseball. Baseball games were considered so important to troop morale that the Japanese tried to jam radio broadcasts. By 1943, half the baseball players had enlisted. Teams used older veterans and even a one-armed outfielder, Pete Gray of the St. Louis Browns. In the All-American Girls Baseball League, players wore dresses and had to attend charm school. After the war, television and easier transportation changed the face of American sports. In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first black professional baseball player – in fact, the first black professional athlete outside of boxing. Baseball players negotiated for a minimum salary of $5,500 a year. By 1950, the top earning player, Stan Musial, was making $50,000. Postwar baseball names included Ted Williams, Ralph Kiner and Joe DiMaggio.

Before 1941 when two-platoon football was allowed, all eleven players on a football team played the entire game. Only injury was an excuse for substitution. That changed in 1941, when free subs were allowed, enabling weakened college teams to continue playing. Because of travel restrictions, the 1942 Army Navy game was played in Annapolis, and half the midshipmen were assigned to cheer for West Point. Sixty years later, Bill Williams, a Navy midshipman (Class of 1945), remembered that game. "We yelled the cheers and sang the songs but I don't remember being very energetic. Also when Navy scored, we forgot whose side we were supposed to be on. We won fourteen to nothing." The penalty flag, first used in 1941, became official in 1948. Elaborate playbooks were introduced by Paul Brown, turning football into a game of strategy. Some of the northern college football teams began to integrate blacks.

Basketball was less affected by the war than other sports because a player's height often made him ineligible for military service. The Basketball Association of America formed in 1946, merged in 1949 with the National Basketball League to form the NBA. Joe Fulks of the Philadelphia Warriors had a record high score of 63 points in a game when most whole teams didn't score that high. The 1940's were the heyday of boxing. Boxing was big money, mainly because of gambling, and was ruled by gangland boxing czar Frankie Carbo. Joe Louis was the heavyweight champion from 1937 to 1948, in part because major boxing titles were frozen from 1941 to 1946 as four thousand professional boxers joined the military. Louis not only enlisted, he donated over $100,000 to war relief efforts in 1942. Sugar Ray Robinson, Ike Williams and Willie Pep were other big names in boxing. The Indianapolis 500 was closed duirng the war and the racetrack deteriorated. In the first postwar race in 1946, twenty-four cars dropped out due to wrecks and mechanical difficulties. NASCAR, a stock car racing club that purportedly ran cars that you could buy from a dealer's showroom started the Grand Nationals in 1949. The Women's Professional Golf Association formed in 1946, and the Ladies Professional Golf Association in 1949. Babe Didriksen Zaharias and Patty Berg were the stars, with Byron Nelson the men's champion. Jack Kramer dominated men's tennis.

Stay Tuned for the next edition- the 1950’s…

Staff Contact: Richard Cherrix