February 21 ,1946
February 1946. World War II is over and wartime production jobs were ending. During the war, Carl and Georgie worked a number of jobs in several places, finishing the war in Pocatello, Idaho. They elected to return to Iowa, where they both had family, but opted to make a grand tour of the west on the way. Georgie wrote a journal of the trip. The story starts here.
During the night the water pipes froze and we awoke the next morning to find what we could see of California covered with snow and we had expected to see flowers blooming. We drove into Weed, had breakfast, and crawled out of town on a sheet of ice. We finally ran out of snow and ice about 15 miles down the line. We passed the road to the Shasta Dam and then the soil started to look very red. Soon we saw flowers blooming and the vegetation was green. All along the road the banks were this red soil. Just before we got to Redding, we saw an airport which was just a little airstrip along the road. We wondered how planes could get in and out as there was a mountain on one side and the road and the Sacramento River on the other side. Stopped at Redding to look around and had another flat when we got back to the car. Bought a tire in Redding. Saw our first orange tree there with oranges ripening on it. Soon we saw palm trees and the further south we drove, the more it seemed like summer to us. Stopped at a roadside stand and bought some ripe olives. Saw many olive trees and English Walnut trees. Stopped at a roadside inn and had a very poor bottle of California beer.
On our left, we could see Mt. Lassen which has erupted as late as between 1914 and 1921.
Arrived in Williams much more pleased with the California scenery than the night before. Had some difficulty finding a tourist cabin but finally found one – it was in a state of repair as it had been burned out the previous winter. Went downtown to a Safeway store to get groceries.
Walt’s Comments
Not really sure what airport she’s talking about in Redding. Tews Field is pretty far from the river. Benton Airpark is closer, but doesn’t seem to be between Weed and Redding. On the other hand, we’re not sure of their exact route. There were no interstate highways back then, and the regular highways that exist now are probably a lot different than what was around in 1946.
The Deal with Tires
Have you noticed how many flat tires they’re having? There’s a reason for that. Tires were rationed during WW2. In fact, they were the very first thing rationed. When Japan conquered Southeast Asia they cut off the US from the only supply of natural latex rubber. America was ramping up production of vehicles, aircraft, ships and submarines, all of which needed a lot of rubber. To say nothing of gas masks, life rafts, medical equipment, etc. There wasn’t going to be much left over for the civilians.
And by “not much” I mean “hardly any”. The Daviess County (MO) Historical Society records that in January 1942 the monthly allotment for the entire county was 12 automotive tires (with tubes) and 25 truck tires (also with inner tubes). There were 13,398 people in the county according to the 1940 census, so you could count on getting a truck tire every 500 months or so, and a car tire roughly every 1000 months.
Of course, there was a prioritization system. Doctors, nurses, veterinarians, ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, garbage trucks, mail carriers and civil defense vehicles got top billing. Buses used to transport large groups were next in line.
If none of them needed any tires, you could get one! But first you’d have to prove you needed it. Which involved an inspection. And perhaps proof you actually need to drive instead of taking the bus. And possibly some questions about how you’ve maintained the ones you have, and your vehicle. And your driving habits. And turn in your old ones.
By the end of WW2, most civilian’s tires were completely worn out. Tires from this era would last around 13,000 miles, so a tire you got in 1941 was probably bald by 1946.
Rationing for tires had ended by February of 1946, but it took some time for the supply chain to get restarted, so they may have still been running on retreads.
Digging Deeper
Another good discussion of tire rationing, along with some concrete numbers that really help bring it into perspective, can be found on the Daviess County, MO, Historical Society’s website.
Automotive News has a nice article on the history of tires.
The Saturday Evening Post has an amusing collection of rationing-related cartoons from the WW2 era.
Sherrey
This is really an adventure!
Sandra
Fascinating! Zach and Rachel’s farm is in Gazelle CA…possibly 20 minutes from Weed. It is still quite rural and lot of unpopulated land. They have a view of the mountain on their property. Right behind the farm is a large stone outcrop known as bonnet rock, well known in the area.