On Thanksgiving weekend, my husband will be showing these ration coupons to our family and telling the story of how his parents (Marian Jane McClure Wood and Edgar James Wood) needed to bring their ration books to the store when they bought certain foods during World War II. Coffee rationing began in November, 1942, and ended in late July, 1943--spanning a single Thanksgiving. Other foods and items were rationed much longer.
I'm sure the younger relatives will have heard of wartime food rationing but most likely never saw actual ration coupons inside a personalized ration book. These coupons belonged to Marian, whose name and address are on the front of the book.
Thankfully, the Wood family's ration books survived the past 80 years and are now stored in archival boxes in my home office, to be passed to the next generation along with stories.
Do you have family history artifacts you can share on Thanksgiving to stimulate conversation and tell stories about ancestors' lives?
