Imagine that one day you're happily married and living in Magnolia with a houseful of children, and the next, you're a widow with no way to pay the bills. Now, there is a silver star in your window.
You've barely recovered from your high school graduation party and you find that you're being shipped off to a country that you're only vaguely familiar with, having only half listened in history class.
Your family runs a successful business in Magnolia, but it has been taken by the government; your entire family is branded a security risk and sent to a "relocation camp," even though you were born and raised in Seattle, as were your parents and your grandparents.
While these stories may seem dramatic or even far-fetched, they happened all too often during World War II. From now until June 1, you are invited to share your WWII stories with us.
In the Magnolia Historical Essay Project II, we hope to tell the story of the Magnolians who lived here during World War II, and those who fought for our country overseas. Often called "the Greatest Generation," the people who struggled to fight for freedom at home and abroad have some amazing stories to tell.
The stories that need to be told are in two parts: what happened here to everyday people, their support of the war effort and what they sacrificed here; and the amazing, heartfelt stories of being in the military, of being "Over There."
Do you remember where you were when the war started and ended? What do you remember about the war? Were you a child going to school in Magnolia, learning about the war from your teacher, helping your parents plant a Victory Garden and collecting scrap metal, rubber and paper?
Were you a housewife in Magnolia who had to make changes to your family's way of life to accommodate the new ration system for food and clothing? Maybe you were employed in a war-related job at Boeing or Todd Pacific Shipyard? Perhaps you were an air raid warden on your street?
Were you a military nurse, a WAVE or WAC, or volunteer with the USO? Did you enlist in the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines? What kinds of sacrifices did you or your family make because of the war? What about that time do you think people should know or remember?
Other story ideas and suggestions are available on our questionnaire, available at the Magnolia Library, and your written contribution and historical information can be dropped off there. You can write as much or as little as you'd like. While there's no guarantee your contribution will be used in its entirety, we hope that everyone who contributes will see at least part of their story in print. Deadline for submission is June 1.
Any questions about this part of the writing project can be e-mailed to Magnoliahistorybook@yahoo.com. Stacey Furness and Rob Hitchings have already gathered some exciting stories and WWII memorabilia to document this historical period in the life of our community and our country. We hope to include your World War II experiences, too.
Stacey Furness lives in Magnolia.[[In-content Ad]]
