Those Factory Conditions.....
I remembered those long, never ending days I worked at the factories during the war. Women were high in demand for jobs during that time because most men left home to fight & defend our country, like my husband Jimmy and my older son John. At first, the government wanted us mothers to stay home and take care of children. But after a while, they realized that they were really short in numbers of employees and so they started to encourage us to work at factories to provide supplies for the war. I barely got to spend time with my son Jacob who was only 7 at the time, after I started working at the Yuba Manufacturing Factory, making 155 millimeter howitzer guns. The reason why I picked to work there was because by providing weapons for war, I felt like I was helping out our country, ending the war as soon as possible, and having my husband and son safely back home. Our uniform were denim coveralls, our hair covered so it wouldn’t be caught in the machinery. This was done with a “snood”. A snood was a heavy hairnet that hung loose on the back of to accommodate our long hair. I don’t remember much how the factory looks like, but the plant was camouflaged with big swirls of green and brown paint so it couldn’t be detected from the air. The walls were brown and the dark green paint covered the windows. We had no sun light while we worked with the machinery, mine being a 38 feet long metal compressor attached to an oil pan. They had bright blinding lights hanging from the ceiling for us to see what we were doing, but it was very hot. I had a 10 hour shift with a 30 minute lunch break and we can’t stop working even for a second until we hear the whistle blow. I made a lot of friends during my years of working at the factory since that’s where I spent most of my time. Most of them had brothers or husbands at war & we would share our thoughts and hardships. Although we only get paid 65 cents an hour, it’s these girls that helped me through the hard days of working at the factories during World War 2. How were your conditions during world war 2? At home? At work?
posted by Christina the Factory Worker | 20:12
4 Comments:
To be honest, I've never worked in a factory. But I joined the WRNS, which stands for Women's Royal Naval Service. It included cooks, clerks, wireless telegraphists, electricians and some women even had a job of flying transport planes! I was a wireless telegraphist, and you won't believe the amount of stuff that has to go out each day! Our uniform consisted of a double-breasted jacket and skirt with a shirt and tie. Us Junior Ratings wore hats similar to our male counterparts, and the Senior Ratings were tricorne hats with white covers. It was also here where I met many women like me and formed long lasting friendships.
At my farm and house, we were always debating who got the last bit of whatever food we were low on that week. The soil was getting its nutrients back and our farm was well on its way. Even though the new snack foods were getting rationed, we were just happy to be able to afford it now. My crops were healthy and my family wife and daughters were fed and working. life was good.
Hey Eswyn Lyster, me too! I never worked at a factory; however my mama definitely did, sometimes all through night. I wouldn’t see her until the next morning, and she was off again! She never explained to me the conditions of the factory, but now that I read your story, I have an idea of what my mama went through. Oh how blessed I was to have her there beside me through the process! I am very thankful for women like you! You were definitely a strong one during war!
When times got rough back at home, my wife got pretty close to taking a job at the munitions factory too. Times were desperate! But I couldn't put her through it. Sure we weren't doing too great sometimes, but we still managed to get by. I worked some odd jobs here and there and did overtime at the paper. Though they weren't exactly good times, they were nowhere near as bad as the depression. At least my job was steady and my pay was decent. It was a hard life, but at least my wife was home. Thank God for you and your friends though, Christina. You were all so strong, to survive these conditions!
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