New exhibit at General Spaatz Museum highlights small-town America during WWII

Opening April 27, through Memorial Day, the General Carl Spaatz USAAF Museum in Boyertown will host an exhibit of how the American people supported the war effort on a daily basis during WWII.

From 1939 thru the war years the American economy supported the greatest wartime industrialization in the history of mankind, and during that time lives in every American home were changed. Sacrifice, lines, and rationing were the norm. In Boyertown alone more than 500 homes had fathers, sons, and daughters at war, and most on the Home Front were employed in, or contributed to, the wartime effort.

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Boyertown did its part, converting several local industries to producing everything from military ambulances and special purpose vehicles to headlights for jeeps.

Photo courtesy of The General Carl Spaatz USAAF Museum.

The Home Front 1940-1945: Boyertown Goes to War display at the museum conveys the feel of everyday life for those at home. The exhibit tells the story of a typical kitchen in small-town America, and the challenges of war time rationing. Victory Gardens, painted on nylon hose, and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese were examples of how homemakers had to stretch every penny for the war effort.

See a unique, colorful display wall of “Sweetheart Pillowcases”, a favorite souvenir sent home by servicemen from bases around the world. Learn about the boy scouts and girl scouts who were recruited to do their part in many ways such as metal drives and scrap drives. Visit a home front candy store display and see how even the confection industry supported our soldiers.

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Historians will debate who won the war, but it was Boyertown and thousands of American cities and towns that saved the free world. The displays are open to visitors from Thursday, April 27 through Memorial Day Weekend.

The General Carl Spaatz USAAF Museum is located at 10 General Spaatz Ave, Boyertown, PA 19512. Museum Hours are Thursday through Sunday 10am to 4pm.

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Berks Weekly
Berks Weekly
Berks Weekly is an independent and locally owned digital newspaper covering the City of Reading and Berks County. Subscribe today: berksweekly.com/subscribe
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