More Sad News & A Reminder of Today

 This morning I received news that two more Joe's Ponders have passed away. Barbara Donnelly (Old Homestead), of Montpelier passed away on December 2, 2022. Barbara was 91. Also Jack Tassie (Edgewood Ave) died on November 16, 2022. Jack was 84. I was unable to access the photo of Jack, but you will see it in the obituary.

Barbara and Jack were both long-time Joe's Pond Association members. I didn't know either of them personally, but over the years I had many conversations with both via email, and an occasional phone call, usually with Jack during Ice-Out. Both Barbara and Jack had numerous friends within the Joe's Pond community, and they will certainly be missed. My sincere sympathy to both families. It is always difficult to lose a member of one's family or a close friend, but especially so near the holidays. 

Thank you, Jamie Stewart, for alerting me to these two recent losses.  

*******************

We should also remember that today is Pearl Harbor Day, the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Over 2300 Americans were killed that day, sending shock waves throughout our nation. United States declared war on Japan immediately, and within days, allies of Japan, German and Italy, declared war on United States. That effectively immersed us in World War II. The next four years changed our country, economy, and society dramatically. There were shortages at home in order to supply troops abroad. Women went to work in defense plants and ran farms, showing a resolve and independence few had needed to before; they joined the armed services as WACS, and WAVES, serving first as nurses and office staff, and eventually becoming pilots (WASPs), flying transport planes with essential cargo. At home, people conserved gas, planted extra crops to feed the soldiers, collected scrap metal for the war effort, and bought liberty bonds. Care packages were sent by families and church groups who knit woolen mitten, gloves, caps to wear under helmets, scarves and sweaters for soldiers fighting overseas. Nothing went to waste - everything was rationed. I remember picking milkweed pods that were sent off to provide filling for life preservers. Everyone pitched in. There were watch towers built in nearly every town, manned 24/7, to report airplanes passing overhead. Coastal cities were blacked out - no outdoor lighted signs, dark curtains over windows, only essential travel after dark with headlights properly shielded so that enemy subs possibly lurking offshore would not have a target. Families were separated as fathers and siblings went off to war. We wrote letters to service men and women, read the newspapers and listened to the news on the radio, always wondering if a loved one or a neighbor was in harm's way. Those were stressful years that changed many lives. The slogan in those years was, "Remember Pearl Harbor." We do, indeed.