Planted with Hope (16 page)

She poured herself a glass of iced tea and sat with the journal. She flipped open the first page and read the woman's name again.
Pauline Spencer. March 10, 1942.
A Scripture passage had been written under her name and the date:
John 12:24
. Hope's Bible was still in her bedroom, and she told herself she'd look up the passage and read it later.

Then she started on the first page.

Tuesday, March 10, 1942

Mother gave me this journal. It's a nice gift, but I'm not much of a writer. She told me to write my deepest thoughts, but maybe I'll use it to record news of the war instead. Last year, on my twenty-seventh birthday, I would never have imagined that we'd be pulled into the war we'd been hearing about in the papers. We had no choice really, after Pearl Harbor. So many lives lost. Such great cost to our naval fleet. I can't understand the horror of knowing one's son, brother, or husband died in such an attack. My heart aches for every one of those who are still trying to imagine their days without someone they love. I do understand that.

Monday, March 30, 1942

I heard from the grocery store clerk that an American ship
encountered a German U-boat off the coast of Virginia. Somedays the war seems far away. Not today.

I found this in a book I was reading. It means a lot on days like today.

In good times and bad, a vegetable garden is a valuable adjunct to the home, financially, physically and spiritually… It makes family income more elastic, it brings health in fresh goods and outdoor exercise, and what is more important, to my way of thinking, it teaches the whole family many wholesome lessons. And now that we have a war to win, a vegetable garden can contribute directly to national safety.

Wednesday, April 1, 1942

Richard would have been 29 years old today. I thought I'd use this new journal to record events from the war, since all this will be part of history someday. But that is too depressing. So for now I'll think about my dear husband and wonder where he'd be now if he hadn't lost his life in that factory accident. Europe? The South Pacific? He wouldn't have sat at home and watched others heading out to fight.

Closer to home, I heard that it's the 97
^th
Bombardment Group who are at the new Sarasota Army Air Field. Janet loves to watch the large B-17s flying over, but she's too young to understand what they mean.

Friday, April 17, 1942

I never thought much about gardens until I decided to grow one. My idea started with a book I found on my mother's kitchen cabinet. I must have read the title of her cookbook a hundred times,
Economical War-time Cook Book
, but it means something different now that we have a war of our own.

I've started planning the garden, but Mother doesn't know yet. I
had a little money set aside and I've already purchased the seeds. I'm also writing down important information on conservation. This is a much better use of my new journal. And growing a Victory Garden is better than simply moping around this large house all day. Since Richard's death my only purpose has been caring for Janet, but what type of example am I to my daughter by hiding away? I've had enough quiet. I've had enough rest. I need to live life again.

There are many people doing much more for the war effort, but this is the best thing I can think of to show Janet that we are doing our part. Tomorrow I will plant our garden, and today I will plan and pray. Without food, no man can fight. Without food, a war cannot be won. I have no husband to serve, and with a daughter my fight will look different, but I'm determined to try.

Hope looked through the rest of the journal's pages, hoping for a picture of Pauline or Janet. There was none. Elizabeth had said that Janet was her friend, and she wondered how old the woman would be now. She pictured Janet and tried to imagine her staring up at large planes overhead not truly understanding what they meant. She'd have to ask Elizabeth the next time they were together.

Near the back of the journal, Hope found a piece of paper. It looked as if it had been torn out of a book—maybe the cookbook that Pauline was talking about.

Seven Commands for War-Time Conservation
^*

Prepared at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.

1.
Set aside enough money to buy 1 quart of milk a day for each child and
⅓
quart of milk a day for each grown person.

The grown person may use some cheese in place of all milk; 1 8/10 ounces of cheese will replace 1/3 pint a day for each grown person.

The grown person may use skim milk. Half of the daily quart for the child may use skim milk, if necessary; but it is not best to feed the child skim milk.

Children suffer more from lack of milk than do grown persons.

2.
Buy 2 to 3 ounces of some fat for each grown person.

Children will not need as much as this if they are getting a quart of whole milk a day.

The best fat is butter, particularly for little children.

3.
If money is scarce, buy only enough sugar to make the meals palatable.

One and one-half ounces, or about 3 level Tbspful of sugar, honey, molasses, or syrup a day for each person will do this.

Sugar is not a necessary food; too much money spent for sugar is likely to deprive the family of more needed foods.

4.
Buy for each day some potatoes and one other vegetable such as cabbage, onions, carrots, turnips, beets, or other available fresh vegetables.

The children can eat daily 2 to 3 medium-sized potatoes and 1/2 to 1/2 pound of one of the other vegetables.

The grown person can eat daily 6 to 8 medium-sized potatoes and 1/2 pound or more of the other vegetables.

5.
Buy only as much wheat and wheat products as the Food Administration rulings allow.

The rest of your need for cereal food may be satisfied by
such other cereals as rolled oats, pinhead oatmeal, cornmeal, hominy, barley, rice, and buckwheat.

If possible, buy flours, meals, and breakfast foods made from the entire grain, such as water-ground cornmeal, rolled oats or oatmeal, cracked wheat, graham and whole-wheat flour. They have greater food value than have the refined products.

Less bread and other cereal foods are needed, if some dried beans or peas are eaten and if potatoes are used freely.

One serving of dried beans or peas or one medium-sized potato may replace one serving of cereal or one slice of bread.

6.
If some money still remains, buy a little fruit for each member of your family.

Apples, fresh or dried, and dried prunes and raisins are among the cheapest fruits.

7.
If there is more than enough money for this necessary food for all members of the family, spend it to increase the variety and flavor of the meals.

The plain but safe diet resulting from following rules 1 to 6 may be made more palatable by spending more money.

Meat may be added for grown-up members of the family.

Eggs may be added for all members of the family.

The amount of money to be spent for milk, cream, butter, cheese, fruits, vegetables, fats, and sweets may be increased.

This more expensive diet may be more pleasing but not more wholesome than the first one suggested.

Hope read over the rules twice, trying to imagine living during wartime. She chuckled imagining eating six potatoes a day. She also had never considered the numerous sacrifices people made during time of war. The Amish didn't believe in war. They were pacifists, and she'd never known a family member to fight in the Armed Services. Once she'd heard that her own grandfather had served in the Conservation Corps during World War II instead of fighting, but she'd never really considered how everyone in the family had been affected during that time. How ordinary people had to sacrifice.

Growing up on an Amish farm she'd always had food. Her dat had grown wheat and corn on his farm in Ohio. They always had fresh eggs, and Mem had made her own cheese. There had been plenty of milk, and the cellar had been full of jars of home-canned food. Most meals ended with dessert, which seemed like an extravagance after reading about wartime sacrifice.

Even after they'd moved to Pinecraft they'd had plenty of food. They had no garden, but Yoder's Produce Stand had a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Was it really just seventy years ago when food had to be weighed and measured to make sure that everyone had a little? When meat was only for adults because there wasn't enough to go around?

She flipped through more pages of the journal, noticing descriptions of garden plots, recipes, and lots of personal notes. Hope still didn't understand why Elizabeth had insisted she borrow it, but it was interesting. She read a little bit farther.

Monday, April 20, 1942

Mother was the ultimate penny pincher. “Waste not, want not” was one of her favorite sayings. She liked to repurpose as much as possible, even though Father had a good salary at the bank. She was
horrified when she saw that I had dug up her luscious grass today, but she felt slightly better when I told her it was a matter of stewardship. “Why grow grass when we could grow food for ourselves and our community?” I told her.

Wednesday, April 22, 1942

Folks around Sarasota started to wander by around the time I planted the first few rows of seeds. And then it happened: I got my first volunteer. It's an elderly man who moved in with his daughter three houses down. And after that, a mother of three asked if she might have a small area to plant in too. I didn't see a problem with it. Thankfully Mother didn't either. We just dug up more grass and created a plot. Martha told us we'd given her and her children a wonderful gift, but the way I feel tonight—so content and at peace—I feel as if I've been given a great gift too.

There is a new movie out called
The Jungle Book
. I'm going to take Janet to see it tonight. She's been working so hard.

Saturday, April 25, 1942

Today was a good day. Mother came out to help too. She met Ethel and Hazel. They live less than a mile away. The three stood out front and chatted for two hours at least. They're getting together tomorrow to roll bandages for the Red Cross. And just think they've lived just over a half mile from each other their whole lives and never knew each other.

Blackouts have been taken more seriously now. U.S. planes raided Tokyo and most people are sure they're going to respond. I wonder if Janet remembers a time before blackout curtains and rationing.

Sunday, April 26, 1942

I see a lot of posters around town, talking about teamwork and volunteering. When I started the garden it was something that I
wanted to do for me… and for Janet. Janet is my biggest helper. She is diligent about pulling every weed. What I didn't realize was that this garden was for more than just me and my daughter. It was for Mother, for our neighbors, and for our community. There have been some who have been gardening for a while, and now they're helping those who are just getting started. It's been a wonderful thing to see.

Hope folded a napkin and used it as a bookmark. Her stomach growled, and she realized it was already lunchtime. She still had no idea where her parents were, and for once she wished the house weren't so quiet. She wished she had someone to talk to about what she was reading in the journal.

Hope walked to their refrigerator. There were leftovers—crisp chicken, mashed potatoes, and carrot pineapple fluff salad, all from last night. It was Thursday, which meant it was Hope's day to cook. Usually she put on a pot of soup. When she used to work, and had a small salary, she used to bring home food from Yoder's restaurant, but once she'd begun saving up money to move she'd stopped doing that.

She pulled out the mashed potatoes, wondering if she should use them to make potato soup once again, and then she remembered a recipe from Pauline's journal. Somewhere in the middle there'd been a potato casserole recipe that looked easy enough. Hope pulled out all the ingredients and set to work. She seasoned and rewhipped the potatoes. Then she layered them into the bottom of the casserole dish. She fried up the bacon and made “nests” in the potatoes. She prepared everything in fifteen minutes, except adding the eggs. She'd do that tonight before she put the casserole in the oven.

Stepping back and pleased that she'd used one of Pauline's recipes, she covered the casserole dish with foil and set it in the
bottom of the refrigerator. She made herself a sandwich, thinking about going back to the garden this afternoon. She didn't want to start planting—she'd save that for the morning. But she couldn't help but wonder if Jonas Sutter would stop by. A smile touched her lips when she remembered how he'd looked at her this morning. Hope's smile broadened even more considering that Emma might be there.