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| A STRONG NATION |
| World War II changed the everyday
use of milk and milk products. The
war popularized milk on the
nation’s menu in daily quantities
approaching the recommendations
of scientific nutritionists.
Popular magazines and newspapers
were filled with reminders
that proper nutrition, including
milk,would make a strong nation.
Those preferring butter had to
endure rationing and shortages, but substitutes like oleomargarine were found, and
they, too, created new,
lasting eating habits. |
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Sheet music for Milkman, Keep Those
Bottles Quiet by Don Raye and
Gene de Paul, 1944
Courtesy of Judith Moyer
A popular wartime song told the milkman to quiet the
rattle of his milk bottles when delivering so he wouldn’t
wake the nighttime war worker. Neighborhood residents
knew who worked at night and an effort was made by
the thoughtful and the patriotic to be quiet around
those houses.
Advertisement for
Allsweet Oleomargarine
From Good Housekeeping, April 1944
Oleomargarine, a butter substitute made at first with beef
tallow and later with vegetable oils mixed with milk, had
been available for almost 100 years. Farmers and processors
persuaded some states to outlaw or restrict its sale to
curb the competition with 100% butter. During World
War II rationing, oleomargarine substituted for butter. In
some brands, a separate packet of coloring came with the
margarine and had to be mixed in by the consumer, a
measure required by law lest the margarine be mistaken
for butter. |
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Advertisement for “Junket” Rennet
Powder,with patriotic imagery
From Good Housekeeping, July 1943
Patriotic newspaper advertisement for
Oakhurst Dairy, Portland,Maine, 1943
Courtesy of Oakhurst Dairy
World War II increased the demand for dairy products
because of the need to feed the American armed forces and
to send food to European allies. Servicemen learned to
drink more milk and include more dairy products in their
diet. After the war ended, they brought their new eating
habits back home. |
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“Milk Maids Replace Portland Men
Who Have Gone to War”
From The Hood Spotlight, 1972
Courtesy of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities
Women stepped into jobs that men vacated during World
War II, including milk delivery. |
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