A version of this column was originally published Dec. 20, 2019, in the Erie Times-News.
Everywhere one looked on Dec. 25, 1944, Christmas lugged an asterisk.
“Reverence and solemnity vied with happiness and gaiety as the Christmas star ushered in Erie’s fourth war-time Yuletide at midnight Sunday and for the moment outshone the blue and gold stars in the windows of so many local homes,” the Erie Daily Times wrote on the front page of its local section that day.
Tightened rations of meats and canned vegetables, the soaring cost of butter and the absence of sugar made headlines. Civilian food supplies, the Times reported, were at their lowest since the United States had entered World War II in December 1941.
Christmas trees, too, were in short supply. War bonds, the Times wrote, were “the finest gifts available.”
And, the Times noted, “Missing again this year is outdoor lighting. Because of the war, it was forbidden.”