Mrs. Gunn's Diary: Jan. 24, 1942

She considers a future with rationed sugar; it will be worse than she hopes

Mrs. Gunn was enjoying another beautiful spring-like day in Washington, noting that she kept busy “running the house and mending.” She also baked a coconut cake, and that set her to mulling over the official limits on sugar purchases, which she thought were to begin Feb. 1.

”If we are allowed one lb. per person a week I can manage and have some left over to make preserves with,” she wrote. “I am sure we could all get along without many things.”

Alas for Mrs. Gunn, the sugar rationing would be much tighter than she hoped. Paid subscribers can read on about what happened during the war years.

The vintage birthday card here is being offered by a dealer on eBay. The interior message reads, “There’s a shortage on everything, Ye gads and little fishes — I hope they don’t rationing on Happy Birthday Wishes!”