|
March 2008 Issue
Back
to Feature Articles
A child of war
| 
|
World
War II raged far from little Ellen Zylstra's family
home on the Grand Rapids west side. But when the 9-year
old, along with her sisters and friends, walked by a
neighbor's home and they saw that the blue star in the
window had been removed and replaced with a gold star,
the war's battles had once again reached out and touched
them. A blue star meant someone at the home was serving
in the military. A gold star meant someone had been
killed in action. And so the children did what many
children of the war did then, they bowed their heads
in prayer. |
"We knew that family had a member who had
been killed in action in the war and we'd pray for whoever
had given their life and for the family that grieved their
loss," said Ellen Janes (nee Zylstra). "That took a different,
but perhaps a more valuable kind of courage, one that would
serve us well all our lives. It was the courage to display
(and practice) our faith."
For children growing up during World War II,
faith in God and country helped them get through an extraordinary
time of tragedy and triumph. "I will never forget VE Day (Victory
in Europe) and VJ Day (Victory in Japan)," Ellen recalls.
"When the news came over our radios, people poured into the
street, shouting, laughing, crying and dancing with joy. Church
bells of every denomination began pealing. It was as if God,
who had sustained and comforted us throughout this terrible
conflict, was now rejoicing with us that it was over." Yet
it was the time between when the war began and when the war
ended that children of the time strengthened their resolve
in God and country through acts of patriotism and faith. "I
remember the valiant efforts made by myself, neighborhood
friends, classmates and children everywhere to help the cause,"
she said. "The patriotism at that time
was shared by the children of that era, as well as the adults.
We were all in the battle together!"
Helping the cause, one penny at a
time
Born Aug. 6, 1936, Ellen was only 5 years
old when the United States entered World War II. She began
her part of helping her country. At the time, her family's
home was on National Avenue, between Fulton Street and Lake
Michigan Drive in downtown Grand Rapids. She attended nearby
St. James School and during the many daily walks between her
home and school, she, along with others, would look for materials
to recycle for the war effort.
"We didn't waste any of that time (going back
and forth from school), as it was part of our mission to look
for discarded packages of cigarettes along the way. If we
were lucky, the crumpled pack would still hold the inner lining
of tin foil. This was not easy, as it meant weaving your way
from curb to sidewalk and back again, adding more miles to
your journey, but the prize made it worthwhile," she said
Carefully lifting the tin foil out, Ellen would return home
and add it to the ever growing ball she was collecting. When
that ball was big enough, she would proudly turn it in for
scrap metal needed for the war effort. Another sacrifice made
by children of the era was saving pennies to buy war stamps,
which were sold to raise money for U.S. war efforts. "We each
had a small booklet to paste the stamps in and when the booklet
was filled, you could turn it in and receive a $25 war bond."
Janes said. "Now that may seem like peanuts to today's children,
but back then, you were lucky if you got 10 cents per week
allowance" Children of the era also helped with a Victory
Garden. Parents and grandparents planted vegetables to supplement
produce in local markets because a large share of farm produce
went into rations for U.S. troops. "My parents had a huge
garden and one of the ways I, as well as others, could earn
some money was to pull weeds," she said.
"My dad didn't make it that easy on us, he'd
pay a penny for every 10 weeds we picked and he'd recount
them to check for accuracy. That might seem a good way to
fill your pockets, but when it was 90 degrees out, it required
all the stamina we could muster." Today, Ellen, a member of
St. Isidore Parish who now resides in northeast Grand Rapids
with Vito, her husband of 48 years, still remembers how her
faith in God helped her through those extraordinary times.
"It seemed to be a very, very religious and patriotic time,"
she recalls. "We prayed all of the time."
|
