It was a real gas

A few months ago, the Walt’s Workbench article told of how our sweet old cars did their part in the all-out war effort of World War II (the big one).

In that article, there was mention of the gasoline ration stickers that have shown up on the windshields of some of our “treasure finds.”

Since that article, I have received queries as to how these stickers worked and what they meant as well as other questions about them.

Therefore, I thought it might be interesting to some of our younger members who were not around at that time to enjoy our shortages and all-out war effort, along with the many sacrifices the civilian world made.

Every community had a Ration Board that would issue ration books for nearly everything you wanted to buy. Every man, woman and child was issued a ration book with stamps for food, clothing and various commodities. To hoard any of these items was a serious matter.

Everyone who owned a currently registered car was given a ration book with stamps that would allow them four gallons of gas a week and they were issued a windshield sticker with a big “A” on it. All cars on the road had to have a ration sticker of some kind on the windshield.

When you renewed your registration, you were given your new book of “A” stamps by the Motor Vehicle Department where your car was registered. All other gas ration books and stamps were issued by the Ration Board. Each stamp had to have your license plate number on it and the service station had to verify that it was a stamp issued to that exact car. This was done to prevent you from selling your stamps to someone else.

Some people, who for some reason did not use all their gas, would siphon out surplus gas and sell it for 500 to 1,000 percent profit (gas was about 20 cents a gallon). If you got caught at this, you could lose your ration book and stamps.

The next (and most coveted) was the “B” sticker and ration book. It was issued by the Ration Board after you proved that you drove your car to and from defense work or were engaged in an essential activity that required the use of your car. Some of the other users of the “B” card were doctors, police officers, firefighters, civil defense volunteers and military personnel, who had to use their own cars to get to and from their duty stations.

This was quite a status symbol. The Ration Board would then calculate the miles you drove and the gas mileage your car should get. You would then give up your “A” sticker and book and they would issue you enough five-gallon stamps to cover your normal “A” ration plus the miles you drove in relation to the war effort.

This would be reviewed, verified and updated quarterly by the Ration Board. A good friend on the Ration Board was extremely helpful. If you quit or lost your job, you were required to turn in your book and sticker and return to an “A” ration status.

As a teenager during the war, I was a messenger for the Provost Marshal’s Office and the Transportation Office at Lowry Field in Denver. One of my duties was to remove the “B” sticker and replace it with an “A” on the cars of people who left their job at Lowry after they cleared the post Ration Board Office.

The next sticker was the “C,” which was basically commercial, such as cabs, delivery vehicles, farm vehicles, government vehicles and construction equipment. The Ration Board was the determining factor on the amount of fuel you would be allotted according to your needs, all of which had to be reasonably verified. If you had a good friend who was a farmer, he could usually get a few gallons from his tank, but don’t get caught.

The next sticker was the “T,” which was primarily for over-the-road trucks, and some of those stamps were issued on a per-trip basis where the independent truckers had a bank of fuel stamps. After an essential trip, they were issued replacement stamps for the fuel they used.

There was also a mythical and secret ration card that was referred to as the “S” sticker. It referred to the use of a siphon and a can in the dark of night. However, the theft of gas from a car was a more serious offense than the theft of the car itself.

Most of the crimes of misuse of any rationed item or ration books were investigated and prosecuted by the FBI. The penalties were quite stiff. In many cases, it was considered an act of treason.

You really had to live in this era to fully understand the way things were and remember that when you tried buying something as simple as flashlight batteries and other items that were short in supply, the clerk would always reply, “Don’t you know there is a war on?”

Believe me, we all knew there was a war on and we were all glad when the war was at last over. It was a way that all of us were pulled together and really made some of us “older folks” appreciate all the things we have today. I remember that every time I buy batteries today.

See ya next time.

—Walt

Walt Brewer is the 2001 winner of the CLC Distinguished Service Award. Contact him with your Cadillac and LaSalle repair questions at 3500 W. Wesley Ave., Denver, CO 80219 or via e-mail at wspm@msn.com. When e-mailing, please use “CLC” within the subject line.