1930s-'50s women an example to follow

By David W. Hill
dhill@modbee.com

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This Mother's Day I'm reminded of my own mom, Nancy Hill, and the incredible generation of women of which she is a part.

They lived through the Great Depression, witnessing their families' struggles to survive those brutal days in the 1930s when money was scarce, food was in short supply and work was hard to come by.

It taught them the value of a buck and how to stretch one as far as possible. They would learn the importance of saving all they could for those inevitable rainy days.

The Modesto Bee - Nancy Hill is pictured in her Army uniform in about 1943.

Although jobs were lacking, there were constant reminders of the premium placed on hard work and a strong work ethic.

This generation of women also survived a world war. Although WWII brought an end to the Depression, the conflict created new challenges and lessons throughout the 1940s.

With so many men serving overseas, women found themselves dealing with shortages and rationing, managing the family's farm or business, and pitching in on all kinds of community efforts to support the war.

For many women, that meant filling vital manufacturing jobs in plants turning out ships, tanks and planes. For others, like my mom, WWII meant joining the Army or some other branch of the service and learning new skills while serving their country.

The end of the war brought a return to more traditional roles for many of these women. In the 1950s, they could most often be found at home, raising families and supporting their husbands. It's a decade and a stereotype that too often defines these women.

That's unfortunate and shortsighted because the strength, independence and determination they showed would be expanded on and enhanced by their daughters, granddaughters and other generations.

Annie "Nancy" Miller was attending what was then Humboldt State College in Arcata. She couldn't afford to live on campus, so she rode the bus for 45 minutes one way to school from her home in Ferndale. When the war broke out, she told her father, the Rev. David Miller, she was going to join the Army and return to college after the war. Now that's pretty independent stuff from a young woman in the 1940s, especially the daughter of the tough-minded and outspoken Rev. Miller.

Somehow she got his blessing and shipped out to the East Coast, where she served as a medical technician in an Army hospital treating soldiers wounded in Europe. Eventually, her college training in business propelled her into an unwanted Army staff job and a promotion to sergeant.

She and my dad, Frank Hill, married after the war and settled down, like so many post-war couples, to start a family. Those were happy but lean years, with my dad working as a ranch hand and truck driver. My mom worked the occasional part-time job to help make ends meet but nothing steady. She would never go back to college, content to raise her son and help her husband.

On the surface, that might seem to fit the 1950s-era housewife stereotype, but look closer.

My mom and many of her generation were the chief executive officer and chief financial officer of the family. Sure, she cooked the meals and cleaned the house, but she was the boss. My dad, who served in the Navy, always said she outranked him. She did.

With him on the road so much, she was the one who crunched the numbers each month and tried to figure out how to pay all the bills. She was the one who did the shopping and made sure those few precious dollars went as far as possible. And she was the morale officer, always putting the best face on things no matter how little money there was.