Carolyn Reichenberg
Biography
One of the neighbor children Barbara played with most. Neighborhood playmate. Carol played paper dolls with her in her attic. Was playing with Carol in her yard when the radio announced the war was over. Signed the humorous autograph-book verse about Carol in a tub without its plug.
Timeline
August 15, 1945
Celebrating the radio announcement that the war was over
Ruth and John explained the news; the children jumped, clapped, and shouted. Carol says she was about six and that the war was officially over that day.
Carol's ChapterFifth and sixth grade
Carol keeps a class autograph book
Class autograph books were popular during these grades. Carol's surviving book contains verses from family and friends.
Carol's Chapter
Stories mentioning Carolyn
- Neighborhood Friends and Games for Every SeasonBarbara remembers her closest neighborhood playmates and the pretend games she shared with Margie Britz. Childhood pastimes included swimming at Riverside Park, Popsicles, catching lightening bugs, lemonade stands, jump rope, cards, treasure hunts, yard games, and Jacks at school. She describes the frightening nighttime chasing game One O’clock And The Ghost Isn’t Here. Winter brought snow games, sledding, cocoa, and warming up on the register; fall brought leaf piles and Halloween treats and pranks. Quiet pleasures included reading Little House in Big Woods and watching clouds beneath sheets on the clothesline. Children also played in summer rain, although they were warned about “Night Air.”
- Imaginations, Paper Dolls, and the Warmth of HomeCarol remembers childhood games with her sisters and neighborhood friends when store-bought toys were scarce. They played House on an army blanket, dressed in cast-off clothes, played in a canvas tent and a deserted trailer, and enjoyed paper dolls. Quiet play in the kitchen while Mom ironed and listened to the radio gave Carol a lasting sense of security. The children made newspaper kites, Kleenex flowers, and Kool-Aid stands, played street games, and sledded through steep wooded hills before warming themselves at the brass heat register.
- War Stamps and Joyful News in Carolyn’s YardCarol recalls buying ten-cent Savings Bonds stamps at school as family finances allowed. A book holding $18.50 in stamps could be exchanged for a $25 War Bond redeemable in ten years. Her parents used ration stamps for food and gas, including rationed meat, coffee, sugar, and butter. While Carol and Carolyn Reichenberg played in Carolyn’s yard, a radio announced the war was over. Ruth and John tried to explain, and the children jumped, clapped, and shouted. Carol dates the memory to August 15, 1945, says she was about six, and states that the war was officially over that day.
- Names and Verses Tucked AwayCarol invites comparison of family signatures and recalls Bernie's report that Dad's birth certificate spelled his name Floyde, leaving the reason uncertain. She still keeps her grade-school autograph book and shares playful verses and coded messages written by family and friends.
Referenced in
Family corrections
Notes sent in by the family and approved on review. They sit alongside the original record — the book's wording is never changed.
No corrections on file for this record yet.
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