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The Laurel Commercial Club had a new project in the works in February 1945.
To address the growing concern over juvenile delinquency, the club proposed to establish a “Teenage Canteen” in the space on the second floor of the auditorium formerly occupied by the Hotel Laurel.
Patterned after the USO canteens provided for American servicemen in various cities, the Teen Canteen was supposed to give kids something to do besides run the streets at night and get into trouble.
Teen Canteens were being established all over the country in 1945. Hartington started a canteen in the basement of their city auditorium. Randolph considered starting one but did not follow through.
The Laurel canteen opened in March on the main floor of the auditorium instead of on the second floor as originally planned. A number of different activities, including basketball, were provided and plans were to add more activities as interest grew.
But after an additional burst of enthusiasm, interest fell off. The canteen was not mentioned in the Advocate after March 28, 1945. In 1949 the unspent funds of the disbanded canteen were turned over to the new Laurel Playground Association.
The concept was resurrected in October 1959 when the first PTA sponsored Teen Canteen was held in the City Auditorium after a basketball game. Canteens were held after football and basketball games for several years.
The ladies of the local Red Cross chapter were making bedroom slippers for hospitalized servicemen. The soles were made of felt from old hats; the tops of material from old suit jackets. Mrs. Leinbaugh said 102 pairs of slippers had been completed and more were in the works.
In order to conserve fuel, the War Production Board issued an order restricting the use of electricity for outdoor advertising. The ban applied to outdoor decorative lighting, show window lighting, outdoor sign lighting, and marquee lighting in excess of 60 watts.
There was a run on coffee during the first two weeks of February caused by rumors that coffee would again be rationed as it had been in 1943. But there would be no coffee rationing in 1945.
With gasoline and tires severely rationed, Editor Allison said he wondered where a few young punks were getting the gas to run up and down the streets at all hours of the night, turning corners on two wheels, and squealing tires.
“We dig up the precious coupons and gas money to run our business and some moron siphons the gas out of our tank while we are sleeping. The old shotgun is off the pegs and we’re going to use it. Someone is going to be eating breakfast off of the clock shelf for some time.”
Congressman Karl Stefan said that several bills had been introduced to abolish “war time“ (daylight savings time). Stefan said war time was popular in urban areas but unpopular in the rural parts of the country. The War Department, however, insisted it remain in effect for the duration. War time was lifted on September 30, 1945.
Gladys (Mrs. Rollie) Brittell and Inez (Mrs. Walter) Lindberg received word that their brother Sgt. Dewey Newton of Emmett, NE, had been killed in action in a mid-air collision with a B-24 bomber somewhere over China.
Newton was an engineer in the Army Air Corps and this was his first mission since going overseas a month earlier. Newton also was a brother of Alvin Newton.
Staff Sgt. Glen Hansen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Hansen of Laurel, received an Oak Leaf Cluster to go with the Air Medal he previously earned as a tail gunner on a B-17 bomber.
Lt. Bud Quist also received an Oak Leaf Cluster. Quist was a bomber pilot and had flown half of his required missions over Germany. Bomber pilots and crew members who survived 35 combat missions generally were reassigned to less hazardous duty.
Word was received that William J. “Billy Jim” Papenhausen had been transferred from San Diego to Chicago. Papenhausen was aboard the aircraft carrier “Lexington” when it was sunk during the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942. The “Lexington” was the first U.S. carrier lost in World War II.
Word was received by Mr. and Mrs. Fred Smith of Belden that their son Kenneth had been missing in action since Dec. 15. It was later learned that Pfc. Smith was in a German prison camp. He would be freed in May.
Congressman Stefan reported that the Army Air Corps was planning to sell more than 18,000 surplus planes to the general public. Presumably these did not include bombers and fighters. The juniors of Laurel High School invited Coleridge students to attend a dance in the school auditorium. Until 1939 school dances were forbidden in Laurel.
Carl Utterback, who had been barbering in Concord for the past seven years, decided to move to Laurel. He leased Bill Lukes’ shop in the corner room of the old hotel (site of Security Bank).
“We got an idea,” said Editor Allison. “We are considering starting a school for grandpaps who are suffering from their first experience. And we are going to sign up John Urwiler right off the bat. With all our experience in the grand-brat business, we ought to be good.“ This is what seems to have prompted Allison sudden interest in grand-parenting education: “Lt. And Mrs. Dale Urwiler are the proud parents of a fine baby girl (Joyce) and Grandpap John came rushing in to tell us the news. He was really excited as this is his first grandchild.“ Allison must have been equally excited about his latest grand-brat, a girl named Merriam Ann, because he had been devoting more space in his PopOffs column to her than to the couple in the black Ford.
