Saturday, October 08, 2005
Alternative transportation, 1942 style
I've often compared FDR's deft approach to wartime propaganda with Bush's basically nonexistent communication. But even the Office of War Information didn't always hit the right note. In the spring of '42, OWI decided that returning to horses would be a good way to save gas and rubber, and issued a 'suggestion' to the media to push horses. As always, Fibber McGee's writers grabbed the ball and ran with it; Fibber bought a horse named Lillian, who became part of the plot. (The horse was a low-budget character, since she consisted solely of one recorded neigh.)
Returning to horses wasn't as strange in '42 as it would be now, since many farmers and a few businesses still used oat-powered vehicles. Here in Spokane, the Post Office used what Ernie Pyle described as 'chariots' for mail delivery. (I really wanted to include one in this cartoon, but couldn't find any reference pictures!)
Even so, somebody must have realized that the idea wasn't catching on, because Lillian quietly disappeared after a few weeks.
To introduce the idea of substituting horses for cars, the show's musicians came up with a rather nice little song:
Listen. ¶ 8:01 PM
I've often compared FDR's deft approach to wartime propaganda with Bush's basically nonexistent communication. But even the Office of War Information didn't always hit the right note. In the spring of '42, OWI decided that returning to horses would be a good way to save gas and rubber, and issued a 'suggestion' to the media to push horses. As always, Fibber McGee's writers grabbed the ball and ran with it; Fibber bought a horse named Lillian, who became part of the plot. (The horse was a low-budget character, since she consisted solely of one recorded neigh.)
Returning to horses wasn't as strange in '42 as it would be now, since many farmers and a few businesses still used oat-powered vehicles. Here in Spokane, the Post Office used what Ernie Pyle described as 'chariots' for mail delivery. (I really wanted to include one in this cartoon, but couldn't find any reference pictures!)
Even so, somebody must have realized that the idea wasn't catching on, because Lillian quietly disappeared after a few weeks.
To introduce the idea of substituting horses for cars, the show's musicians came up with a rather nice little song:
Listen. ¶ 8:01 PM
