I did this interview when I was in the ninth grade. I recently found my old flash drive and this was one of the files on it. I think it's pretty good for ninth grade!
On July 30th 1936 a baby by the name of Betty Mencel, was born. Later to be known as Betty Heflin after marrying Herbert Heflin. Little did she know that in just 5 years her life would change due to the second world war. Although Betty Heflin was only 5 years old when Pearl Harbor was bombed and the U.S. declared war, she still remembers how it was living in that time.
The United States entered the “world wide war” in 1941. At that time Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in office and the economy had just been brought up from the Great Depression. “I remember hearing about it on the radio,” said Betty Heflin with a spaced look on her face, as if she were reliving the moment. “I was so young I didn’t really understand what was going on, but when I saw my mother shaking her head and tears coming into her eyes, I knew it couldn’t be good.
Betty Heflin was the 8th born of 9 children. She recalls that she used to think her older brother was her father. Although, during that time most African Americans were poor. Betty Heflin, however, was considered to have a “rich family.” Her mom worked cleaning houses and sewing clothing. She stated, “The blacks that worked cleaning the white people houses were better off than the ones that worked in the fields.”
1941 was also the first time the Army Air Corps opened its enlistment to African Americans. James White, Betty Heflin’s older brother went to war during that time. Although he wasn’t in the Air Corps branch, James White was only 18 when he became a soldier. With a smirk on her face, Betty Heflin remembered “Me and my mamma didn’t want him to go. . .but he insisted on it. . .he wanted to fight for his country.”
Betty Heflin remembers that during the war there were many blackouts. When there was a problem, a siren would go off, letting everyone know there was an emergency. Sometimes her second oldest brother, who was a boy scout, would ring the church bells in case of an emergency. When the siren went off it was to tell everyone that they should stay together in a house or find a certain place to go to, like a school house. Betty Heflin lived less than a mile away from Camp Blanding in Starke, Florida. Camp Blanding is a military installation near Jacksonville, Florida. Today it is the Florida Army National Guard’s primary training area. It is located in north-central Florida. While smiling, Betty Heflin told me that “ I remembered the soldiers and how they would patrol the area in trucks, or they could have just been passing by to get to Camp Blanding.”
Another thing Betty Heflin remembered from her childhood was that during the war the food was rationed. Rationing is when goods that are used for the military are sold but only a limited amount per customer. “Oh yes, we had tickets for certain products that we could get at the commissary on the military base.” Betty Heflin stated. She remembers that they could only buy a certain amount of butter, and sugar. The rationing system was set up by the OPA, or Office of Price Administration. The “tickets” that Betty Heflin referred to were actually coupons. Each household received ration books filled with coupons to buy scarce items that were used by the soldiers fighting in the war. Also, butter and sugar weren’t the only items that were rationed. The list also included shoes, meat, coffee, and gasoline.
With the large number of men gone to help out with the war effort, the economy still had to continue; hence many women began receiving jobs that were once held by men. Even though Betty Heflin’s mom already had a job before World War II, her auntie however, didn’t. Daisy Able worked as an at home mother with 4 kids at the time the war broke out. When her husband went off to war, Daisy was forced to get a “man’s” job so she could support her family. Betty Heflin’s mother provided a great deal of help for her only sister. Even with 9 children she still found the space and time to care for her sister’s. “Man, that house used to be so packed at times I thought we were having a get together or a family reunion. . .it was fun to me!” Betty Heflin had two older sisters and six older brothers. One of her sisters was working and 4 of her brothers had jobs so they were able to support the two families, but just barely. In addition to jobs Betty Heflin also remembered how women began playing sports now that the men were gone. Sports like baseball were being played by women because the American people still felt the need for entertainment.
Just 4 years after the United States entered the war, it was over. The Allies won and there were new economic opportunities for grabs. Betty Heflin remembers it as a “welcome home party” for her brother and uncle. “I didn’t pay no attention to the war I just knew that my mom said my brother was coming home, and I couldn’t wait!”
Today you can find Betty Heflin in Ocala, Florida living with her daughter Faye Goring. She is retired and she is my grandmother.
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