WWII Homefront

You’ve heard the Beach Boys singing about them… but huarache sandals have  been around since before the Beach Boys were born!  Originating in Latin American countries, made of woven hand-tooled leather uppers and soles, they began appearing in Mexican markets around 1936. Eventually the soles were replaced with rubber from worn tires, but the year this began is not specific.   They were originally a peasant shoe, and the smaller sizes made them popular with American women.  Some modern pairs have lasted their owners up to 20 years!  Now THAT is a long-lived shoe!  Huaraches are traditionally hand-made, so no two pairs are ever exactly alike.

Sure, we’ve all heard of Keds….  people refer to those little white oxford-type canvas sneakers as Keds regardless of whether or not they actually ARE…. simply because it’s easier to associate a brand name than call them ‘little white sneakers’.  While this is important to note in product branding, it has been ingrained for four generations now, and is likely to stick.

Lets give you a little history on the little white sneaker…

This is direct from Wikipedia:  ”A plimsoll shoe or simply plimsoll is a type of athletic shoe with a canvas upper and rubber sole, developed as beachwear in the 1830s by the Liverpool Rubber Company (later to become Dunlop). The shoe was originally, and often still is in parts of the UK, called a ‘sand shoe’ and acquired the nickname ‘plimsoll’ in the 1870s. This name derived, according to Nicholette Jones’ book “The Plimsoll Sensation”, because the coloured horizontal band joining the upper to the sole resembled the plimsoll line on a ship’s hull, or because, just like the Plimsoll line on a ship, if water got above the line of the rubber sole, the wearer would get wet.”

BUT WAIT… There’s more.  This is where it gets interesting….

“As it was commonly used for corporal punishment in the British Commonwealth, where it was the typical gym shoe (part of the school uniform), plimsolling is also a synonym for a slippering. ” (you know… smacking someone around with a soft shoe to punish them)

“They were generally black or white with a few in brown.

In most of North America, they are known as sneakers or tennis shoes, depending on the regional dialect. In the UK these shoes were compulsory in schools’ physical education lessons and today are still generally known as Plimsolls or pumps. Regional terms are common for these. In Northern Ireland and central Scotland they are usually known as gutties; “sannies” (from ‘sand shoe’) is also used in Scotland. In parts of Southern England and Wales they are known as “daps” or “dappers”. There is a widespread belief that “daps” is taken from a factory sign – “Dunlop Athletic Plimsoles” which was called “the DAP factory”. However, this seems unlikely as the first citation in the Oxford English Dictionary of “dap” for a rubber soled shoe is a March 1924 use in the Western Daily Press newspaper; Dunlop did not acquire the Liverpool Rubber Company (as part of the merger with the Macintosh group of companies) until 1925.In South Africa they are called tekkies and in East Africa Tackies allegedly because that is how the rubber went in the sun. In India, white plimsolls are often worn by school children and are known as Keds. The brown version is used by most police and military units as a gym training shoe; they are also part of the uniform of a batman (military). or else”

That was the Keds tie-in…

Keds  as a brand were introduced in 1916, by US Rubber (later called Uniroyal).  They were first mass-marketed with the designation of “sneakers” in 1917, because the canvas uppers and rubber soles made no noise

SOOO… now you know more about the little white sneaker, and that they came in more colors.  Let’s show you some links!

These are the British Army style plimsolls, which you’d use for WWII reenacting, available at What Price Glory:

And THESE are several styles of ‘Keds’ you can still get just about anywhere:

The saddle shoe was introduced in 1906 by Spalding (yes, the same one that makes baskeballs!) Not precisely what you would imagine for athletic footwear, it was actually indeed created with tennis and squash players as its main market. The black ‘saddle’ middle of the shoe helped to stabilize the foot during activity.

This shoe was originally intended for sports, but because of its stylish lines and clean look, it soon became popular with young men and women all over, with all different sorts of clothing!

So to keep your feet comfy and stylish, a retro pair of black-and-white saddle shoes with the bubblegum pink rubber sole just might be the way to go at your next retro event!

Originally begun during WWII, when there was a leather shortage, Hoy Saltwater Sandals were made from scraps from boot factories!!

Hoy Sandals are now offered in not only children’s footwear, but ladies as well.  Super durable, and long-wearing because of it’s vulcanized rubber sole, these shoes are NOT an emerging trend- they’re a continuing one!

Here are some examples of Hoy Saltwater Sandals offered on Amazon.com:

Now then, folks. Before you start to think that I am off my rocker, lets give you a little history on the wonder that is Spam.  (which is short for “shoulder of pork and ham”, or “spiced ham” depending on who you talk to)
Spam debuted in 1937, and in 1940 had what was believed to be the very first singing commercial. ‘SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM, Hormel’s new miracle meat in a can, Tastes fine; saves time, if you want something grand; ask for SPAM’   From 1941-1945, more than 1 million pounds of Spam were shipped worldwide to support US and Allied troops.  In 1943, they even had a black and white ‘economy’ label for the war effort!

Spam is currently sold in 41 countries worldwide, the most usage being in the USA, the UK, and South Korea.  It was introduced to Hawaii and to Guam during WWII, where fresh meat was difficult to come by… and Spam is still exceptionally popular in these areas today, where the average citizen consumes 16 tins per year!  That’s a LOT of Spam.

While people of means refer to Spam as “poor people food”, places like Hawaii refer to other varieties of tinned meat as “poor people’s Spam”.

So…. here’s what to do with it when you have it!  These recipes, and many more, can be found at SpamRecipes.net and information on Spam can be found at Spam.com (which is where these fabulous images are from!)

Cabbage Apple Spam Supper

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup honey
2 cooking apples, sliced 1/4″
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 cups shredded cabbage 1/4 tsp clove
12-oz can SPAM, cubed 1/2″

Directions:
In skillet melt butter over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients; toss to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until apples and cabbage are tender and SPAM is heated through (10 to 12 minutes).

Hawaiian Spam Sandwich

Ingredients:
1 can Spam luncheon meat (12 oz)
4 slices American cheese
1 can Pineapple rings (8 oz); drained
4 Hamburger buns; split

Directions:
Brown SPAM slices in skillet. Place 2 SPAM slices on each bottom half of hamburger bun. Top with pineapple ring and cheese slice. Cover sandwich with top half of bun.

Cool Cucumber Avocado Spam Sandwiches

Ingredients:
8-oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 medium cucumber, sliced 1/4″
12-oz can SPAM, sliced 1/8″
1/4 cup sour cream
2 ripe avocados, cut into 1/4″ wedges
1/4 cup chopped fresh dillweed
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp pepper
8 slices rye bread

Directions:
In small bowl combine cream cheese, sour cream, dillweed and pepper; stir to blend. Spread 2 tablespoons cream cheese mixture on each slice of bread. Reserve remaining cream cheese mixture. Arrange cucumber slices on bread slices; or with 3 slices of SPAM. Dip avocados in lemon juice; Arrange on sandwiches. Garnixh with remaining cream cheese mixture.

Spam Salad

Ingredients:
1 can of Spam, regular or low-salt
1/4 cup diced white onion
1/4 cup diced sweet or dill pickle
1 large hard boiled egg, diced
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
Kraft Sandwich Spread or Salad Dressing to taste

Directions:
Decan the Spam. Either grind or use a food processor to reduce it to consistency of coarse hamburger. Mix with other ingredients using enough Sandwich Spread or Salad Dressing to get the spreading consistency you desire. Chill thoroughly. Serve as dip with chips or crackers or make into sandwiches.