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In response to the war, Lodi Union High School began offering classes in aviation machinery for students during the day and welding classes for adults at night. This yearbook photograph shows the aviation class in the shop building. (Courtesy photo)
World War II years brought change for Lodi students
High school students grew up fast during the World War II years of 1942-45. After the Dec. 7, 1941 bombing at Pearl Harbor, life in Lodi, as it did everywhere, changed.
For Lodi Union High School students, the halcyon days of Friday night football games, dances and carefree afternoons at Smitty's malt shop were gone.
On Monday morning, Dec. 8, 1941, all LUHS students were assembled in the auditorium to listen to the radio broadcast of President Franklin D. Roosevelt speaking before Congress . In response to the attack, the United States declared war on Japan and soon followed with war declarations against Germany and Italy. The world war had been so far away that Lodi teenagers might have paid only marginal attention to it. But after December 1941, it was looming over all of them.
Life changed for all the students, and it especially changed for the class of 1942. The boys were about 17 to 18 years old and quickly registered for the military draft or joined the services. In the late spring of 1942, all the Japanese students were moved out of their homes and into sub-standard camps by presidential order. With more than 100 Japanese students at Lodi Union High School, their sudden and sad absence left a void in school life.
Lodi Superintendent of Schools Leroy Nichols' message in the 1942 yearbook carried an ominous message to students.
"The world war today is a struggle unto death between two sets of ideas. ... No one has more at stake than the Class of 1942. Your loyalty, industry, cooperation, and self-sacrifice will contribute greatly in transforming a confused and war torn world into one of peace, justice and tranquility," Nichols wrote.
The summer of 1942 did not mean a carefree vacation for students. More than ever, their labor was needed as men were pulled away to fight the war. The students were needed for harvesting crops including tomatoes, strawberries, almonds, walnuts, grapes and all kinds of tree fruit.
A survey of work done by LUHS students between May 1 and Nov. 12, 1942 showed the teenagers' huge effort and contribution. The 491 boys participating in the survey earned $160,818 during that time period. Most of their work was in agriculture performing field, shed and cannery labor. The boys spent $19,414 on clothes and bought $16,129 in stamps and war bonds for the war effort. They banked $33,844 and contributed $48,703 to their household. The 441 girls participating in the survey earned $44,698, a sum much lower than the boys. They spent $9,330 on clothes and bought $6,814 in stamps and war bonds. They banked $6,157 and contributed $6,354 to their households.
The 1943 class had 283 students in January 1942. But by graduation in June 1943, the numbers dropped considering reflecting early departure for military service and the movement of Japanese students. Only 218 graduated in June 1943.
The high school course offerings also reflected the war effort. To prepare students for war defense needs, P. Windsor started an aviation class. Daniel Boone taught a radio class, and Corell "Pop" Smith taught an electricity class. The Red Cross class had more than 30 girls helping the program.
In the 1943 yearbook, LUHS Principal Earle Crandall also had an ominous message for graduating seniors. "Class of 1943, your situation is so different from that of all other classes which have preceded you for a decade…. You are entering a world engaged in a historic total war which means that for the first time in recent history, each person has a place where he is needed."
While the high school yearbooks from this World War II period reflect the war with serious messages about the world situation and photos of the "Defense Classes" in radio, aviation and electricity, high school was still a period of subdued fun and celebration of youth.
During this time, Lodi High School was known for its varsity football team. It was a great year anytime Lodi could beat the Stockton team. The girls also were very active in sports, and the drill team was something to see. The Lodi High band, led by Sidney Halsey, won many awards and the a cappella choir, led by Miss Weller, was right up there with the orchestra. The senior play in 1943 was the last chance for seniors to have fun and make a little cash for the class.
The World War II years of 1942 through 1945 had a certain effect on Lodi's high school students. It brought them closer together by sharing the stress. The boys and girls of the 1942 class had a stronger social experience in school and after with their reunions. The 1943 class was more subdued like the students had to grow up faster to meet the responsibilities thrust on them. The 1944 class was similar.
The school had a well-respected faculty, but even they were subject to the military draft. The school lost coach Barney Hagen who left to serve in the military, but the school then gained John Giannoni who maintained the community's focus on high school football. Sporting events and school dances helped create an area for socializing. Students held rallies and packed crowds into the old wood bleachers on the high school grounds. But football games were played in the city's new stadium. The Lodi Movie Theater, just remodeled after a 1941 fire, and the downtown malt shops were the places where Lodi's teenagers enjoyed their last innocent days before being thrust into the war-torn world.
When they started high school, they were young teenagers full of carefree fun and optimism. By the time they ended high school while the world war raged on, they were much older and no longer carefree or innocent.
Vintage Lodi is a local history column that appears on the first and third Saturday of the month.
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