Credit: Courtesy of Charles Hardy, III
To conserve materials vital for the war effort, the federal government placed restrictions on the civilian access to meat, rubber, gasoline, and other essential commodities from 1942 to 1945. Regulation in Pennsylvania and the issuing of ration books was supervised by 422 ration boards. Violations of the system were not uncommon, especially in Philadelphia, which had an active black market in the sale of gasoline.
