Elderly Give Pupils Lesson On Life In '40s

March 02, 1994|By Will Hacker. Special to the Tribune.

The hairstyles are weird. The clothes look like they come from a Hollywood studio instead of a real store. And the music? In a word: awful.

While this is what many of today's teens may think when they encounter the lifestyles and fashions of the early 1940s, it's also what many people who followed vogue fashions 50 years ago may think when they encounter today's teens.

But those perceptions changed a little Tuesday when the two groups got together at Troy Junior High School in Shorewood to discuss life during the last great war in Europe.

The dozen senior citizens who served in, or lived through, World War II were on hand to help 8th graders better understand the times that author M.E. Kerr talks about in "Gentlehands." The book, which students recently completed, tells the story of an American boy who must come to terms with his grandfather's service in Adolf Hitler's SS.

James Wheeler, who chose 20 students from his four 8th-grade classes to interview the seniors, said that while history can be read about, it "can't really be understood without talking to someone who was there."

Though the official purpose of the interviews was to bring to life the days of the draft, rationing and the Andrews Sisters, something else came out of the afternoon: inter-generational understanding.

"It was a totally different world they lived in," said Nick Anastopoulos, 13, of Joliet. "I never thought that anyone from our area fought in a war. I always thought they came from other places."

Several students said that one of the most important lessons they learned was that while theirs is a generation with seemingly limitless choices and resources, others that went before them were not so lucky.

"I don't know how they got by on only two pairs of shoes a year (the rationed amount) when I go through them so fast," said Mike Stieg, 14, of Shorewood. "We can choose to join the Army, but they had a war forced on them."

Hearing about war and the spirit of the times, said Chrissy LaVazza, helps her to understand the music and dress of the period. "I thought it would be boring, old stuff," said LaVazza, 14, of Joliet. "But now I understand how their music and fashions brought them together."

This new-found understanding was not limited to the young.

John Sorensen, a Joliet native who went on bombing runs over occupied France, said, "people are people. I'm glad these kids gave us the chance to share our experiences. I learned a little about them as well."