Civil Defense, 1960s style

I love looking at old material discussing how to survive during emergencies. Recently, I've been going through Civil Defense materials from the US in the 1950s and 1960s. A lot of it is based around nuclear fallout, but if you take the radiation poisoning issue away, looking at the materials can assist in showcasing what the culture at the time valued or understood. For example, the State Council of Civil Defense in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania released A Food Plan For Home Defense in 1952 that had a listing of the types of foods that should be included in an emergency food box.

Most of the items are pretty standard, but a few stand out...the Juices. All of the juices are high acid, not great for little children or infants, but they will prevent scurvy. The soups is another interesting section, because they focus on creamed soups that could be added to pasta or rice to thicken them. Cream of asparagus was also popular in the 1950s, although it has fallen out of favor for the general public nowadays. Likewise, I would have expected to see more pasta and rice items, but the guide focuses on canned goods, of which there were less canned noodle options at the time, although I was surprised to not see chicken noodle soup on the list.

For myself, living in an area prone to Hurricanes, the guide was a fun experiment to use as a cross-check with what my own family supplies in our pantry. There were sections where we exceeded, some we broke even on, and others that we had nothing. Part of the issue came down to frozen, dehydrated, or canned. Most of the missing items we did have in a deep freezer in the garage, but Juices, for example, were completely empty.

There was also the question of taste. We don't stock cream of mushroom soup, because some of the family don't like it. However, we have mushrooms and cream of chicken soup, which could be supplemented. Likewise, we have dried goods, such as beans, peas, rice, pasta, etc., which didn't make the 1952 list.

In all, these types of manuals or lists provide an interesting view into what the government thought society needed (and were used to eating/living like) at the time they were created. For myself, I would add more dark greens to the list, and if your household had young children or infants, their requirements would be different and should follow modern nutritional guidelines. 

Another item I found: Civil Defense for Schools, from the same organization/year, provides a list of First Aid items each family should have:

And the First Aid for a School:

For myself, the school one is interesting, because it's basically plasters, gauze, and sterilizing cleansers, while the family kit includes disinfectants, flushing agents, razors, flashlights, and purification tablets. I am uncertain if the difference is due to the higher potential for injury in a home setting versus the likelihood of a school being the local shelter as well or not. 

The other item to think about is the location the material is coming from. Pennsylvania is a north-eastern state, where snow and basements are common place. As such, the inclusion of blankets and water in the school box, verses bedsheets and bath towels in the home kit may be playing to the location's strengths. Regardless, the differences are interesting to think about.

I always had a medical kit in my classroom, though the items included were different. Plasters, bandages, antibiotic and allergen creams (individual packets), and personal care products for the girls, were always included, as were safety pins (more for clothing emergencies then medical), and blood stop/burn creams were also included. We weren't allowed to give out medications, such as pain killers, but I kept my own 'teachers' kit in my desk, just in case. The nurses' office had those items should students need them.

The liability and allergen issues of today compared to what was standard operating procedure in the 1950s makes me long for a day when teachers could actually manage student issues without the fear of being sued or fired for any little thing;; while these documents, and the stories they tell, offer insight into how policies and the public were expected to work together.