Reply #39: Spoke to my mom about the tradition

[TechBear_Seattle]

As far as she remembers from what my grandmother said, the get-togethers started during World War II. My grandfather was a junior officer in the Navy, and it had been the tradition for officers wives to get together every week to socialize and do some politicking for their husbands. When the war started, one of the women in my grandmother's circle, who was British, adopted a custom from the UK of attending the get-togethers with "work for the boys" in hand; the other women quickly followed suit, as it helped them feel that they were actually doing something for the war effort. It is questionable as to whether the many socks, scarves and hats made any difference, but apparently it was very good for morale on the Home Front.

After the war ended, my grandmother and several others continued the practice, and soon their daughters (and eventually a few granddaughters) were regular attendees, even long after husbands had left the Navy. It was well in to the 1980s when the get-togethers stopped happening.