A Day of Infamy: What were the Russell and Winnie family doing on Dec. 7, 1941?

Hadn’t Russell Minehart fought in the Great War to end all wars?

Dec 08, 2024

A few years ago, I wrote a check, and when I wrote out the date, I told the young clerk, “Oh! It’s December 7^th!” She had no idea what the significance of that was. It was Pearl Harbor Day. It had meaning like Sept. 11^th does today to almost all living generations except our youngest. Did you know someone born on 9/11 would be 22 years old now? The Pearl Harbor Attack happened 83 years ago. To remember that, you’d need to be in your 90s. But if you are younger than 90, your parents and society didn’t let you forget.

Pearl Harbor was bombed on Sunday, Dec. 7^th, 1941. The Minehart family went to church every Sunday, Mom told me that Helen tuned into WCCO to listen to the symphony, so I found a digital audio recording of WCCO from Dec. 7, 1941. What was heard on the radio is in a pullout quote and bolded. Here is an excerpt from a likely scenario:

Once they arrived home from church, the children dove right into the Minneapolis newspaper so they could read the comics. Russell read the sports articles, and Winifred read the Picture Magazine, a supplement of the Minneapolis Tribune. After dinner, they cleaned off the table by carrying the dishes to the sink, which Winifred had prepared with hot soapy water. Helen made a habit of listening to the symphony on WCCO. The rest of the children were not super excited to hear, but they humored her. When Helen turned on the radio, she heard a jingle for Wheaties cereal. It was a quartet of four men singing in harmony.

Have you tried Wheaties?

They’re whole wheat with all of the bran.

Won’t you try Wheaties?

For wheat is the best food of man.

They’re crispy and crunchy

The whole year through,

The kiddies never tire of them

and neither will you.

So just try Wheaties,

The best breakfast food in the land

Above is what a Wheaties box looked like in 1940. Below is Joe Dimaggio on the back of a Wheaties box. He was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career with Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. I thought a baseball player was appropriate because Russell Minehart loved to listen to baseball on the radio.

Winifred often purchased Wheaties. The Mineharts had eaten them for Sunday breakfast because she and Russell didn’t feel like preparing a big breakfast as they were busy getting dressed for church.
When they heard the instruments tuning up on the radio station, they all took their places to listen to the symphony. Russell and Winifred sat on the couch, and the children sat on the rug or in chairs. Dodger, the dog, cuddled up to Janette.

“We interrupt this program to bring you a special news bulletin. The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by air, President Roosevelt has just announced. The attack has also been made on all naval and military activities on the principal island of Oahu.”

Russell dropped the newspaper onto his lap. “Helen, please turn that up.”
Winifred’s, Gordon’s, and Jim’s heads popped up. Janette dropped a toy they had been using to occupy Dodger in a tug-of-war game. All heads leaned into the radio with open ears. The symphony music came back on, and a song ended. The live audience applauded.

“The symphony number one in F minor by modern Russian composer Shostakovich performed the opening work on this afternoon’s program,” said the radio announcer with his velvet voice.

He repeated the announcement that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor and Manila, Philippines. The next regularly scheduled program would not run so that they could continue to update listeners on the developing situation in the Far East.

“This is WCCO studio in Minneapolis-St. Paul. The Twin Cities temperature is 37 degrees.”

Russell sat there stunned. Hadn’t I fought in the Great War to end all wars? He was patriotic, but the thought of his teenage sons being sent to war bothered him. Gordon was 15 and Jimmy 13. I hope if this drags us into war, it will be over before Gordon has to serve. Russell had been following the war news, but he, like many others, had hoped the United States would not get involved. They knew what they had heard wasn’t good.
Winifred stood up and walked into the kitchen. She prayed the war would be over before her dear firstborn was old enough to be drafted. Winifred dug into the metal tea storage canister, dug out some tea leaves, and placed them in a tea ball. Then, she put her china teapot on a ceramic tile on the dining room table. She walked back into the kitchen to get the whistling kettle off the stove and poured hot water into the teapot. She placed the ball of loose tea in hot water and replaced the china lid to let it steep. The United States entered World War II, and everyone understood that meant young men, eighteen and older, would be mustered into military service in great numbers.
The next day, December 8, 1941, the government ordered all ham radio operators to cease their transmissions. Russell kept his amateur radio equipment in the parlor. The U.S. government ordered all civilians to suspend the use of ham radios and seal off their equipment. It was illegal to even listen.
Gordon thought it was foolish. “Dad,” said Gordon, “ham operators could give information about weather all over the world. I think it’s crazy for the government to shut all the hams down.”
“Gordon,” said Russell, “Loose lips sink ships, and walls with ears lose wars. The government is worried about the walls having ears.” The Department of War Propaganda made posters with these slogans and hung them in public places like stores and churches.