World War II Honoree

Beulah Morgan Preising

Hometown

Louisiana

Honored By

Beulah P. Davis

Relationship

Daugher

BEULAH MORGAN PREISING AND JOHN ARTHUR PREISING MOTHER WAS A VOLUNTEER WAR BOND SALESWOMAN DURING WWII. SHE WOULD STAND IN A BOOTH ON THIRD STREET IN DOWNTOWN BATON ROUGE, LA., SELLING WAR BONDS TO THE PUBLIC. THESE WERE CALLED “SELLING BOOTH”. THIS BOND WAS A WAY OF LENDING MONEY TO THE GOVERNMENT TO HELP FUND THE WAR EFFORT. THE BUYER WOULD PAY $18.75 FOR A BOND. TEN YEARS LATER THEY COULD REDEEM IT FOR $25. SHE WAS A MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY WHILE DAD WAS ACTIVE IN THE AMERICAN LEGION. HE SERVED IN WORLD WAR I. WHEN THERE WAS A PARADE MOTHER WOULD PICK UP SEVERAL “GOLD STAR MOTHERS” AND TAKE THEM IN HER CAR TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PARADES. “GOLD STAR MOTHERS” HAD BANNERS WITH A GOLD STAR DISPLAYED IN THE WINDOWS OF THEIR HOMES FOR THEIR SONS WHO HAD BEEN SLAIN IN THE SERVICE DURING THE WAR. SHE AND DAD, “ART”, HAD A VICTORY GARDEN IN OUR BACK YARD WHERE THEY GREW SEVERAL KINDS OF VEGETABLES. SO MUCH FOOD WAS SENT OVERSEAS FOR OUR FIGHTING MEN THERE WAS A FOOD SHORTAGE (AMONG OTHER THINGS) STATESIDE. DAD LIKED TO PICK UP SERVICEMEN IN HIS CAR WHERE THEY WERE STATIONED AT HARDING FIELD ( NOW RYAN AIRPORT) AND TAKE THEM TO DOWNTOWN THIRD STREET, THEN TAKE THEM BACK TO HARDING FIELD. WHEN HE REALLY LIKED A SERVICEMEN HE WOULD INVITE THEM TO HAVE DINNER LATER WITH US. MOTHER WOULD FIX AN EXTRA-SPECIAL MEAL FOR THEM. DAD WOULD PICK THEM UP AT HARDING FIELD, BRING THEM TO OUR HOME FOR DINNER, THEN TAKE THEM BACK. THIS WAS ON HIS ONE DAY OFF FROM WORK. MOTHER COLLECTED SCRAP IRON, BOTTLES, AND PAPER FOR THESE VARIOUS DRIVES. OUR BACK PORCH WAS ALWAYS FULL OF ARTICLES SHE WAS COLLECTING FOR A DRIVE. DURING WWI MOTHER WOULD SEND HER OLD MAGAZINES TO A SERVICEMEN’S CLUB. DAD, WHO WAS STATIONED IN NEW ORLEANS, LIKED THE MAGAZINES. WHEN HE FOUND HER ADDRESS ON ONE OF THE MAGAZINES, HE WROTE TO THANK HER. THAT STARTED A LONG CORRESPONDENCE. LATER, DAD WOULD COME TO BATON ROUGE TO VISIT HER. EVENTUALLY, AFTER THE WAR, THEY MARRIED. WRITTEN BY THEIR DAUGHTER, BEULAH P. DAVIS SUBMITTED BY HER SON, LANCE S. DAVIS