World War II Blackouts and Air Raid Drills in St. Charles County
by Bob Brail

   In 1942 one song playing on the radios of America had these words:
          One, be calm
          Two, get under shelter
          Three, don't run
          Obey your air raid warden

          Four, stay home
          Five, keep off the highway
          Six, don't phone
          Obey your air raid warden

          There are rules that you should know
          What to do and where to go
          When you hear the sirens blow.

   “Obey Your Air Raid Warden” was a foxtrot recorded by Tony Pastor and his orchestra on the Bluebird label. It was part of a national effort of public service announcements during the war to prepare Americans for an air attack from Japan or Germany. Although St. Charles County, in the middle of the nation, was in no danger from such an attack, its citizens, along with hundreds of thousands of others in the Midwest, participated in blackouts and air raid drills in 1942 and 1943.

   Actually, the first blackout drill held in St. Charles County occurred on December 13, 1941, in the city of O'Fallon, probably because of the presence of the TNT plant, “a military objective,” in Weldon Spring, only six miles away. This, of course, was less than one week after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but preparations for the blackout drill had been going on long before America entered the war. Information cards about the blackout had been passed out for a few weeks before the drill. Compliance was nearly complete, as air raid wardens and other officials patrolled the darkened town, stopping cars at the city limits. Only two houses shown lights. Citizens covered their windows with blankets and whatever else they could find, since blackout material was not yet available. The blackout lasted from 7:45 until 8:19.

   The first county-wide blackout drill was held one year later, on December 14, 1942, at 10:00 PM and included the entire 7th Civilian Defense Region, comprised of Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, and Nebraska. It lasted twenty minutes. The drill would involve all 27,000 county residents, plus fifteen million other Americans living in these nine states. Citizens had been told to stay in their homes, cover their windows, leave some lights for tasks like cooking, and not to use the telephone. Surprisingly, most everyone was still without blackout materials; many people just turned off all their lights. If outside, they were not to smoke and, if driving, they were to park their cars and turn the lights off. In St. Charles County, the drill commenced with the blowing of steam whistles and ringing of church bells. Several hundred air raid wardens and other officials made sure the rules were followed; violators of blackout and air raid laws could be sentenced to six months in jail and fined $500. The TNT plant in Weldon Spring was again a special concern. However, production continued throught the drill, although all outside lights were turned off. Several staff residences were not blacked out but “should have been.”
Only five months later, in April, 1943, MGM Studios released its newest movie, Air Raid Wardens. This film starred the famous comedy duo, Laurel and Hardy. The story featured “two bumblers, failures as . . . air raid wardens, [who] stumble across a nest of Nazi saboteurs bent on blowing up a local magnesium plant.” Perhaps it is an overstatement to say that by this time in the war Americans were not as concerned about air raids and blackouts, but some residents of St. Charles County did not take seriously their next drill. Perhaps they had come to admit that there was no way the middle of America would ever experience an air attack from Japan or Germany.

   The second county-wide blackout, again part of a larger nine-state effort, was held on August 31, 1943. While the first was “almost 100% perfect,” this one proved to be “far from successful” in St. Charles County. On Main Street in St. Charles, between Clark and Jefferson Streets, a total of eleven businesses all left their lights on and windows uncovered. In another location, lights were on at a gas station. When Civil Defense officials contacted the business, the owner's wife informed them that her husband was an air raid warden out on patrol! The TNT plant at Weldon Spring did not black out.

   Two more surprise drills were planned for the future, but this writer could find no evidence that either ever happened. However, there would be one more air raid “incident” before war's end. On September 23, 1943, the whistle on a Wabash train stopped in St. Charles became stuck and sounded for twenty minutes. The police and sheriff's departments were “flooded with calls,” but this “air raid scare” was shortlived.
During Word War II, American “citizens contributed to the war effort by rationing consumer goods, recycling materials, purchasing war bonds, and working in war industries.” Millions of Americans also contributed to the war effort by participating in blackout and air raid drills, including the residents of St. Charles County. Although there was not chance the people of this county would ever experience an attack from the air, they did what they could as part of the war effort.

Sources: Americainwwii.com; Imdb.com; Loc.gov; St. Charles Cosmos-Monitor (St. Charles City-County Library); Songlyrics.com; Thetntstory.blogspot.com.