Air raid curtain or black-out curtain, made of black cotton, apparently a sheet that has been adapted for this purpose. Curtain is hemmed all four sides and has an offset (commercially sewn) seam running vertically. Five unevenly-spaced brass rings have been hand-stitched along top to hang a a window for blacking out any light in the house.
Made or purchased for us in the donor's home by her parents, Henry Keiper Long and Helen Hamaker Long. Her father was a member of Civil Defense during WWII; whenever an air raid siren went off, he would exit the house to check that all his neighbors had blacked out their windows to allow no evidence of light. The Longs' air raid curtain was hung over the dressing room window since the family used a weak light within this room only. After the air raid, her father would go off to join other members of the civil defense team to report findings and to drink. This group was headed by director J. Hale Steinman. Donor indicated her belief that the men used these occasions as an excuse to get together with buddies to drink and socialize.
The Long family lived in a house built by Mr. Long at 1431 Hunsecker Road on the eastern edge of Manheim Twp.
(Written by Wendell Zercher)
Provenance
Donor, Mrs. Nancy L. Gingrich.
Date Range
Early 1940's
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
DAC
Storage Wall
Island 2
Storage Cabinet
Unit 13
Storage Shelf
Shelf 3
Storage Container
Box 0059
Object Name
Curtain, Window
Length (cm)
35.56
Length (ft)
1.1666666667
Length (in)
14
Width (cm)
469.9
Width (ft)
15.4166666667
Width (in)
185
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2005-06-22
Condition Notes
Very good condition except for slight wear at crotch with seam somewhat separated.
