As Ontario grew larger, the city began to participate in The All States Picnic. The event first took place in 1880, and then eventually grew to include all forty-eight states by 1930.[1] California. had three main participating cities- including Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Ontario. The All-States Picnic served as a means to promote patriotic unification, but Ontario used it as an opportunity to convince travelers to become future residents. The All-States Picnic even had a table, approximately a mile long, to accommodate all attendees, where they be locals or visitors. Each state occupied a designated position, allowing discourse and bonding to occur.[2]

In retrospect, the All-States Picnics seemed to be a simple way for many Americans to gather together. They proved beneficial to the communities of the Inland Empire even after World War II, because they aided families and friends in coping with wartime losses. The picnics also provided Ontario with a higher level of popularity in comparison to neighboring cities at the time.

Community Unity & Ontario Defense Efforts (Late 1941-Early 1942)

Ontario, California—especially during World War II—embodied the American spirit of loyalty, cooperation, and selflessness. As evidence of this patriotic spirit, local newspaper articles from 1941 promoted the enlistment of young men into the U.S. Naval Forces. The articles declared that since “the business men of Ontario [were] doing their part,” and attempting to “boost enrollment,” it was the job of qualified civilians to join the fighting forces.[3] While service in the armed forces was often romanticized, enlistment did offer decent pay, medical care, and clothing among many other benefits. Therefore, many residents of Ontario joined the U.S. Navy, ready to proudly to serve their nation.[4]

Ontario was also notable for its city-wide defense system, which included air raid drills and protocol practices. As Americans found themselves in the midst of WWII, large numbers of volunteers were recruited into the Raid Warning Services. Consisting of various committees and sub-branches, the entity was formed to help assist local airwatch operations. Many civilian volunteers served as day-time watchers in Ontario’s station, filling into flexible schedules in order to fulfill the duties and demands of the organization.[5]

While there were many willing volunteers, Ontario’s civilian defense system still had room for improvement. A surprising article, written in December 1941, stated that research would attempt to innovate a solution.[6] Thus, Ontario’s first orchestrated ‘blackout’ was very significant, as it identified mistakes and areas of improvement for the whole city. For instance, many commuters continued to drive around with headlights on, while others tried to drive in the dark; ideally, they should have remained parked in darkness. As a result, several collisions occurred, and ultimately protocol was breached. Other errors included extensive movement and failure to turn off domestic lights. Therefore, the city officials of Ontario recognized the true importance of not only widespread adherence to blackout protocol, but cooperation between city sectors and city residents in the event of a crisis.[7] While the imperfect December ‘blackout’ may have been viewed as a failure, the article is clear, demonstrating the need for continued and amplified dedication and cooperation of Ontario residents to the WWII effort.

Ontario civilians soon realized the importance of their contribution, excelling not only under blackout conditions, but in dedicating all machinery to defense production twenty-four hours a day. Applying to people owning (or managing) heavy machinery, many civilians took it upon themselves to follow the statute and volunteer their machines during a meeting in which their property was evaluated and assessed for wartime use..[8] Therefore, many residents of Ontario contributed in the community-wide effort to raise wartime awareness, funding, and resources for their city and country.

War Brides of Ontario (Post-WWII)

The topic of “War Brides” was popular amongst the headlines made by The Daily Report. After World War II ended in 1945, many soldiers returned to America along with their new brides whom they had met abroad while serving in the military forces. As the veterans (and their families) welcomed these young women home to Ontario, the local newspaper decided to report on the phenomenon. One journalist from The Daily Report wrote that the John Borba family welcomed their newly arrived daughter-in-law from Italy in July of 1946. It was noted that Manuel Borba, an army technician, was expecting his discharge from Camp Beale after serving twenty-one months overseas.[9] Similarly, in the article “Just Like Heaven,” another Italian war bride had arrived in Ontario just a short while earlier. Having initially met her husband at a German hospital where she had worked as a compulsory nurse, the young woman briefly dated the American soldier and married him soon after. The woman was surprised by the community of Ontario. To her, the horrors of war-stricken Italy deeply contrasted with the environment of her new home.[10] Likewise, an English war bride found herself surprised by how large the food portions were in Ontario; her hometown in England had strictly rationed the civilian food supply during the war. Therefore, it was noted that Mrs. Charles Zwerner happily enjoyed “a month’s supply of eggs and meat” on her first day in Ontario. Therefore, Ontario was not only known for its success in wartime efforts, but also for its warm, inviting, and caring community to which countless civic-minded residents contributed to daily.

Footnotes

[1] Joseph Boskin, “Associations and Picnics as Stabilizing Forces in Southern California,” California Historical Society Quarterly 44, no. 1 (1965): 17.

[2] “Volume Information,” California Historical Society Quarterly 44, no. 4 (1965).

[3] “You Learn,” The Daily Report, November 3,1941.

[4] “You Learn,” The Daily Report, November 3,1941.

[5] “Volunteers Wanted for Air Raid Warning Service,” The Daily Report, December 8, 1941.

[6] “City Experiments with Raid Signals,” The Daily Report, December 8, 1941.

[7] “First Blackout Not So Bad, but Must Be Better,” The Daily Report, December 11, 1941.

[8] “Act to Enlist Machines Here in War Work,” The Daily Report, January 19 1942.

[9] “War Bride, Mate to be Reunited Here Soon,” The Daily Report, July 1, 1946.

[10] “Just Like Heaven”, The Daily Report, June 27, 1946.

[11] Rosemary Davidson, “War Bride Goes Shopping Second Day in Ontario; Likes the Place,” The Daily Report, June 14, 1945.