The above ad for the Red Barn, a fondly remembered restaurant and night spot, is from New Year’s 1945. The war had ened a few months before, and we were in an in-between state. Many servicemen were still overseas awaiting their chance to be rotated home, and some of those who did make it back before 1945 ended, marched right down the aisle with new brides.
There was still news of war events in the newspapers, and about this new A-bomb, and about the beginning of the Nuremberg trials. Though gas rationing had ended, we were still rationing sugar and using our ration books when we went to the stores — until June 1947.
But there was a watershed sense of floating between two worlds. A lot of exuberant celebration that would normally be spent on New Year’s Eve had already burst forth on V-J Day. Many, still reeling from the end of war, opted for a quieter New Year’s Eve, just thankful that a new year meant peace.
The Polish National Home had a dance going on, and there was the usual big hotel ballroom event at the Roger Smith in Holyoke if you wanted to go somewhere a bit more swank. ($4.50 and $5.00 per person wasn’t chicken feed.) .
There were midnight movies if dancing and drinking wasn’t your choice, or if you were just looking forward to a quiet evening at home, there was always a roster of programs on the radio, which ended with the countdown from Times Square
However you celebrate this New Year’s Eve, the Chicopee Historical Society wishes you a happy and healthy new year. See you in 2026!
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