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Memories of Times Past
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (9/06)

“Memories of Times Past” is a trip down memory lane for the older generations and a great lesson of wisdom for the younger generations. There is much to be learned from this fabulous book filled with photos and history of the 1900’s.

Do you long for the past when a quiet evening was spent in a swing on the front porch rather than in front of a TV? It was a time when a home cooked meal was on the table when dad and children arrived home and the smell of homemade cookies drifted through the home drawing family members toward the kitchen. TV shows insisted married couples sleep in twin beds and a viewer would never see an advertisement for personal hygiene products. “Memories of Times Past” has all of this and more. “This book is a nostalgic journey back to a time of model-T Fords, stay-at-home moms, vinyl long-playing records, atom-bomb shelters, strict rules of etiquette, radio days and manual typewriters.”

People of the Twentieth Century have seen more changes than any other generation through out history. Ms. Hiatt’s nostalgic look at the past brings us quiet days without cell phones or computers, two lane highways and a time when folks waved at you with a smile on their face. Those born in the first half of the century remember outhouses, tin bathtubs, family meal time, washing your own dishes and skates that need keys. They remember a time without shopping on Sunday’s, pantyhose, and private phone lines. The past was a time of innocence.

Ms. Hiatt offers a balanced look at the past remembering not only the “good old days” but the hardship and fears that surrounded that time period. Rarely was there indoor plumbing and there were no automatic dishwashers (other than the woman of the house), cell phones or computers. It was a time of depression, many lost their homes and families. It was a time of fear with the threats of war and the construction of bomb shelters.

This is the kind of book you want to spend time enjoying. I’m glad Ms. Hiatt jogged our memory. She has offered us wisdom and insight into our past. It is with pleasure that I highly recommend this book.

Jim Tellefson,
Librarian, Hillsdale Library, San Jose, CA
(May be reproduced without permission)

Memories of Times Past

A Nostalgic Collection of Stories and Photographs Recalling
The Way Life Was in the Early Part of the Twentieth Century

By Marta Hiatt (Northern Star Press, 2006)

When the phone rang everyone stopped what they were doing, and listened. But they weren’t listening to the answering machine to hear who was calling, they were listening to the number and sound of the rings. Were they long or short? How many were there? Back in the forties many people had a party-line, so there were usually other families sharing a line with you. We used a hand-crank to call someone, and each home had its own ring made up of one or more short or long turns of the crank, so every time the phone rang everyone had to listen to the ring to distinguish if it was for them. It sounds very primitive today, but we didn’t even have phone books then, we got the number from the operator, and not everybody had a telephone. A long-distance call was so rare the whole family would usually gather excitedly around the phone when one came in. Then we would talk very quickly because the calls were enormously expensive.

- Adrian D’Angelo, photographer, born 1939, in Toronto

Marta Hiatt’s entertaining book Memories of Times Past (Northern Star Press, 2006) has hundreds of stories like this and is a sentimental journey back to a time of stay-at-home moms, vinyl long-playing records, atom-bomb shelters, strict rules of etiquette, radio days and manual typewriters.

In Chapter Two, entitled “Sex and Social Mores: From Victorian Prudishness to Personal Vibrators,” Hiatt recalls: “The first airline stewardesses were hired in 1930 and were all registered nurses who wore uniforms that came below the knee. Although they served meals and fetched blankets, their primary responsibility was the safety of the passengers in case anyone became sick. By the ‘40s stewardesses were no longer nurses, but were invariably young and beautiful, and were fired if they got married, were over thirty-five, got pregnant or gained weight. There were quarterly weigh-ins, and they had to wear a girdle on the plane. Their sexuality was promoted in ads such Continental’s “We Really Move Our Tails For You.”

Memories of Times Past is not only informative, but entertaining. This “trip down memory lane” is unique in that it provides an interesting review of some significant events of the last century in a lighthearted, personal and entertaining way. The stories are supplemented and enhanced by over 200 black and white photographs from the past, and also the author’s own thoughtful commentary on our enormously-changed world.

This book will appeal to both a younger audience who will sometimes be amazed at the way things were, and older people whose own memories will be stimulated by reading these stories and viewing the photographs.

Memories of Times Past

Looking to spend a couple of relaxing and entertaining hours strolling down memory lane or visiting a time when your parents or grandparents lived without the benefit of computer, cell phone or television? This is the book for you!!

Author Marta Hiatt revisits a quieter, less complicated time when Mother’s were at home baking and cleaning, Father’s worked and children played games and used their imaginations. Highways were two lanes, sometimes dirt rather than asphalt and cars were scarce. Board games and cards were the entertainment of the day and children played outdoors where their imaginations bloomed. Not everything was easy in the “Good old days” however, people did much more physical labor and household chores were demanding and challenging. Whether you personally experience the first 50 years of the 20th century or are simply curious, Memories of Times Past will enlighten and entertain you. The old photographs add to the charm of the stories and add to the reader’s pleasure.

The author has a relaxed, down home writing style that makes readers feel comfortable. She has interviewed and chatted with people who experienced the early century and tastefully relays their stories in this book.

This reviewer found the book educational and delightful. A great read for a lazy afternoon.

Reviewer: Shirley Roe,

Allbooks Reviews.

MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW, ORGEON, WI

A VIRTUAL AMERICAN HISTORY MUSEUM IN BOOK FORM –

Written by Marta Hiatt and illustrated with a wealth of vintage black-and-white photographs, "Memories of Times Past" is a journey of nostalgia touching upon the highlights of modern American history.
Vignettes of what American life used to be like and the events that transformed it -- from the civil right's boycott that began with Rosa Parks' refusal to be discriminated against, to break- through advances in germ warfare, to the revelation that women's orgasms came from clitoral rather than vaginal stimulation, to the inception of the Internet.

Organized by theme rather than chronologically, the snippets of revelation about how daily American life used to be are driven home with firsthand testimonies of ordinary people who lived in those times. This is a virtual American history museum in book form.

WILLIAMSPORT SUN-GAZETTE

Dec. 14, 2006

Staffer: Adrienne Wertz, Assistant lifestyle editor

“Memories of Times Past” by Marta Hiatt.
Synopsis: This book is a journeyback to a time of Model–T Fords, stay-at-home moms, vinyl long-playing records, telegrams, radio days, strict rules of etiquette and manual typewriters. In it, according to the book’s abridgement, “are the personal memories of the enormous changes that occurred in the 20th century; a trip down memory lane for the older generation and, perhaps, some surprising insights into the way life was, for those who are younger.”
I love reading books that take my 20-something generation to a time of 20-somethings who grew up 50 and 60 years ago. This book is an opportunity to turn off the television, the cell phone, the My Space, and be taken back to a time when nude photos were considered risqué, when vinyl records were the coolest, and to the opening of the first movie theater in Pittsburgh, showing the longest moving picture at the time: “The Great Train Robbery,” lasting a mind-numbing 12 minutes.
My favorite chapter was “Household: Mothers Don’t Wear Aprons Anymore” containing a cartoon ad for “keeping cool on washday.” In it, a mother is about to faint from the heat of boiling laundry. The neighbor comes to her rescue with some energy and time-saving tips for future washdays. “Imagine boiling wash on a day like this! Use Rinso—it saves scrubbing and boiling -soaks clothes snowy.” The same woman greets her husband at the door on the next washday. When he states the house is cool on a scorching day she replies: “That’s because I didn’t boil clothes today—I used Rinso.”

Other chapters include “Lifestyle: Uptight Conformity to “Let it all Hang Out,” “Health: Doctor’s Don’t Make House Calls Any-more,” “Sex and Social Mores: From Victorian Prudishness to Personal Vibrators.
“Women: You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby,” touches on issues before, during and after the feminist movement, a time when “Not tonight dear, I have a headache,” just didn’t fly. In it Hiatt writes “it’s astonishing to realize that, until the feminist movement, it was legal for a man to rape his wife.” “It was considered her wifely duty to submit to his sexual demands whenever and however he wanted, whether she wanted to or not.”

And even more interesting was the fact that, if a woman was not married by 25, she was dubbed an “old maid,” often was refused admission into college, and so-called “male jobs” were denied her. If she chose not to marry she could always become a teacher, nurse, secretary, clerk or waitress.

An interesting historical review.

MINDQUEST REVIEW OF BOOKS

Lightword Publishing selected, from many recent submissions, a few noteworthy works for a recommendation and review.

Memories of Times Past, by Marta Hiatt. Subtitle: “Stories and Photos Recalling Life in the 20th Century.”

Many still remember the manual typewriter and Model-T. Relive those days through the pages and photos in this amazing book. Too young to remember? You will be glued to the pages learning how different the times were as well as some valuable lessons lost in today’s hi-tech, stressed world. Noteworthy: The chapters spring to life revealing the dramatic changes, through vivid words and rare photos, in our society – such as “Lifestyle, Sex and Social Mores, Fashion, Entertainment, from Freud to Falwell, Health: (doctors don’t make house calls anymore), Science, Women,” and a lot more. The “Disappearing Phrases” section is a must-read – “Hubba-hubba!”