“Remembrances 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.

Northern Star Press (2006)
ISBN 9780962092930
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (9/06)


“Remembrances 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.   “Remembrances 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.