All Our Yesterdays compiled by Gervase Phinn is a delightful collection of reminisces from childhood.
The snippets are arranged under various headings and include quotes from the famous and the not so famous. The time periods range from the Middle Ages to the mid twentieth century. The majority of quotes are from the latter time period.
Each section begins with a passage by Gervase Phinn. Some of his poems are included.
Continue reading
The Stepney Doorstep Society by Kate Thompson is a powerful account of the lives of the matriarchs living in the East End of London. It is mainly set during World War II, with a dip into both the thirties and the post war years.
It was the women of the East End that ran the show. They were not necessarily large in stature but they were strong personalities. They had to be. They lived through the Depression of the 1920’s and 1930’s and also World War II. “I just had to get on with things. I wasn’t brave… I just had no choice.” They put on their big-girl pants and tackled life head on.
The women looked out for each other and for each- others’ children. It was proper community living as they were in and out of each-others houses too. They were “rich in love, poor in the purse.”
With World War II came opportunities for women. They got out of the home and into the factories, only to be relegated to the home again when the men returned from war. “The war brought out the strength in women.”
We see that “individually these women were tough. Together, they were terrifying.” When there was a wrong, these women stood up for what was right. They marched against Oswald Moseley’s Blackshirts in the 1930’s.
We learn that “infant mortality rates were… high and there was a heartbreaking saying offered up to a mother when a new baby arrived: ‘Has it come to stay?’” Within the community women acted as midwives, helping others birth babies.
Continue reading
The Story Of Sapulpa & Route 66 by Kirby Lee Davis is the second book in The Great Beckoning series and published by Sapulpa Historical Society. This continues where book one left off as we follow the development of Sapulpa and the emergence of Route 66, well into the twentieth century.
Route 66 had investments from 1909 and was finally completed in 1928. It stretches from east to west, passing through Sapulpa.
We see the development of roads, going from mud to concrete, tarmac and hard core. The harder your road surface, the more affluent the area.
During the early twentieth century, we witnessed World War I. Following its’ end, over eight million people travelled westwards in search of new opportunities.
As Sapulpa developed, more businesses, diners and festivals sprang up – including a car and a Christmas festival.
Continue reading
The Story Of Sapulpa & The Great Ozark Trail by Kirby Lee Davis is the first book in The Great Beckoning series and published by Sapulpa Historical Society. It is a comprehensive account of Sapulpa, a town in America, and the Ozark trail that emerged.
As I live in England, I know very little of American history except for what I studied as part of my degree. I found this book absolutely fascinating.
The story of Sapulpa begins in the early 1800’s but the main focus is on the late nineteenth century until 1928. We hear of the growth of the railroad, followed by that of the motor car. Oklahoma had just 1,100 registered cars and trucks in 1911 rising to 184,212 in 1925. Both vehicles and the railways brought businesses to the area.
During the nineteenth century we saw how the native Americans were pushed out by white settlers. “Oklahoma’s Indian tribes… were the victims of the whites’ insatiable hunger for land.” It was horrifying to hear that the Ku Klux Klan held a rally in Sapulpa in the mid 1920’s.
As well as hearing about the growth of the town and surrounding area, there is also a section about notable businesses. It is interesting to read about the various churches and businesses that set up. I was particularly interested to read about the Harvey House as I had seen the Judy Garland film called The Harvey Girls.
Continue reading