Category: Learn History Through Fiction

Midwives, like physicians, practiced without education or regulations until the early 1900’s. In an era before germ theory was known, doctors moved between anatomy labs, medical wards, and surgery without washing their hands, thus transferring germs. As a result, midwives’ patients were less likely to die of infection than those delivered by doctors. Read more about pregnancy and childbirth 100 years ago in Tazia and Gemma (see NOVELS).

In the 1939 Hollywood classic The Wizard of Oz, the horse pulling Dorothy and her friends around Emerald City changes from white to purple to red orange to yellow. The ASPCA would not let the crew paint the horse, so they tried food coloring and liquid candy but it was too pale and tasted so good that the horse licked it off. Arnold Gillespie, in charge of special effects, finally used paste made with Jell-O powder. The horse still licked it, but with frequent touch-ups, the paste stayed on long enough to complete the filming. Read more about the movie in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).

Pressing when olives are at their maximum freshness produces vibrant flavor and a bright yellow and green color. Huge stone wheels, six feet in diameter, grind the fruit. Unlike the grindstones of a flour mill, which are horizontal and turn one atop the other, the grindstones of an olive press are vertical and rotate in a tub, crushing the olives against the floor. The mill (frantoio) is chilly, to keep the fruit fresh. In the early 1900s, in the olive-growing regions of Italy, local fruit growers brought their olives to a communal mill, where donkeys turned the presses. Today the process is largely automated, but some presses are still turned by hand to minimize the bruising of the fruit. Read more about olives and olive farming 100 years ago and today in Tazia and Gemma (see NOVELS).

Social class was evident in women’s fashions in the 1930’s Depression era. The sophisticated chic look promoted by designer Elsa Schiaparelli, with its bold colors, wide padded shoulders, and belted suits, was popular in high-end stores where the angular look flattered slim, athletic bodies. Working class women, who had no time for sports and subsisted on starchier diets, favored soft fabrics in floral and other prints which disguised their heavier bodies. However, women of all backgrounds were drawn to the fancy names that designers used to christen everyday colors: Pernod green, apple blossom pink, mimosa yellow, and carnation blush. Read more about fashion trends in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).

Bad timing! Soon after the city of Las Vegas was incorporated, Nevada became the last western state to outlaw gaming. At midnight on October 1, 1910, a strict anti-gambling law became effective, even forbidding the western custom of flipping a coin for the price of a drink. Despite the law, gambling thrived in speakeasies and illicit casinos. By the time gambling was re-legalized in 1931, organized crime already had deep roots in the city. Read more Las Vegas history in Tazia and Gemma (see NOVELS).

At the beginning of WWII, American public opinion was against joining the war or even supporting European Allies. In 1940, Henry Ford refused a U.S. government contract to build Rolls Royce aircraft engines for England. Other automotive manufacturers didn’t want to turn making cars over to war production either. It took the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 to change American minds and convince U.S. industry to become patriotic. Read more about WWII in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).

Composer Julia Wolfe sought the right scissors — dozens of pairs — for the January 24th premiere by the New York Philharmonic of her oratorio “Fire in My Mouth,” which commemorates the 1911 Triangle Waist Company factory fire that killed 146 garment workers, most of them young immigrant women. Scissors manufactured by Wiss made the satisfying “swoosh” sound Wolfe sought. The Crossing chamber choir “plays” them in the oratorio, which also features 146 girls from the Young People’s Chorus of New York City. Read more about a young Italian immigrant who survives the Triangle fire in Tazia and Gemma (see NOVELS).

The California Gold Rush began 171 years ago today (January 24, 1848) when carpenter James Marshall found shiny flakes in the American River near Sutter’s Mill in the Sacramento Valley. “It made my heart thump, for I was certain it was gold,” he said. Days later, the treaty ending the Mexican-American War left California in the hands of the U. S. The following year, “Forty-Niners” quintupled California’s population to 100,000. During the gold rush, miners extracted more than 750,000 pounds, but after gold became scarce, many stayed on. By the end of the decade, the state boasted 380,000 residents. Fifty years later, California experienced another “boom” when movies became the next bonanza. Hollywood, later dubbed “The Silver Screen,” became the seat of the film industry in the early 1900s. While movie-making now takes place the world over, greater Hollywood is still the major site of production. Today the U.S. television and film industry employs an estimated 2.1 million people. Read more about Hollywood and movie history in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).

The largest wave of Italian immigration to the United States (Stati Uniti) took place in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Between 1820 and 1978, 5.3 million Italians immigrated to the U.S., including over two million between 1900 and 1910. Only the Irish and Germans immigrated to this country in larger numbers. Read more about Italian immigrants to the U.S. 100 years ago in Tazia and Gemma (see NOVELS).