I love the book group I am in, not only for the variety of books we read, but because it is such a caring and congenial group. There is always something new we learn about each other in between the pages we discuss, which happened again last Thursday as we finished our discourse and enjoyed some refreshments our evening’s host Donna had prepared.
Donna is one of our liveliest members. She has been a repeat medalist in speed walking and the long jump in the US National Senior Olympics, earning honors again this past summer.
Donna casually mentioned she didn’t mind missing the opening of an exhibit at the Elmhurst Historical Museum in order to host our group at her house. When pressed, she went on to say that she was invited to the opening of the exhibit on the Cold War and that they had filmed her oral history.
When Donna heard about the upcoming exhibit and that it would include artifacts of the era, she donated some pamphlets and ephemera on Civil Defense preparedness that she had kept from the 1960’s. She was subsequently invited to the museum to record her story.
With a little time to kill on Wednesday after my stroll in the park, I drove over to the Elmhurst Historical Museum to see the exhibit. It is a small museum in a historic house, much like town museums everywhere. It is where the world comes to meet the citizens and stories of a community.
Alert Today Alive Tomorrow is a traveling exhibit of the ways Americans responded to the threat of an atomic war in the 1950’s and ’60s. The museum also has its own exhibit of how Elmhurst and its residents coped with that threat. Among the artifacts, posters, and videos of Civil Defense newsreels, there were also several “declassified” videos of local residents telling of their experiences living in Elmhurst at the time of nuclear threat and what they and their families did. It includes two men who tell of building bomb shelters on their properties, one a child at the time, the other a young construction worker who built his own bomb shelter two feet under his basement. The interviews were quite cleverly done in black and white with a reel-to-reel in the background and one light hanging from the ceiling; an atmospheric interpretation of the era.
I was so proud of Donna’s willingness to share her experience as a young mother in the ’60’s and her contributions and appreciate that she gave up a 
chance to attend the opening in order to host our gathering. I thought about the Cold War and the sense of dread I sometimes felt as a child, especially at school on days we had Civil Defense drills, ducking and covering under my desk in the event of a nuclear attack. (I wrote about it last year here.)
I also thought about the book we just read, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which spans part of the same time period. We tend to glorify the 50’s and 60’s and the simplicity of the times. In so many ways it really wasn’t simple at all.
I was reminded that reading books is not just about the words on the pages. It is also about the ways books expose us to literature and history, the famous and infamous and ordinary folks. They help us learn and explore science and medicine, theology and philosophy. Books connect us as people to other times and places, and to each other where we learn the most amazing things.
I love the book group I am in.
These are a few pictures I took of the traveling exhibit.
What a thoughtful post Penny, and I can see why you love your book group.
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They are a great bunch, Juliet. We’ve been meeting for 24 years. Thank you.
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Wonderful post. Your last paragraph expresses exactly how I feel and *why* I read.
I don’t know if was born too late (1953) to be worried about the nuclear threat in the 50s and 60s or whether the UK just didn’t do the civil defense drills – perhaps not in my area. I can only say I was oblivious until my teens when I suddenly became worried about the tests and the whole thing hit home.
Your book club sounds delightful.
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I know, Cath, and what fun it is to have this virtual book group through blogs.
I have friends here that don’t remember the civil defense drills. We lived in the suburbs of Chicago, so, an area that would be vulnerable to a nuclear attack. I just knew by the age of 8 that hiding under my desk wasn’t going to save me.
It is, Cath. I’m so fortunate to be a part of it.
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I agree with Cath, Penny – a wonderful post and a super last paragraph. I was born just after WW2 and I too didn’t have nuclear defence drills as a child growing up in the north of England. My first real awareness of the nuclear threat as something concrete and potentially imminent was the Cuban missile crisis when I had just become a sixth-former in high school. I can remember so clearly how frightening that time was.
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Thank you, Perpetua. I was in elementary school at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis.13 years old. I remember it well, coming home from school to find my mother and grandmother in front of the television, crying, and explaining to me that we may be in a war. I was old enough to know a bit of what was going on and had spent enough time in the “duck and cover” position under desks to be frightened. I think the whole world was in the grip of fear.
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I agree with you about how reading can bring people together. I have had lively and interesting discussions with complete strangers in waiting rooms and places like that. “What are you reading? It’s a question that is not too personal, yet it is a great way to start a discussion. With good friends it is a way to start the conversation on a common ground. I have learned so much with my reading. I’ve learned about other times and places. I have learned tolerance and understanding of other cultures.
I remember the discussion of the cold war, but somehow it didn’t scare me. Maybe I was lost in a book.
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Isn’t it interesting how books can bring perfect strangers together? How well you write of your relationship with books and people, Janet. Thank you.
I think that because we lived just outside of Chicago, such a large urban area considered a possible target, it was emphasized more up here. A railroad hub with major highways (you can still see some of the lines on them where war planes could land if they needed to) and that we were close to O’Hare Airport made us ripe for the drills (and some propaganda). We also had the Great Lakes Naval Air Station in close proximity. I’m just glad nothing ever happened.
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That was so nice of you to Post about Donna, she is something else, what vitality she has and she hasn’t changed in 30 years. You and I being a couple of the origional gals have seen lots of interesting people come and go in our group over the last 24 years. I love our group too. May we have many more years, just so many books, and so little time…..
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She really hasn’t. Make sure to go over and see the exhibit, Sharon. Take Bill. It is a small exhibit and he will remember some of the artifacts. I called to tell Donna I went and she was just on her way out the door to see it. She is, indeed, something, and then there is you with your gift for us to celebrate our 24th birthday. We’re “classics” aren’t we Sharon? Thank you.
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I still feel a great sense of liberation when I look back and realise how close the world came at that time to destruction, and how we walked away from the brink. What a wonderful idea to record and catalogue the things ordinary people did to help them feel just a little more in control. How oppressive it must felt, and how liberating to look back and sigh once more with relief.
Your book group sounds absolutely wonderful.
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I know, Kate. The older I get, the more I realize this. I still remember walking down my quiet, suburban neighborhood street and suddenly standing, terrified, as an airplane flew overhead.
It is a wonderful group and we have some interesting discussions.
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I really believe that the Cold War with it’s nuclear attack drills in school, sonic booms everyday from jets, so much talk about atomic bombs – made my generation much more fear based than generations before us and probably after us. Having been born in 1957 those threats were in the background at school, on the news, in the movies, in adult conversations, etc., pretty much from the beginning of my memory.
This post was so well written and I love the your connection of the exhibit at the Elmhurst HIstorical Museum with your book club. Also, you reminded me that this is another exhibit I want to see!
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You are surely right, Janet. I’m about eight years older than you and think that we, at least, had those few early years where we weren’t bombarded with all the news and such. I clearly remember the Cuban Missile Crisis. The exhibit covers the news and movies and toys that were about civil defense.
Thank you. I might not have seen it had Donna not mentioned it. I hope you can run over there and see it. You know how small the museum is, so, it won’t take long.
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I feel like we are so fortunate to have a glimpse of your book club. Keep sharing! This would be a very interesting exhibit. I do remember the drills in school, of course, but I don’t exactly remember what I thought of them. I don’t remember ever being afraid. I think if it were today it would be impossible to shield a child from threatening messages. Such an odd time, wasn’t it? Blissfully naive about some things, and nuclear war an ever-present threat. Interesting to think about all these years later, Penny! Debra
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It’s a great group, Debra. Thank you, I will.
It was an odd time. I felt safe and protected within the arms of my family and my teachers as well, but, then there was this “thing” lurking. There were a few other elements that contributed to my fear. A television movie/presentation (Fail-Safe?), that gave me visuals of war, proximity to O’Hare Airport, Great Lakes Naval, and then the sonic boom. I probably should write about that. hmmmmm
Congrats on your blog award!
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Dear Penny,
Your posting today and the comments about the Cuban Missile Crisis all took me back to a time of fear. Like you, I felt that scrunching myself under the school room desk wasn’t going to work. Later, in the ’80s I had the same doubt when told by the president that the US postal service would continue to deliver mail if there were to be a nuclear attack!
I’m glad you linked us to your posting from last year. Your devoted father and his ways of teaching you and helping allay your fear was tenderly and gently written.
Peace.
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Oh, Dee, I don’t remember that presidential message that the mail would go through if there was a nuclear attack. I can only imagine how incredulous that was.
My sister and I have talked many-a-time about how lucky we were in our parents. My father was my idol and he had a wonderful way of teaching us and making us feel safe. Thank you so much for noting that, Dee.
(A group of friends met for breakfast this morning, which is why I was rushed. We sat and talked for hours, as good friends can do.)
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