The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 92, July 1988 - April, 1989 Page: 502

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

Megan Biesele on Bushmen rock art and by Richard Gould on Aus-
tralian rock art, and an important contribution on shamanism by Peter
Furst.
Ancient Texans is an outstanding book that should be repeatedly con-
sulted by Texas scholars for decades to come.
University of Texas at Austin THOMAS R. HESTER
Georgetown's Yesteryears, Volumes 1-2. Edited by Martha Mitten Allen.
(Georgetown, Tex.: Georgetown Heritage Society, 1985. Acknowl-
edgments, introduction, illustrations, photographs, maps, index,
bibliography. Vol. i, $5, paper; Vol. 2, $8, paper, $2o, cloth.)
Georgetown's Yesteryears, Volumes 3-4. Edited by Martha Mitten Allen.
(Georgetown, Tex.: Georgetown Heritage Society, 1987. Acknowl-
edgments, introduction, illustrations, photographs, maps, index,
bibliography. $8, paper; $2o, cloth.)
An exhibit entitled "Georgetown's Yesteryears," prepared by South-
western University's Mood-Heritage Museum exhibit committee to
celebrate the 15oth birthday of Texas, inspired members of George-
town's Sesquicentennial Folklore Committee to gather and publish the
stories behind the exhibit. Southwestern University students in Martha
Mitten Allen's Texas history classes interviewed residents over 65 years
of age about life in Georgetown during the first half of the twentieth
century. Many hours of oral history tapes and their accompanying
transcriptions ultimately resulted in this balanced and well-edited multi-
volume publication of 350 stories told by 83 individuals. Photographs
of the interviewees and local landscape, as well as historical photo-
graphs, add immeasurably to the enjoyment of the volumes.
The city fathers evidently had decided very early that they wanted
Georgetown to be a cultural and intellectual center in Texas. In addi-
tion to the account of their work in attracting Southwestern University,
a great many readers will appreciate the story about the Texas Chau-
tauqua Assembly making its permanent home at Georgetown in 1889.
Unfortunately, due to the depression of 1893, the Assembly lasted only
until 1894.
The volumes abound in reminiscences of life before cars, electricity,
running water, and gas heat. Residents tell of birth on the farm, quar-
antines, and home remedies. They tell of raising their own food, trad-
ing food for supplies, and enjoying themselves at the swimming hole,
dances, and the roller rink. Holidays were very special times, and hand-
made gifts were not unexpected. As familiar sites disappear with time,
written descriptions of them become important. The authors recount

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