HIS JUSTICE CANNOT SLEEP FOREVER (PART 4)

 

By Catherine Ulrich Brakefield

World War II had reached a satisfactory climax, or so Americans had hoped. The Soviet Union had different ideas. Their war had just begun. They desired more communist countries beneath their iron fist. By 1948, the Soviet Union had solidified its governments in the countries of Eastern Europe, which were liberated by their Red Army during the war. (More about the Cold War and its repercussions in a future history blog.)

Vicious ideological rivalry sprang up between capitalism and communism. This battle wasn’t fought with guns but fought through propaganda. It fed upon the young minds of youths throughout our colleges and classrooms like mind-altering LSD.

Then the Vietnam War barged into American homes like a drenching Tsunami, forcing the pride of America, its young men, to make a choice. Either be drafted into the Army or enlist in the Air Force, Marines, or Navy. Communism wanted to gobble up more land.

Americans staunchly held to their beliefs. Hitler of Germany, Emperor Hirohito of Japan, and Mussolini of Italy was still fresh in their minds. God had gotten them through the fangs of the snake of World War II; He would get them through this, too.

The elections of the 1960s proved to be a volatile turning point in American politics. John F. Kennedy’s speech, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country,” sent patriotism marching through the throngs of people who would eventually elect him as president. Kennedy was the youngest president elected, and the first Catholic. Here is an excerpt from President John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address, on January 20, 1961. Was it any wonder he would give any less of a speech?

“The same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe — the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.”

Truth and discontent swirled like a volatile wind storm whispering that if a eighteen-year-old’s parents could afford to send their youth to college and be exempt from serving two years in an unpopular war, then it was unfair for any to be drafted. Still, our young men and women marched off to Vietnam, because of their loyalty to their country.

When Americans needed it, a president would remind them of the roots of their ancestry and fill in the void parents hungered to hear in praise of their sons and daughters service and that their lives are in the hands of God. Here is a small excerpt of what President Richard Nixon said in his Proclamation on Thanksgiving Day, November 16, 1973:

“Time has not dimmed, nor circumstance diminished the need for God’s hand in all that America may justly endeavor. In times of trial and of triumph that single truth reasserts itself, and a people who have never bowed before men go gladly to their knees in submission to divine power, and in thanks for divine sustenance.”

Two hundred years later, the torch has not grown dim to America’s feelings for their Divine Creator’s constant watch, and said in The Address to the National Association of Evangelicals, March 8, 1983:

“Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged. When our founding fathers passed the First Amendment, they sought to protect churches from government interference. They never intended to construct a wall of hostility between government and the concept of religious belief itself.”

One of our most beloved presidents, Ronald Reagan, never hesitated to address the need for more Bible and prayer in our schools and families. Here is an excerpt of Ronald Reagan’s speech during the Year of the Bible, February 3, 1983:

“Of the many influences that have shaped the United States of America into a distinctive Nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible. … These shared beliefs helped forge a sense of common purpose among the widely dispersed colonies — a sense of community which laid the foundation for the spirit of nationhood that was to develop in later decades. The Bible and its teachings helped form the basis for the Founding Fathers’ abiding belief in the inalienable rights of the individual, rights which they found implicit in the Bible's teachings of the inherent worth and dignity of each individual. This same sense of man patterned the convictions of those who framed the English system of law inherited by our own Nation, as well as the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.”

In the year 2008, our American youth were tossed to and fro like a football in the Super Bowl. The tea party evolved. But by the end of President Obama’s second term, the Tea Party had dispersed.

But one American youth, eighteen at the time, left the college life to put his concerns and convictions regarding capitalism and communism into action. The sudden shift of American patriotism to Marxism and Communist ideals sparked American concerns. Charlie Kirk started Turning Point USA, and the youth, as well as many adults, endorsed it. Kirk's encouragement to get out and vote spurred more votes for Donald Trump.

Throughout the years, America shouldered greater responsibilities, even assuming the role of policeman of the world. President Trump, in an address to the People of Poland, Warsaw, July 6, 2017, said this:

“I stand here today before this incredible crowd, this faithful nation, we can still hear those voices that echo through history. Their message is as true today as ever. The people of Poland, the people of America, and the people of Europe still cry out ‘We want God.’ … We put faith and family, not government and bureaucracy, at the center of our lives.… And we value the dignity of every human life, protect the rights of every person, and share the hope of every soul to live in freedom. That is who we are. Those are the priceless ties that bind us together as nations, as allies, and as a civilization.”

As current events roar across our television sets and cell phones, public schools now are not saying the Pledge of Allegiance, history books often distort the facts; however, God’s truth continues to march on throughout our lives as another World War shadows the forefront. What will our next generation believe in if they do not know the truth regarding our ancestors and the cause for which they fought?

President Trump addressed the nation after the Iran Strike with a passionate plea of sincere gratitude to Almighty God.

“And I want to just thank everybody, and in particular, God…"I want to just say, we love you, God, and we love our great military. Protect them. God bless the Middle East. God bless Israel, and God bless America. Thank you very much. Thank you."

With the sudden assassination of Charlie Kirk, our nation looks on in horror. What has happened to our beloved country when a young man cannot openly debate different viewpoints? Has the First Amendment been totally obliterated in our college classrooms?

Little do some of our offspring know how our nation formed the Constitution of the United States of America or the Bill of Rights. Nor the homage the founders and many of our most famous presidents of America give to the Almighty God. It is up to you and me to teach the truth to them. To be conscientious voters for the future of our children’s lives and liberty, and to teach them about our God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who has never failed us.

Jefferson’s warning rings in our ears, “…Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are a gift of God? I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

That age-old enemy of mankind has stepped up its attack upon our families. But his time is short. Everything is pointing to the end of the age, which Jesus talked about in Matthew 24, and as I write about in Love’s Final Sunrise.

Thought, planning, and an overwhelming amount of prayer went into the foundation of these United States. It was a new dawn, a new nation, and a humble appeal to the Supreme Judge, God and His Son, Jesus Christ—yes, the course of the United States of America was set—let us not on our watch allow it to dissolve!

Our families are the bedrock of our country’s foundation, and WE are just a prayer away from winning this battle. After all, we have God on our side! Let us, like Charlie Kirk, speak out boldly about the God of our nation as well as the Savior of our souls! Let God’s justice be on heads of our enemies, and not on ours!

Love’s Final Sunrise: New Yorker Ruth Jessup and Amish-bred Joshua Stutzman lived in different worlds; their lives collided into catastrophic proportions, battling wits against a psychopath and The New World Order...

Fleeing for her life and suffering from amnesia, Ruth finds herself in an hourglass of yesteryear. Can Joshua’s Amish ways help them survive these final three-and-one-half years?

“To be honest, I’m not usually drawn to fiction. But for this no-nonsense nonfiction lover, Love’s Final Sunrise was a risk that paid off in full measure. I highly recommend this author’s way of weaving intrigue, romance, and Christian principles.”   Lori Ann Wood

Catherine is the award-winning author of Wilted Dandelions, Swept into Destiny, Destiny’s Whirlwind, Destiny of Heart, Waltz with Destiny, and Love's Final Sunrise. She has written two pictorial history books, The Lapeer Area and Eastern Lapeer, and short stories for Guideposts Books, CrossRiver Media Group, Revell Books, and Bethany House Publishers. Catherine and her husband of fifty-two years live on a ranch in Michigan and have two adult children, five grandchildren, four Arabian horses, three dogs, four cats, six chickens, and two bunnies. See CatherineUlrichBrakefield.com

 

Emeline Pigott: Civil War Petticoat Spy

Emeline Pigott
Photo courtesy of the North Carolina State Archives

By Sherry Shindelar

Emeline Pigott was twenty-five when the Civil War broke out. She lived with her family along Calico Creek near the North Carolina coast. The nearby town, New Bern, was a railroad and river transportation center, and this made it a priority for troops from both sides of the war.

Near the beginning of the war, a few thousand soldiers were stationed across the river from Emeline’s home. She wasn’t someone standby the wayside when others were in need. A woman of action, she soon became involved in taking food to the troops and nursing the sick and wounded

Along the way, she met and fell in love with Private Stokes McRae. Emeline had her heart set on the man, and would decline invitations to dances and other social gatherings held for officers if her beau was excluded. The young couple had a few months of courtship in late ’61 and early ’62. However, they decided to wait until the end of the war to marry.

In March 1862, a Yankee force of 11,000 men drove the 4,000 Rebs out of New Bern. Emeline went with them in order to help care for the wounded. Shortly thereafter, McRae’s regiment marched to Virginia to help with the fighting there, and the two lovers were parted, but distance did not weaken their love.

As the months passed, Emeline eventually made her way back through the Yankee lines to her home along Calico Creek. Once more soldiers were stationed nearby, but this time, they were Yankees. She partnered with her brother-in-law, Rufus Bell, to outsmart the enemy. She entertained the officers while Rufus snuck supplies to Confederates who were hiding nearby.

July 1863 broke Emeline’s heart. Word reached her that McRae had died at Gettysburg. She would never marry.

Instead, she poured her heart into doing what she could to subvert the enemy whose forces had taken the life of her fiancé. She became a full-fledged spy. One source referred to her as “North Carolina’s most famous spy and blockade runner." She spied on the soldiers who visited her family’s farm. In addition, she obtained information on Yankee blockade ships, and even used local fishermen as sources.

Goodey's Ladies Book 1864

On numerous occasions, she risked her life and safety to carry information, letters, food, and other supplies through enemy lines. One of her greatest assets, in addition to her ingenuity and cool-headedness, was her hoop skirt. She sewed multiple heavy-duty pockets into the petticoats beneath her voluminous outer skirt. These pockets provided the perfect hideaway for forbidden items, and no self-respecting Yankee male was going to pat down her skirt. It is said that she could carry up to thirty pounds of contraband in her petticoats.

Petticoat 1850 -1860
Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at the Met

For more than two years, she worked to undermine Yankee control and assist the Confederates.

Then, the Yankees grew suspicious. They started watching her. One evening they caught her on the way out of town in a carriage with her brother-in-law. Her petticoat was laden with contraband, secret messages, and letters.

The Yankees searched Rufus and found nothing. They called in a woman to search Emeline, but before the woman arrived, Emeline managed to eat the most crucial of the secret messages and tore some of the remaining letters into shreds.

The officers charged her with blockade running and put her in jail to await trial. If convicted, she could have faced the death penalty.

However, after several weeks of imprisonment, she was mysteriously released even though the Federal authorities had solid evidence against her. It was rumored that she threatened to reveal the names of prominent business men in New Bern who had been assisting the Yankees.

Emeline was a woman of courage and strength, willing to risk her life to aid those who fought for her state. And she never stopped loving the young man who had captured her heart in the early years of the war even though she lived for decades after the war.

Originally from Tennessee, Sherry loves to take her readers into the past. A romantic at heart, she is an avid student of the Civil War and the Old West. When she isn’t busy writing, she is an English professor, working to pass on her love of writing to her students. Sherry is a multi-award-winning writer. She currently resides in Minnesota with her husband of forty years. She has three grown children and three grandchildren.

Connect with Sherry: website newsletter Amazon FB

The man who destroyed her life may be the only one who can save it.

Maggie Logan (Eyes-Like-Sky) lost everything she knew when a raid on a wagon train tore her from her family. As the memories of her past faded, Maggie adapted—marrying a Comanche warrior and having a baby. But in one terrible battle, the U.S. Cavalry destroys that life and takes her captive. Forced into a world she wants nothing to do with, Eyes-Like-Sky’s only hope of protecting her child may be an engagement to the man who killed her husband.

Captain Garret Ramsey finds himself assigned to the Texas frontier, where he witnesses the brutal Indian War in which both sides commit atrocities. Plagued by guilt for his own role, Garret seeks redemption by taking responsibility for the woman he widowed and her baby. Though he is determined to do whatever it takes to protect them, is he willing to risk everything for a woman whose heart is buried in a grave?

Florida’s Featured Author ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe

“So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war,” President Abraham Lincoln said when he met Harriet Beecher Stowe. 

 

Or did he?

The first record of Lincoln’s greeting appears in Mrs. Stowe’s 1890 biography. Though her son, Charles Edward Stowe, tells the story as family lore, his closeness to the source gives it plenty of credibility.

 

Besides, many believe that Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet's classic novel, truly did light a spark within the abolitionist movement. 

 

Here are a few facts we know are true:

 

Harriet was born on June 14, 1811, in Litchfield, Connecticut to Roxanna Foote Beecher (1775-1816) and her husband, Reverend Lyman Beecher (1775-1863). 

 

She married Calvin Stowe, a professor of Biblical Literature at Lane Theological Seminary, on January 6, 1836. 

The Stowes had seven children, including twin daughters. Tragically, their son, Samuel Charles, died of cholera in 1849. He was only eighteen months old. 

She died on July 1, 1896—not even a month after her 85^th birthday.

Her Writing Opened Hearts

 

Her scholarly husband, Harriet once said, was “rich in Greek & Hebrew, Latin & Arabic, and alas! rich in nothing else” (HBSC).

 

However, even before she married and had a family, Harriet's writing provided an income. Her first publication, Primary Geography for Children, was published in 1833 when she was only twenty-two or twenty-three.

 

She wrote her most famous novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, about twenty years later. The National Era, an abolitionist paper, wanted a short story to run in installments “that would paint a word picture of slavery” (HBSC).

Instead of the planned three or four chapters, Harriet wrote a full-length novel that opened readers' hearts to the suffering of enslaved people. 

Three more abolitionist novels followed: The Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1853),

Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp (1856), and The Minister’s Wooing (1859).

 

During her writing career, which spanned half a century, Harriet published thirty books plus numerous articles, essays, hymns, poetry, and short stories. Her influence through her writings is immeasurable. 

 

The Stowe Family’s Florida Connection

 

The Stowes lived many years in Cincinnati, Ohio, and later in Brunswick, Maine where they housed fugitive slaves as part of the Underground Railroad. 

 

After the Civil War, however, they became snowbirds and purchased property in Mandarin, Florida, on the St. Johns River. They wintered there for more than fifteen years and even bought an orange grove for their son, Frederick, to manage.

 

Charles Beecher, a minister and educator, opened a nearby school to educate formerly enslaved people, a cause which was dear to his sister’s heart.

 

Harriet expressed her appreciation for Florida’s unique beauty in her book, Palmetto Leaves(1873), where she compared the area’s semi-tropical climate to that of Italy. (Which surprises me ~ I’ve lived most of my adult life in Central Florida and I’ve visited Tuscany. To me, the climates are very different!)

 

The Beecher Family Tradition ~ A Legacy of Service

 

When it came to service and reform, the Beecher family didn’t sit quietly in the pews. 

 

Harriet’s older sister, Catharine, founded the Hartford Female Seminary which provided women the opportunity to study the classics, languages and mathematics. Harriet attended this school.

 

Isabella, Harriet’s youngest sister, helped to found the National Women’s Suffrage Association.

All of Harriet’s brothers were ministers.

Honors

• 1986 ~ Inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame;
• 2007 ~ A 75¢ U.S. postage stamp was issued in her honor in the “Distinguished Americans” series;
• 2010 ~ The Ohio Historical Society nominated Mrs. Stowe as a finalist  for Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol, however, Thomas Edison was selected instead.

Your Turn ~ Uncle Tom's Cabin has been on my TBR (To Be Read) list since my son-in-law read a heart-rending chapter out loud to us a few years ago. I procrastinate because the novel seems so daunting. But I truly hope to read it when life slows down a bit. 

Have you read Uncle Tom's Cabin? If so, what did you think? If not, do you plan to? What other classics do you have on your TBR list?

Journey of the Heart

In the shadow of slavery, love answers with courage.

Stories of heart, mystery, and timeless truth.

Johnnie Alexander writes award-winning stories of enduring love and quiet courage. Her historical and contemporary novels weave together unforgettable romance, compelling characters, and a touch of mystery. A sometime hermit and occasional vagabond who most often kicks off her shoes in Florida, Johnnie cherishes cozy family times and enjoys long road trips. Readers are invited to discover glimpses of grace and timeless truth in her stories. Connect with her at johnnie-alexander.com.

Photos ~ Unless otherwise indicated, photos are in the public domain.

Bust of Harriet Beecher Stowe by Brenda Putnam at Hall of Fame for Great Americans. Photo by H0n0r at the English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17210647.

 

Sources

Gershon, Noel. Harriet Beecher Stowe: Biography. New York: Henry Holt and Co. (1976).

HBSC ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe Center (harrietbeecherstowecenter.org).

Hedrick, Joan D. Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Life. Oxford University Press (1994).

'Below Stairs' in a Scottish Castle: Inside a Grand Victorian Kitchen

During a recent trip to Scotland, we visited Inverary Castle, where I found a wonderful example of a formal Victorian kitchen.

Inverary Castle, located in western Scotland on the shores of Loch Fyne, has been the home of the Dukes of Argyll for centuries. The present castle, begun in 1746, replaced an earlier 15th century castle on the same site. Built in the Gothic Revival style, the castle highlights the importance of the Clan Campbell in the history of Scotland and Britain.

The original castle kitchen, which takes up much of the basement, was last used in 1956 by the grandmother of the current Duke of Argyll. More recently, it’s been restored to the way it would have looked while the staff prepared an elaborate dinner in the Victorian period.

If you’ve watched Downton Abbey, you have some idea of the details involved in preparing meals for the nobility in 19th- and early 20th-Century England and Scotland. (As an aside, the Christmas 2012 episode of that TV series was filmed at Inverary Castle.) Cooks, maids, and footmen filled the downstairs kitchen with activity. Food prepared here was carried upstairs to the dining room, where it was served by staff wearing House of Argyll livery.

Much of the food would have been locally sourced. Mutton, beef, pork, doves, and fowl were raised on the estate farm. Venison, pheasant, and other game came from the area. A nearby river provided salmon, sea trout, and brown trout, while sole, herring, and mackerel were obtained from the loch (lake).

Equipment in the massive kitchen included two stewing and roasting ovens, two baking ovens, a hot plate, a boiling stove for water, and seven fireplaces, one of which featured a smoke-jack.

Illustration of a smoke-jack from The Century
Dictionary: An Encyclopaedic Lexicon of the
English Language (New York: The Century Co., 1895)

The smoke-jack was an ingenious device for roasting meat on a spit. Hot air from the fire rising up the chimney turned a wheel of metal vanes, much like a fan, which engaged a system of gears and a chained pulley connected to the spit. Thus, the heat of the fire kept the meat turning, eliminating the need for a staff person to turn the spit.

There were also a butter churn and flour mills. Copper pots and pans, used for both sweet and savory foods, were kept highly polished.

Ingredients that were unavailable locally could be stored in wooden cabinets located at one end of the kitchen. The various drawers were labeled for such items as spices, pasta, sugar, currants, and almonds.

And to ensure the staff remembered protocols for interacting with the family or guests of the Duke, a list of 12 “Servant Rules” was prominently posted. To summarize, servants were expected to speak only if spoken to or when absolutely necessary, use the proper address, and be invisible when possible. The final rule stated that any female staff who “fraternized” would be immediately terminated.

Imagining what it would have been like to work in this kitchen of a hundred-plus years ago was interesting, but it also reminded me of the blessings we enjoy in our modern kitchens.

                                _____________________________

Multi-award-winning author Marie Wells Coutu finds beauty in surprising places, like undiscovered treasures, old houses, and gnarly trees. All three books in her Mended Vessels series, contemporary stories based on the lives of biblical women, have won awards in multiple contests. She is currently working on historical romances set in her native western Kentucky in the 1930s and ‘40s. An unpublished novel, Shifting Currents, placed second in the inspirational category of the nationally recognized Maggie Awards. Learn more at www.MarieWellsCoutu.com.

When the lights of Broadway dim, Delia leaves the city behind. But will her family welcome her home again?

The historical short story, “All That Glistens,” was included in the 2023 Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction collection and is now available free when you sign up for Marie's newsletter here. In her newsletter, she shares about her writing, historical tidbits, recommended books, and sometimes recipes.

The Dark Side of the Hollywood Star System

Two face statue Mazatlán, Mexico

By Kathy Kovach

At the turn of the twentieth century, the silent film industry was exciting and new. There was no big name recognition because producers didn’t want their actors to demand higher salaries. To them, the technology of developing moving pictures trumped the actors themselves. Some of those performers had gotten their start on the New York stage and considered movies a step down, therefore they had no problem hiding their identities.

In fact, it wasn’t until this newfangled entertainment was a couple of decades old when actors’ names were included in ending credits. Audiences were picking out their favorites, purposely visiting their local nickelodeon to see the cowboy, or the swashbuckler, or the sweet, yet tragic, lass in rags. They demanded to know their names and learn about their private lives.

Florence Lawrence

Recognizing the public’s need, producer and co-founder of Universal Pictures, Carl Laemmle used unconventional marketing methods to promote his stars. One such example was concerning the actress considered to be the first movie star. Florence Lawrence was known to fans only as the Biograph Girl before her name became known. Biograph was a film production company operating from 1895-1916. Laemmle spread a rumor that Lawrence was killed in a streetcar accident, leaving her adoring public devastated in their grief. He then revealed the story wasn’t true, and that she was alive and well . . . and starring in his next movie. I’m sure they flocked to the theater, relieved to see their darling living and breathing.

The Hollywood Star System, also known as the Star Machine, was borne of such manipulative tactics. The goal was to groom, exploit, and market their product, which unfortunately, was of the human variety.

The following video depicts the Hollywood Star System perfectly.

From the 1920’s to the 1960’s, the System churned out thousands of movie stars. It created fictional characters out of flesh and blood. What the public saw were happy, shiny actors and actresses with their perfect hair, straight teeth, and glamorized lifestyles. And the fans lapped it up, like a thirsty MGM lion in the Serengeti.

While a fraction of performers thrived in the artificial spotlight, others wilted behind the scenes, becoming substance abusers in order to cope. Some lived debauched lifestyles in rebellion of the system. A tragic few succumbed and took their own lives.

Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney

One such tragedy involved Frances Gumm, known to us as Judy Garland. Her story is well-known now, vividly portrayed in the 2019 biopic, Judy, starring Renee Zellwegger. When Garland was the fresh-faced teenager, hoofing and warbling with Mickey Rooney in the ‘30s, and later becoming MGM’s greatest asset in movie musicals, the System kept her busy lifestyle afloat by pumping her with amphetamines to combat her tiredness. Her weight fluctuated, so more pills were given to keep her the perfect size. She was starved during the filming of The Wizard of Oz, reportedly forced to eat nothing but cottage cheese and chicken soup to keep her size acceptable.

Garland married band leader David Rose and became pregnant, however, the System, along with her mother and husband, urged her to get an abortion because they wanted to maintain her innocent image. Judy Garland’s life ended in tragedy on June 22, 1969, as her depression lead her to an accidental overdose of barbiturates.

Admittedly, the Star System wasn’t the only factor in Garland’s eventual demise. Her personal struggles surrounding a failed marriage and other factors also came into play. But one wonders, if she’d had better support from her employers, if she would’ve had a better life.

It Happened One Night, 1934, Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert

Let’s talk about the King. No, not the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, although he also fell victim to a star system created by his handler, Colonel Tom Parker. I’m referring to the man, the myth, the legend, the King of Hollywood, Clark Gable.

Gable began as a struggling stage actor. Once discovered for film, his image was carefully sculpted to that of a romantic leading man. Not your typical leading man, however. His character was known for his savage treatment of women. His persona on screen could go from insult to an embrace in a heartbeat.

Nothing but a commodity, Gable churned out movies for MGM, never being allowed to play anything more than what his image called for. He rebelled for being typecast and was sent on loan to Columbia Pictures as a punishment. That feature was It Happened One Night with his co-star, Claudette Colbert, a move that proved lucrative as it garnered him a Best Actor Oscar.

The Hollywood Star System had become an entity not to be messed with, going as far as suspending an actor without pay if they violated the numerous rules. It controlled every aspect of an actor’s life. From doing their laundry to setting them up in the perfect, and no doubt, photogenic, mansion on Mulholland Drive. It told them what to wear in public in order to maintain their image. It told them who they could date, who they could marry, or more specifically, who they couldn’t marry. No dedicated, starry-eyed fan wanted to see the romantic lead wedded to someone else.

And it spied on them. It wasn’t unusual for a studio head to enlist someone low on the food chain—a housekeeper, a chauffeur, a personal chef—to spy on the stars and report back their activities. Once again, Judy Garland fell victim of such practices, devastated when she learned that her trusted assistant, Betty Asher, had informed on every aspect of her life.

The system even went as far as altering appearances. As I mentioned in a previous article, The Manufacturing of a Hollywood Star, Rita Hayworth went from a dark-haired, Latin beauty to an Irish redhead using electrolysis to raise her hairline by an inch. Plastic surgery was common, as well. One horrifying technique was to fill the nasal cavity with molten hot wax and literally reshape the nose. Rhinoplasty was also common, and several actors underwent the nose-altering surgery, including Dean Martin and Marilyn Monroe.

United Artists founders

Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and director D.W. Griffith rebelled against the System and created their own studio, United Artists. This assured more control given to the stars.

Although the Hollywood Star System seemed horrifying in many ways, one must keep in mind, it had been set up as a thriving business. Everything produced by the major studios had to be perfectly maintained and, yes, controlled. Of course, much of the overbearing practices could have used more empathy, but many of the positives must be recognized for shaping the industry into what it is today.

And I, for one, am grateful for the opportunity to watch my favorite film stars on the silver screen. Do you have a favorite star or movie from the Golden Age of Hollywood?

Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal

A TIME-SLIP NOVEL

A secret. A key. Much was buried on the Titanic, but now it's time for resurrection.

Follow two intertwining stories a century apart. 1912 - Matriarch Olive Stanford protects a secret after boarding the Titanic that must go to her grave. 2012 - Portland real estate agent Ember Keaton-Jones receives the key that will unlock the mystery of her past... and her distrusting heart.

To buy: Amazon

Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado, she's a grandmother and a great-grandmother—though much too young for either. Kathleen has been a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.

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