Introducing
Lives of Quiet Inspiration , Volume 1

A micro-history of 20th Century America through
the eyes of some of its countless quiet heroes!

by Joe Zentis

Who are these people?

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From the Introduction to
Lives of Quiet Inspiration . . .

It's been said that "History is biography." Unfortunately, the history we learn in school is limited to the biographies and actions of larger than life individuals, the people who make the headlines. They are extraordinary people with whom we mere mortals can't really identify, or even fully understand.

This book isn't about them. It's about some of the people who really made the accomplishments of the last century possible. . . .

Read the complete introduction!

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From the Stories . . .

"My father and two brothers were sick. A doctor came and told them to drink a bottle of something down. The ones who drank it died. The doctor's way of stopping the epidemic was to poison the ones who got sick. My father threw it away." - Ernie Horkey, son of immigrants

"If we were thirsty we had to sneak and get water out of the toilet tank. We counted the floor boards so we wouldn't step on those that squeaked." - Liz McClelland, orphanage resident

"We had so much fun. We'd swing on ropes in the barn and drop into the hay. We used to curl up in those skinny old car tires and roll down the hill." - Helen Spiegel, eleventh of twelve children

"I grew up in a house that didn't have electricity until 1933 when Dad hired a laid-off electrician to wire it for $20 and a quarter of beef."
- Don Stephens, Westinghouse engineer

"Everybody was selling everything, so people took advantage of us. We sold our furniture, mahogany table, even wedding presents for a lot less than they were worth. My mother and my three brothers were sent to Topaz Camp in Utah ." - Masae Morisue, displaced WWII Japanese American

"We weren't afraid of anything. The GIs showed no fear. The Nazis hated that, because when they clicked heels, we should have bowed, but we didn't." - Bill Roscoe, WW2 prisoner of War

"When I started at The Sharon Store, I had to go to a salesmanship school for nearly a month. We were classy. We wore black dresses and high-heel shoes. That was a profession then - not like now."
- Vi Bowers, women's clothing sales clerk