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Over the Back Fence By HANK HENRY Books put century into focus As a new century approaches, lots of books are being released examining the old one. The best I have read is "The Century," by ABC anchorman Peter Jennings and researcher Todd Brewster. It weighs 3 or 4 pounds and is printed in an extra-large format. On the outside, it looks like a typical hefty coffee-table book, but this is for serious reading. With 575 pages in regular-sized type and more than 1,000 pictures, this book does a good job of summing up a century -- even though it may take you into the new millennium before you finish it. Of the thousand or so pictures in "The Century," one caught my eye as being typical of the huge changes in lifestyles that began after World War I. Printed on page 114, it is a picture of five women at Balboa Beach, Calif., in 1922. On the left are two policewomen: One is wearing a black hat with feathers sticking out the back, a black dress extending down to about a foot above the sand, and comfortable shoes. The other woman cop sports a flat-brimmed woven straw hat and a black jacket over a white blouse, with white jodhpurs tucked into lace-up boots. Facing these formidable officers of the law are three young women in their late teens or early 20s, all dressed in one-piece, very conservative swimming suits. From the look on the face of the young woman who apparently was speaking, they were afraid of being arrested, probably for indecent exposure. It is hard to believe that when that picture was taken, it had been only 21 years since the death of Great Britain's Queen Victoria. She had reigned over Britain and all of its possessions from 1837 to 1901, years which saw the English generally adopting her style of wearing long, heavy dresses. This even included all-black wardrobes after the queen went into mourning for her own Prince Albert in 1861. Victoria wore black for the rest of her life. Some of the biggest changes in Europe and America were the direct result of World War I, which was then titled "The Great War." Smoking went from cigars and pipes among the upper class to cigarettes distributed to those in the trenches. Another big change came in 1919 with the passage of the 18th amendment banning alcoholic drinks. Prohibition was repealed in 1933, but it changed the moral outlook of this country forever. For a lot of people, even pillars of society, the major social activity during Prohibition became evading the police and continuing to use alcohol. Before Prohibition, police had been the good guys in the eyes of the public, but during Prohibition cops found themselves facing opposition from portions of all segments of the population. That antipathy to those sworn to protect the populace has been around in some form ever since. This century has seen upheavals in every decade: wars, financial depression, and many natural disasters such as hurricanes, forest fires, floods, deep snow and, in the '30s, the dust bowl. This century has seen them all. My wife Nora called my attention to one thing that I had not noticed. In the first half of this century, photos of large crowds showed that people, both rich and poor, were almost all on the skinny side. Then came the last half of the century, and crowd photos began to show more and more people who were grossly obese. Not just 5 or 10 pounds overweight, but more likely 50 to 100 or more pounds. "This Century" would make a good Christmas present for anyone interested in history. There are many other books about this century, including "The American Century" by Harold Evans, another hefty coffee-table book. You might want to put one of these books in your bookcase for your grandchildren when they get old enough to wonder what happened before they came along. Remember, those who do not know history are bound to repeat it. (Hank Henry is a retired Jackson County commissioner and a former radio and television announcer. Call him at 772-9055.) Prime Times front page Mail Tribune front page Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA