Skip to main content

Auld, Lang, And Better

March 2023
1min read

One of the satisfactions of history is the pleasure of nostalgia. All of us have moments when it seems as if things were better when we were younger; and from that it’s only a step to the feeling that some earlier period in our history was somehow better in most if not all respects than the present. It was something of this feeling, we admit, that gave rise to the special issue of A MERICAN H ERITAGE on the Twenties, last August; and we have received a gratifying number of letters showing that the feeling was shared by many of our readers. Among them was one from Mr. Frederic B. Leach, of Nutley, New Jersey, who was reminded of a parody he once heard of Edward Arlington Robinson’s famous poem, “Miniver Cheevy.” The parody, called “Miniver Cheevy, Junior,” ends:


Miniver longed—as all men long— To turn back time—(his eye would moisten)— To dance the Charleston, play Mahjongg, And smuggle Joyce in. Miniver Cheevy, Junior, swore, Drank till his health was quite imperiled; Miniver sighed, and read some more F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The article about Burma-Shave jingles in our December issue also stirred fond recollections, and we are beginning to get notes complaining that the author, Frank Rowsome, Jr., ignored “the best one,” or “my favorite.” The first such remonstrance came from Mr. Richard M. Ketchum, of Bronxville, New York, who regrets the omission of: THE BEARDED LADY / TRIED A JAR / SHE’S NOW / A FAMOUS / MOVIE STAR .

We hope you enjoy our work.

Please support this 72-year tradition of trusted historical writing and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to American Heritage.

Donate

Stories published from "February 1966"

Authored by: George McMillan

So thought many a weary Marine after the bloody, interminable battle for Guadalcanal. It was only a dot in the ocean, but upon its possession turned the entire course of the Pacific war

Authored by: David G. Lowe

Three long-lost paintings of Washington in action (above, at Germantown) were part of G.W.P. Custis’ lifelong effort to glorify the foster father he adored

Authored by: David McCullough

One thing was clear through the rain and the mist: America’s enthusiasm for Miss Liberty matched her colossal dimensions

Authored by: The Editors

In her later years, Dolley was urbane and gracious, but ruined financially by her spendthrift son.

Authored by: Henry Steele Commager

By no means, said W. H. Prescott. Absolutely, said Lord Acton. The question remains hard—and intriguing

Authored by: Roger M. Williams

A Grave Question for Georgians…

Authored by: Wendy Buehr

PASSENGERS (IF ANY) USE PLATFORM

Authored by: John Dos Passos

No one who met him ever forgot him. His charm captivated beautiful women, his eloquence moved the United States Senate to tears, his political skills carried him to the very threshold of the White House. Yet while still Vice President he was indicted for murder, and was already dreaming the dreams of empire that would bring him to trial for treason. After a century and a half, historians still cannot decide whether he was a traitor, a con man, or a mere adventurer. Now, a distinguished writer enters the controversy with an account of

Authored by: Gerald Carson

In Jackson’s day you were damned if you wore a beard; by Lincoln’s, damned if you didn’t. Then beards were suddenly ‘out “—for good, it seemed. But were they?

Authored by: Robert E. Cunningham

When the Oklahoma District was opened, boomers staked their claims. Sooners staked theirs sooner. Thousands of both were on hand, all with a single aim:

Featured Articles

Rarely has the full story been told about how a famed botanist, a pioneering female journalist, and First Lady Helen Taft battled reluctant bureaucrats to bring Japanese cherry trees to Washington. 

Often thought to have been a weak president, Carter was strong-willed in doing what he thought was right, regardless of expediency or the political fallout.

Why have thousands of U.S. banks failed over the years? The answers are in our history and politics.

In his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln embodied leading in a time of polarization, political disagreement, and differing understandings of reality.

Native American peoples and the lands they possessed loomed large for Washington, from his first trips westward as a surveyor to his years as President.