Measuring Time - By an Hourglass

By Kitty Crockett Robertson

Ipswich Chronicle Photo Kitty Robertson's "Measuring Time" is an exquisite collection of essays, reflections on a 20th century life in small town New England, that first were published in the Ipswich... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B001LOACRU
• Release Date: January 1981
• Publisher: Published by the Author
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

"If reading these words stirs your own memories and recalls feelings that you thought you had forgot

Those who live on the North Shore of Massachusetts may know Argilla Road, the Goodale property, Hog Island, the town of Ipswich, and even "greenheads." They may even be fortunate enough to remember Kitty Crockett Robertson, her local newspaper columns, radio essays, and even The Orchard: A Memoir, the inspiring book about her attempt to save the family's apple orchard during the Great Depression. But this collection of essays is much more than "just" a story about a specific person or a specific place. Passionately committed to living life to the fullest, Kitty turns her memories into universal moments--from her tearful parting with her grandmother at age eight, and her conversations with her imaginary companion ("Mr. Patterson"), to her almost fatal science experiment with a borrowed key and a kite during a thunderstorm. Telling about her life from 1901 to 1979, Kitty contrasts her staid existence as a school child living on Marlborough St., Boston, to her free and often wild life during school vacations and summers with her grandmother and family on Argilla Road, Ipswich, the place that was always Kitty Robertson's "home." Published in the Ipswich Chronicle between 1951 and 1979, and collected by Kitty and her daughter Betsy Robertson Cramer, these essays were prepared for publication by her daughter following Kitty's death just a few hours after writing her last column in 1979. Thirty years have now elapsed since then, but Kitty's essays about life in Ipswich are still memorable--and important--not because they make us nostalgic about the past, but because they celebrate life's great joys--family, the freedom to be who you are, and the understanding of nature and one's connections to it--joys which sensitive people have shared for centuries. Loosely organized by seasons, the essays are also loosely organized by time, and as Kitty's life stories show her growing up and eventually discovering that she is as old as her grandmother was when her grandmother died, the reader also sees that Kitty is still as determined as ever to let no moment ever be wasted. She describes sailing Ipswich Bay alone and rowing to Crane Beach and beyond (as in the wonderful cover photo), well into her seventies, while observing the changes of scenery and nature--the loss of big, old trees, the growth of new ones in what had been pastures, the disappearance of the harbor seals, the effects of DDT on the clam flats, and the vanishing eel grass from the marshes. Though she relishes her life and her experiences, she also describes how hard life could be and how those hardships molded character. By sharing her exuberant life from 1901 to the 1970s, Kitty Robertson enables us all to recognize and treasure similar moments in our own lives, and to stop and appreciate our own place in the grand scheme of things. n Mary Whipple

evocative and touching

This just-published collection of essays is by the same author as The Orchard, A MemoirThe Orchard: A Memoir A year or so after my mother's death, I collected some of her newspaper columns about growing up in Ipswich and Boston. This book is the result. The first edition was sold out quite quickly; I tried once again a POD with a spiral binding. Now the technology has improved. I scanned the spiral bound copy, correcting (I hope!) all the typos and Dog Ear Publishing has produced a readable attractive copy. I can't really give a review of Measuring Time, that will be up to others, but I have heard quite a few times how much pleasure these impressions, these essays have given. I look forward to comments. Betsy (I have to give a rating --- and, of course, having put in many many hours of time over many years, I think it is worth five stars!)